At risk: Blue whale 

Blue whale fact sheet

Some 200 000 blue whales once swam the oceans of the world. Its enormous size was its downfall; the blue whale was sought out by whalers for the tremendous quantities of oil and meat that it provided. The blue whales of the Northwest Atlantic appear to be having difficulty recovering from the intensive hunting of the first half of the XX Century. Even though it is no longer hunted, other threats still weigh heavily against the recovery of this species. Less than 250 mature blue whales remain in the Northwest Atlantic. In 2002, considering the reduced numbers of blue whales in the Northwest Atlantic and low calving and recruitment rates, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) granted this population the highest status level: that of “endangered”. The blue whale is also on the United States' endangered species list by virtue of its own Endangered Species Act.

Recovery Plan

Since its designation as an endangered population, a team of experts has been working on developing a recovery plan. In this plan the recovery team will define factors that could potentially limit this population’s recovery. Experts in the United States issued their own recovery plan in 1998.

Whaling
Entrapment
Predation
Shipping traffic
Whale watching
Fishing
Pollution
Prey abundance and climate change

1.0 Determine stock structure of blue whale populations occurring in U.S. waters and elsewhere.
2.0 Estimate the size and monitor trends in abundance of blue whale populations.
3.0 Identify and protect habitat essential to the survival and recovery of blue whale populations.
4.0 Reduce or eliminate human-caused injury and mortality of blue whales.
5.0 Minimize detrimental effects of directed vessel interactions with blue whales.
6.0 Maximize efforts to acquire scientific information from dead, stranded and entangled blue whales.
7.0 Coordinate state, federal and international efforts to implement recovery actions for blue whales.
8.0 Establish criteria for deciding whether to delist or downlist blue whales.

Research projects

Through research, scientists are learning to better understand the biology of the blue whale, the threats that weigh upon this population and the actions that favour its recovery.

Who are the St. Lawrence blue whales?
What do blue whales do underwater?
Are Gulf of St. Lawrence rorqual whales contaminated?

Other links

Related current events

The blue whale and the right whale officially protected in Canada (27 January 2005)
Species at Risk Act: public consultations for addition of the blue whale (27 May 2004)
Fisheries and Oceans Canada to Regulate Whale-Watching Activities (12 June 2003)
Other current events

Questions for the researchers:

Richard Sears: Why are there so few young blue whales in the St. Lawrence River?
Martine Bérubé: Do rorqual whale hybrids exist?

 

“Portraits of whales” bulletin:

The Status of the Blue Whale (2002)

You may also wish to consult the Whale news network archives to read about encounters with this species.

Other species