Whaling in Iceland
Encyclopedia
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
began with spear-drift whaling which was practiced from as early as the 12th century and continued in a relic form until the late 19th century. The relationship with whales is reflected in the Icelandic language
Icelandic language
Icelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...
: hvalreki is the word for "beached whale" However, modern commercial whaling was introduced to Iceland by companies from other nations in the late 19th century. Today, Iceland is involved in commercial whaling under objection to an ongoing moratorium established by the International Whaling Commission in 1986.
History
Ancient literature, such as the Norse sagas, does not reveal a history of whale fisheries in Iceland but occasionally describes conflicts between various families over whale carcasses and early links between Scandinavian people and whales. For example, Vikings from Norway introduced the whaling techniques of driving small cetaceans, such as pilot whales, into fjords. Additionally, the 13th century document Konungs skuggsjáKonungs skuggsjá
Konungs skuggsjá is a Norwegian educational text from around 1250, an example of speculum literature that deals with politics and morality...
describes a number of marine mammals including several types of whales and dolphins. A 17th century work by, Jón Guðmundsson, specifically lists whales recognized today as the Sperm whale, Narwhal, Right whale, Fin whale and the Blue whale. Narwhals were hunted for the spiral shaped ivory tooth, sometimes presented as a mythical unicorn's horn.
Spear-drift whaling had been practiced in the North Atlantic as early as the 12th century. In open boats, hunters would strike a whale with a marked spear with the intent of later locating the beached carcass and claiming a rightful share.
In the 17th and 18th centuries Basque whalers hunted in Icelandic waters. Despite any mutually beneficial results, in 1615, a crew of 32 shipwrecked and stranded Basques were executed by Icelanders. Jón Guðmundsson condemned the local sheriff for this decision in his account of the event. Since 2005, historian Magnús Rafnsson and archaeologist Dr. Ragnar Edvardsson have been excavating the remains of a 17th century Basque whaling station in the northwest of Iceland. http://www.galdrasyning.is/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=681&Itemid=199&lang=en
Modern Whaling
Whalers from America, Norway and other European nations expanded their industries into Icelandic waters with new techniques and technology in the late 19th century.In 1865, Americans, Thomas Welcome Roys and C. A. Lilliendahl, tested their experimental rocket harpoon design and set up a shore station in Seydisfjördur. However, a slump in oil prices after the American Civil War forced their endeavor into bankruptcy in 1867. A Danish naval officer, O.C. Hammer, set up two shore stations in Iceland and used Roys' rocket harpoon design. Norwegian, Svend Foyn (famous for later inventing the modern whaling harpoon), also studied the American method in Iceland.
In 1883, whaling expanded from Norwegian waters to Iceland as unrestricted catching depleted whale stocks off the coast of Norway. Svend Foyn made several attempts to profit from whaling in Iceland but was ultimately unsuccessful. In reaction to demands that Norwegians working in Iceland should become naturalized Icelandic (Danish) subjects, Foyn sold his shares to company partners and abandoned his plans for whaling in Iceland. The major shareholder, Thomas Amlie of Oslo, assumed the role of expedition manager and enjoyed great success. As a result, competing companies transferred their operations to Iceland. At the age of 82, Amlie was lost at sea with one of his whaling ships and all 32 hands in a violent 1897 storm. Amlie is considered the father of modern whaling in Iceland.
Between 1883 and 1915 ten (mostly Norwegian) whaling companies were founded and operated 14 shore stations on the east and west coasts of Iceland. One of the most successful companies, managed by Hans Elefsen, in its best year produced 1/4 of all of the whale oil in Iceland. He also used whale carcasses stripped of their blubber as raw material for a guano factory. However, in response to the decline of whale stocks, Elefsen moved his operation to South Africa in 1911.
In 1897 the Whale Industry Company of Iceland (Hval-Industri Aktieselskabet Island - also called the Icelandic Whaling Company) was established. An Icelandic merchant named A. Asgeirsson was its promoter and major stockholder but the company was heavily dependent on Norwegian personnel and equipment. After years of unsuccessful operation it went bankrupt and closed in 1913.
Blue and Fin whales were primarily hunted but Humpback and Sei whales were also included. However, prior to 1914 Icelanders did not hunt Minke whales. Superstition held that Minke whales were sent by God as protectors.
National Whaling Ban
Local Icelanders held mixed opinions on the whaling industry. Some welcomed the added earnings from taxes, duties and levies. Others complained that whaling ruined their herring fishery. As a result, in 1886 a May to October ban was enacted on whaling in herring fishing areas and Icelandic territorial waters. However, most whaling was done outside of the prohibited areas and went on unaffected by the limited ban.In 1903 another whaling ban was proposed only to be thrown out by the Althing. Later in 1913, a total ban on whaling was enacted to start October 1, 1915. The ban was imposed in order to preserve whale stocks for Icelandic interests due to a perceived Norwegian threat.
The law was repealed in 1928 and in 1935 the government of Iceland issued a permit for one whaling station at Tálknafjörður (which later folded in 1939). A new 1935 law declared that whales in Icelandic territorial waters could only be hunted by Icelanders. In 1948, the Hvalur H/F company purchased an American naval base at Hvalfjörður (Whale Fjord) and converted it into a whaling station. Norwegian crews were involved in training Icelandic whalers into the early 1950s.
ICRW and IWC
The International Convention for the Regulation of WhalingInternational Convention for the Regulation of Whaling
The International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling is an international environmental agreement signed in 1946 in order to "provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry"...
was created in 1946 in Washington to "provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry". Based on the previous 1937 International Agreement and subsequent Protocols to that agreement in 1938 and 1945, the ICRW led to the 1949 creation of the International Whaling Commission
International Whaling Commission
The International Whaling Commission is an international body set up by the terms of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling , which was signed in Washington, D.C...
and consists of guidelines for the international regulation of coastal and pelagic whaling. Iceland was a member of the IWC from the outset in 1949. (Critics charge that the IWC and ICRW have largely failed due to a lack of enforceable rules and regulatory loopholes)
Like many other whaling nations, Icelandic whaling was inconsistent in conforming to rules established by the IWC. For example, in 1954 the IWC adopted a proposal for the total protection of Blue whales in response to concerns that localized protection was not effective. Blue whales were not to be taken in the North Atlantic for five years (from 1955–59). However, Iceland objected and continued to hunt Blues until 1960.
In 1956, Icelandic fishermen believed a large population of Orcas (killer whales) threatened their fisheries. After failing to clear the Orcas from a series of nets, Icelanders called upon the U.S. Air Force for assistance. As a NATO ally, the United States maintained an air base in Keflavik. The U.S. Air Force responded with machine guns, rockets and depth charges to drive out the Orcas. (The Keflavik base would later become a point of diplomatic contention between the United States and Iceland due, in part, to disagreements over whaling.)
Prior to 1974 Minke whaling went unregulated in Iceland. National authorities set quotas and limits for Icelandic whalers but IWC quotas were not established for North Atlantic Minke whales until 1977. Before 1977, Minke whales were indeed taken by fishermen from small villages but were considered too insignificant to record catch statistics. The new IWC Minke quotas were shared between Iceland, Norway and Denmark.
Between 1977 and 1983, Hvalur H/F (the Icelandic whaling company owned and operated by Kristjan Loftsson) had taken hundreds of undersized Fin and Sei whales and exported the meat to Japan, according to an IWC report.
Moratorium
In 1972, the United Nations Environmental Conference produced a 52-0 vote in favor of a 10 year global moratorium on commercial whaling. However, the UN resolution was not adopted by the IWC by a vote of 6-no, 4-yes and 4-abstain. Iceland, Japan, Russia, Norway, South Africa and Panama voted no.In 1973, a moratorium was once again proposed and voted down in the IWC lacking the required 3/4 majority. (8-yes, 5-no, 1-abstain). Iceland, Japan, Russia, Norway and South Africa voted no.
Between 1973 and 1982 the IWC would see its membership increase from 14 member nations to 37 perhaps stacking the vote in favor of anti-whaling nations.
In 1980 and 1981 two more votes failed to establish a moratorium by a 3/4 majority.(13-9-2 and 16-8-3)
In 1982, the International Whaling Commission
International Whaling Commission
The International Whaling Commission is an international body set up by the terms of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling , which was signed in Washington, D.C...
(IWC) finally voted in favor of a moratorium on commercial whaling to go into force in 1986 (25-7-5).
Unlike Norway, Iceland did not officially object to the IWC moratorium and was therefore obligated to abide by the new restrictions. The Althing, perhaps under pressure from the USA, voted 29-28 not to object.
Research Whaling
By 1985, like Japan, Iceland submitted proposals to the IWC to continue whaling for research purposes under Article VIII of the ICRW. Iceland proposed a catch of up to 80 Fin whales, 40 Sei whales, 80 Minkes and a limited experimental catch of Blue and Humpback whales. The research would be funded through the sale of whale meatWhale meat
Whale meat is the flesh of whales used for consumption by humans or other animals. It is prepared in various ways, and is historically part of the diet and cuisine of various communities that live near an ocean, including those of Japan, Norway, Iceland, and the Arctic...
to Japan. However, the proposal was denied by the IWC scientific committee in 1986.
In an attempt to gain acceptance of its proposals and under pressure from the United States, Iceland reduced the proposed whale meat exports from 95% to 49% of the total catch and the requested quota from 200 to 120 whales. Despite a domestic campaign to encourage Icelanders to consume more whale meat, most of the supply was used as feed on fur farms or spoiled in warehouses. In an open letter to the government, Icelandic biologists condemned the program.
Hvalur H/F took 386 Fin an Sei whales under scientific permit between 1986 and 1989. Despite IWC resolutions that required member states to use the meat domestically, Iceland exported up to 77% to Japan.
International pressure
Opposition outside of Iceland mounted a formidable front against Iceland's whaling industry through direct interference, protest, economic and diplomatic pressure.In 1978, Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
attempted to interfere with the hunt using the ship, Rainbow Warrior. When they returned in 1979, Hvalur ships fired harpoons over the protesters. Iceland began sending naval escorts with the whalers and twice seized the Rainbow Warrior with gunboats. The second incident occurred in international waters and Greenpeace zodiacs were taken.
November 6, 1986, Rodney Coronado and David Howitt, activists linked to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, vandalized a whaling station at Hvalfjörd by damaging machinery and computers. They also opened the seacocks on two of Iceland's four whaling ships and sank the vessels
1986 Hvalur sinkings
The 1986 Hvalur sinkings occurred in Iceland's Reykjavík harbour in November 1986, when anti-whaling activists from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society sank two unoccupied whaling vessels, Hvalur 6 and Hvalur 7, and sabotaged a whale processing station in Hvalfjörður...
, still anchored, in Reykjavik harbour.
In 1987, Greenpeace action led to the seizure, in Hamburg, of 170 tons of Icelandic whale meat bound for Japan. The action was repeated in Finland in 1988 and claimed 197 tons. In each case the shipments were confiscated by local authorities in accordance with CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species).
During this time, the United States was involved in diplomatic negotiations with whaling nations such as Iceland and Japan. However, the U.S. was considered to be responsible for whaling troubles by many Icelanders. In October 1986, president Reagan was booed during the "Superpower Summit
Reykjavik Summit
The Reykjavík Summit was a summit meeting between U.S. president Ronald Reagan and Secretary-General of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev, held in the famous house of Höfði in Reykjavík, the capital city of Iceland, on October 11–12, 1986...
" and some lobbied against the American air base at Keflavik. It was argued that the U.S. and the IWC had no standing to interfere with Iceland's sovereignty regarding whale research. Despite the diplomatic tension, U.S. negotiators struck an agreement that would allow Iceland to take 20 sei whales, without the threat of U.S. sanctions (under the Pelly Amendment to the US Fishermen's Protection Act the U.S. President could establish an embargo against Iceland's fisheries). Iceland was required to submit a full research proposal in 1988. Japan also agreed not to purchase whale meat from Iceland to secure fishing rights in Alaskan waters.
By 1989, boycotts of Icelandic fish, organized by Greenpeace and other anti-whaling organizations, began to take a toll on Iceland's economy. Major buyers, such as supermarket and restaurant chains (for example: Wendy's and Long John Silver) canceled their contracts. Also, a strike of Iceland's scientists union meant no experts would be available to conduct research aboard whaling vessels. In 1989, Iceland announced it would not continue whaling. However, another research proposal was submitted in 1990 and later rejected by the IWC Scientific Committee.
In 1991, Iceland threatened to leave the IWC after its request to take 92 Fin and 158 Minke whales was denied as premature. Fisheries Minister, Thorsteinn Palsson, claimed the IWC had abandoned all interest in exploiting whales giving Iceland the right to withdraw. Iceland left the International Whaling Commission in 1992.
Recommencement
Outside of the IWC, Iceland could not simply restart its whaling industry. Past resolutions required IWC nations, including Japan, to refrain from trade in whale products and whaling equipment with non-members. In 2001, Iceland made its first attempt to rejoin the International Whaling Commission with one condition: a reservation to the global moratorium on commercial whaling that would allow Iceland to hunt for commercial purposes despite its acceptance of the ban in 1982. However, the Commission voted against Iceland (19-0-3) with 16 nations refusing to participate due to disagreement over the legality of the vote and Iceland's request. Instead, Iceland was admitted as an observer following a ruling by the Chairman and a second vote.Iceland made two additional attempts to rejoin the IWC in 2002. At the annual meeting in May, disagreement continued over Iceland's reservation to the moratorium. As a result, a 25-20 vote upheld the decision that Iceland should participate only as an observer. Iceland asserted the vote was illegal and left the meeting.
At a 2002 special meeting of the IWC, which some members did not attend, Iceland's request and reservation were once again brought before the commission. However, Iceland modified its reservation to specify a time-limit prior to the resumption of any commercial whaling under objection to the moratorium. In the votes that followed, the Commission first voted 18-18 to uphold the same process from previous meetings. The next vote upheld the Chairman's ruling that Iceland should be allowed to vote, 18-18 once again. Finally, the vote to uphold previous decisions to deny Iceland's reservation was defeated with 18 in favor and 19 opposed. Iceland was the deciding vote in its own favor as it rejoined the IWC. Half of the attending nations formally objected to the reservation.
In 2003, Iceland proposed to resume research whaling after a 14-year interruption. The proposed quota would consist of 100 Minke whales, and 100 Fin and 50 Sei whales (both endangered species), The study would examine the eating habits of whales in Icelandic waters. The Federation of Icelandic Fishing Vessel Owners claimed whales had reduced local cod stocks by 10-20 percent. However, environmental groups disputed the figures and asserted that fish stocks had actually been reduced by commercial overfishing.
The IWC voted 21-16 requesting Iceland reconsider the proposal. IWC resolution 2003-2 noted the potential threat to Iceland's Sei whale stocks, recognized the existence of previously collected feeding data and called upon both Iceland and Japan to refrain from continued lethal research.
Britain responded by leading 23 countries in a formal protest against the resumption of Icelandic research whaling. Representatives of Iceland's tourism industry also announced their opposition and concerns over the potential negative effect of boycotts. However, polls within Iceland showed popular support for the whaling industry.
Iceland's research whaling program continued from 2003 to 2007 taking a total of 200 minke whales.
Commercial Whaling
Over the twelve-month period ending in August 2007, Icelandic whalers have been authorized by the Icelandic government to hunt and sell 30 Minke Whale
Minke Whale
Minke whale , or lesser rorqual, is a name given to two species of marine mammal belonging to a clade within the suborder of baleen whales. The minke whale was given its official designation by Lacepède in 1804, who described a dwarf form of Balænoptera acuto-rostrata...
s and 9 Fin Whale
Fin Whale
The fin whale , also called the finback whale, razorback, or common rorqual, is a marine mammal belonging to the suborder of baleen whales. It is the second longest whale and the sixth largest living animal after the blue whale, bowhead whale, and right whales, growing to nearly 27 metres long...
s. Iceland resumed commercial whaling on 21 October 2006 after Icelandic whalers caught a Fin Whale. Iceland has an exemption to the moratorium through the reservation made in 2002.
Twenty-five nations delivered a formal diplomatic protest (called a "demarche
Demarche
A démarche has come to refer either to# a line of action; move; countermove; maneuver, esp. in diplomatic relations, or# formal diplomatic representation of the official position, views, or wishes on a given subject from one government to another government or intergovernmental...
") to the Icelandic government on 1 November 2006 concerning resumed commercial whaling. The protest was led by the UK and signed by nations including the US, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
Kristján Loftsson, owner of the whaling company Hvalur (Icelandic
Icelandic language
Icelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...
for Whale) which had to diversify from its main industry for the past 20 years, has stated that there is no reason they can't continue hunting whales for eternity by sustainable management of the hunting. The company's whaling ship, Hvalur 9
Hvalur 9 RE399
Hvalur 9 RE399 is an Icelandic Whaler built in 1952 in Norway. It has been a part of the whaling fleet operated and owned by the company Hvalur h/f since 1966....
, has caught seven Fin Whales since the government authorization, but has ceased hunting for the year due to bad weather and little daylight. Loftsson also indicated that he planned to export the meat to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as neither Iceland or Japan are subject to a trade ban, although Claire Sterling, of the International fund for Animal Welfare, said that Japan has officially stated that it would not be buying Icelandic whale meat. As Japan does not have any laws against such import it will not hinder such an import.
After a brief suspension of whaling activities, commercial hunting resumed in May 2008, when a new license was granted. The minke
Minke Whale
Minke whale , or lesser rorqual, is a name given to two species of marine mammal belonging to a clade within the suborder of baleen whales. The minke whale was given its official designation by Lacepède in 1804, who described a dwarf form of Balænoptera acuto-rostrata...
catch in 2006 and 2007 was all sold. The head of the Icelandic minke whaling association was hoping for a quota of around 100 minkes in 2008. Whaling was authorized to continue in 2009, but the new Fisheries Minister
Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture (Iceland)
The Icelandic Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture is a cabinet-level ministry.On 13 June 2007 the parliament of Iceland passed law changes to merge the Ministry of Fisheries and the Ministry of Agriculture, which took effect on 1 January 2008. It is an important economic ministry, with fisheries...
and leader of the Left-Green Movement
Left-Green Movement
The Left-Green Movement is a left-wing political party in Iceland.It was founded in 1999 by a few members of Alþingi who did not approve of the planned merger of the left parties in Iceland that resulted in the founding of the Social Democratic Alliance...
Steingrímur J. Sigfússon
Steingrímur J. Sigfússon
Steingrímur Jóhann Sigfússon is an Icelandic politician and Iceland's Minister of Finance. He has been a member of the Althing since 1983 and is the founding chairman of the Left-Green Movement...
said that there was no guarantee that whaling would continue in the long-term under the new government.
In 2009 Hvalur hf caught 125 fin whales and plans to export up to 1,500 tonnes of whalemeat to Japan. The fin whale is globally listed as an endangered species.
In 2010, Iceland's proposed quota in killing fin whales was much larger than the amount of Whale meat
Whale meat
Whale meat is the flesh of whales used for consumption by humans or other animals. It is prepared in various ways, and is historically part of the diet and cuisine of various communities that live near an ocean, including those of Japan, Norway, Iceland, and the Arctic...
the Japanese market could absorb. In negotiations with Marc Wall, Economic Minister-Counselor at the US embassy in Tokyo, Jun Yamashita of the Japanese Fisheries Agencies, however, rejected a proposal to suggest to Iceland to reduce the number of killed fin whales to a more reasonable number.
In March 2010, environmental organizations accused Iceland of illegally exporting whale meal to Denmark and Latvia. The Icelandic government later stated several shipments of fish meal were incorrectly labeled as whale meal. Then in April, 15 Greenpeace activists chained themselves to the mooring lines of the container ship, NYK Orion, in Rotterdam. The action was undertaken to stop a shipment of endangered Fin whale meat, from Iceland, destined for Japan. The activists unchained themselves after the meat was voluntarily unloaded by the shipping company. Hvalur shipped more than 600 tons of Fin whale meat to Japan in the first 9 months of 2010.
In November 2010, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke issued a statement criticizing Iceland for killing 273 Fin whales in two years in defiance of the moratorium on commercial whaling.
Production
Icelandic whaling can be divided among two producers according to the types of whales they hunt in the North Atlantic. The company, Hvalur H/F exclusively hunts endangered Fin whales for international export. Others hunt smaller Minke whales for domestic consumption.Hvalur H/F: Fin Whaling
The Icelandic company, Hvalur H/F, dates back to 1948 when it was established by the father of its current CEO, Kristján Loftsson. Loftsson first participated in the family whaling business in 1956 at the age of 13 as a scout on his father's boat.The company owns four catcher ships, although only two are currently in service, named Hvalur 6, 7, 8, and 9. When whales are spotted the catcher ships will engage in pursuit. A 90mm cannon with a grenade tipped harpoon is fired at the target whale. A rope is trailed from the harpoon in order to prevent the whale from being lost.
Each caught whale is secured to the side of a harpoon ship with rope and later towed to a shore station located at Hvalfjörður. Once at the shore station, ropes are used to winch the carcass ashore where workers use specialized tools to butcher the whale.
The Fin whale meat is exported to Japan. However, as a result of damage Japan sustained during the earthquake and tsunami in March, 2011, Hvalur H/F temporarily suspended hunting and work at the shore station.
Minke Whaling
The Hrefnuveiðimenn ehf (Icelandic Minke Whalers Association) and another whaling company, Útgerðarfélagið Fjörður ehf, carry out the coastal hunting of Minke whales for domestic consumption.Although the Minke whaling vessels also use harpoon cannons, due to the smaller size of Minke whales, the boats are able to haul a caught whale on deck where the crew will butcher the animal at sea.
Minke whale meat is sold in restaurants and markets within Iceland. However, a large percentage of the whale meat is actually eaten by tourists.
Scientific Permit Catches
| Year | Fin Whale Fin Whale The fin whale , also called the finback whale, razorback, or common rorqual, is a marine mammal belonging to the suborder of baleen whales. It is the second longest whale and the sixth largest living animal after the blue whale, bowhead whale, and right whales, growing to nearly 27 metres long... | Sei Whale Sei Whale The sei whale , Balaenoptera borealis, is a baleen whale, the third-largest rorqual after the blue whale and the fin whale. It inhabits most oceans and adjoining seas, and prefers deep offshore waters. It avoids polar and tropical waters and semi-enclosed bodies of water... | Minke Whale Minke Whale Minke whale , or lesser rorqual, is a name given to two species of marine mammal belonging to a clade within the suborder of baleen whales. The minke whale was given its official designation by Lacepède in 1804, who described a dwarf form of Balænoptera acuto-rostrata... | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 76 | 40 | 0 | 116 |
| 1987 | 80 | 20 | 0 | 100 |
| 1988 | 68 | 10 | 0 | 78 |
| 1989 | 68 | 0 | 0 | 68 |
| ... | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 37 |
| 2004 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 25 |
| 2005 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 39 |
| 2006 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 60 |
| 2007 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 39 |