While it may seem obvious today, it wasn’t always clear to scientists and everyday people that humankind could, with persistence, destroy an entire species, such as whales. Humans have somewhat developed themselves into “ecological exploiters” of species for their short-term benefits. To many, it was unthinkable that any creature could disappear off the planet, much less one as large and crucial as the whale.
Luckily and unluckily, today we know that there is no force that is preserving balance in our world. Our actions have consequences and thankfully, worldwide changes in hunting, polluting, drilling, and military practices have started to make the ocean a safer place for whales and other marine mammals to live and breed.
Before discussing why whales are endangered, it’s important to understand that it’s not just one kind of whale that has reached the edge of extinction. From blue, grey, and bowhead whales, to beluga and sperm whales, the world’s entire whale population is at risk. There are numerous threats to the world’s whale population. At the top of the list are human-caused climate change and commercial whaling.
Some Notable Endangered Whale Species
While many whale populations are decreasing, Bowhead and Humpback whale populations are increasing. But here are some of the most endangered species:
Rice’s Whale (Balaenoptera ricei)
- Location: Gulf of Mexico
- Number: Only 50-100 individuals remaining; this is the most critically endangered whale species
- Threats: Noise pollution, shipping strikes, and continuing oil and gas development
North Atlantic Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis)
- Location: Eastern United States
- Number: Fewer than 350 individuals left; this is the second most endangered whale species
- Threats: At risk of becoming caught in fishing gear and drowning (called “entanglement”), shipping strikes, and the impacts of climate change on the ocean
Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus)
- Location: All oceans except the Arctic
- Number: Up to 15,000 individuals
- Threats: climate change. Increasing ocean temperatures are decreasing populations of krill (a main food source), shipping strikes, and entanglement
Sei Whale (Balaenoptera borealis)
- Location: Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans
- Number: over 50,000 individuals (IUCN red list)
- Threats: Ocean pollution from toxic chemicals and plastic
Whaling and Illegal Hunting
Although it may seem hard to believe, despite a ban on commercial whaling and the products that hunters, traders, and buyers try to distribute and purchase, over 1,000 whales are killed each year.
In 2022, 1364 whales were killed worldwide.
The three biggest offenders are Iceland, Norway, and Japan. The latter has gained some notoriety for its “scientific” hunting boats that are used as a cover for hunting whales for food.
The International Whaling Commission was established under the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling to provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and orderly development of the whaling industry. It is charged with regulating whaling and addressing the vast number of other threats to whales, dolphins, and porpoises in our oceans such as shipping, climate change, and bycatch.
Japan Continues Commercial Whale Hunting
Unfortunately, the IWC (International Whaling Commission) has no control over what Japan does or does not do in its own waters. In July of 2019, Japan admitted that it was going to return to commercial whale hunting in addition to its “research”. This was after the country was unable to convince the IWC that it is possible to hunt whales sustainably, something scientists believe is untenable due to the continued instability of the population. Despite this terrible news, Japan is confined to its own waters and can no longer hunt in Antarctica as it did while it was a member of the IWC and under the guise of researching whale populations.
Norway and Iceland – Contributors to the Crisis
Surprisingly or not, around the same period that Japan pulled out of the IWC, a study found that Norway is killing more whales than Japan or Iceland. The country has continued to ignore the moratorium on whale hunting and has, in fact, increased its quota to hunt 1,278 whales in 2018.
Iceland is one of three countries, alongside Japan and Norway, that continue whaling, violating the 1986 International Whaling Commission (IWC) moratorium. Recently, Icelandic whaling company Hvalur hf. killed one or two endangered blue hybrid whales, a mix of fin and blue whales, using exploding harpoons that cause significant suffering. The whale meat processed in Iceland is shipped to Japan for consumption.
The USSR Kick-Started the Whale Extinction
The USSR began pelagic whaling in the North Pacific with the ship Aleut in June 1933, continuing through the 1967 season. Afterward, four more Soviet factory ships conducted operations in the North Pacific until the last season in 1979. The primary areas for illegal catches were various parts of the South Atlantic, the Indian Ocean (including the western Arabian Sea), and the southwestern Pacific.
Soviet whaling fleets initiated search and catcher operations immediately after leaving the Red Sea or passing through Gibraltar or Portuguese waters. The Soviets killed 12,896 blue whales in the Southern Hemisphere, including over 9,200 unreported pygmy blue whales after the IWC granted protected status to both subspecies by the 1965/1966 season.
Habitat Loss and Destruction
Whales and dolphins depend on critical ocean habitats for feeding, mating, birthing, nursing, socializing, and migrating. However, these essential areas are increasingly threatened by human activities such as intense fishing, increased shipping, offshore oil and gas exploration, and marine-based tourism.
Climate change, coastal construction, and water contamination further exacerbate these risks. Despite the vital importance of these habitats, only a tiny fraction are protected from such threats, leading to significant habitat loss and degradation for cetaceans.
In addition to hunting, the warming of Arctic and Antarctic waters is contributing to a change in whale habitats. With the loss of sea ice, animals move, plants grow differently, and currents can change. This is something that, of course, affects more than just whales. These animals, along with many others, are forced to migrate longer distances than previously necessary in order to find food for themselves and their babies.
Climate Change
Climate change is a significant threat to whales and dolphins, leading to habitat loss, increased competition for prey, and disruptions in migration, distribution, and reproduction patterns. Rapid warming is expected to be a primary cause of mass extinctions in the 21st century, affecting these marine species profoundly.
Unless radical actions are taken, some whale and dolphin populations may struggle to adapt quickly enough to survive. For instance, species in the northern Indian Ocean face limited options to move northwards into cooler habitats as waters warm.
Pollution
Unfortunately, there are more human practices that are putting whales at risk. Pollution of the oceans with runoff and material waste can be deadly, specifically, the ingestion of debris and trash dumps. Plastic Pollution is the deadliest predator in the sea that impact these ocean giants. Plastic is either ingested by whales or cause their entanglement.
One of the most harmful forms of marine plastic pollution is abandoned, lost, or discarded fishing gear, known as “ghost gear.” Plastic-based fishing nets and ropes account for about 10% of the world’s ocean plastic pollution. Each year, 300,000 whales, dolphins, and porpoises become entangled in these nets and lines, leading to slow and painful deaths from suffocation, starvation, or exhaustion.
Oil and gas along with the use of various ships (recreational, commercial, and others), as well as noise pollution are also problematic. Noise pollution in the ocean (from human activity such as shipping, oil exploration, and sonar) damages their hearing and disrupts normal behaviors such as feeding, reproduction, and social behavior.
Ship Strikes
NGO World Sustainable Organization has launched a certification campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of ship strikes, which pose a significant threat to whales and could drive highly endangered subspecies to extinction. The 1.3 million whales left in our oceans face increasing shipping traffic, impacting their feeding and breeding areas.
Ship strikes, collisions between vessels and marine creatures, present an even graver but less measurable threat. Many whales are found with injuries consistent with vessel impacts, often going unnoticed and unreported. Sue Fisher, policy director at Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society North America, highlights the difficulty in assessing the full impact as many affected whales are never found.
For critically endangered populations like the North Atlantic right whale, which inhabits the busy waters off the USA and Canada’s east coast, ship strikes may be a critical factor in their survival. Scientific studies show that a small shift in the current international shipping lane by just 15 nautical miles to the south would reduce the risk of ship strikes with blue whales by a staggering 95%.
Other Threats
Whales are endangered by a combination of prey depletion, diseases, and parasites. Overfishing and climate change reduce their food sources, leading to malnutrition and lower reproductive success. Environmental stressors and pollutants weaken their immune systems, making them more susceptible to fatal diseases like morbillivirus. Parasites further drain their energy and cause infections, compounding the negative effects of poor nutrition and weakened health. These interconnected threats create a vicious cycle, significantly endangering whale populations. Effective conservation efforts must address these issues holistically to ensure whale survival.
More About the Whale…
Status: Endangered
Population: Around 400 North Atlantic right whales remain; numbers of other species vary from 10,000-90,000
Scientific taxonomy: Infraorder Cetacea, Order Artiodactyla, Class Mammalia
Weight: 20-200 tons
Length: Between 45-100 ft.; the blue whale can grow over 100 feet long and weigh up to 200 tons—equivalent to 33 elephants.
Habitats: Oceans across the globe but prefer colder waters around the North and South poles
- Communication: Whales, found across all oceans, communicate through intricate and enigmatic sounds.
- Mammals: Despite being aquatic creatures, whales require air to breathe and, like humans, are warm-blooded mammals that nurse their offspring.
- Protection from the cold: A layer of fat known as blubber helps insulate them from the cold ocean.
- Diet: Some whales, like the blue, right, bowhead, sei, and gray whales, are classified as baleen whales due to the bristle-like baleen structures in their mouths, which filter food from the water. Others, like the beluga or sperm whales, have teeth for hunting prey.
Why Do Whales Matter?
Whales are a critical part of ocean ecosystems. They are the largest animal, and rightly occupy a place at the top of the food chain. If you can’t appreciate them for their sheer beauty, grace, and power, it’s important to know that they also play a critical role in removing carbon from the atmosphere, approximately 33 tons of carbon dioxide on an average year.
Whales play a crucial role in combating climate change through their contributions to the marine ecosystem. Their feeding, excretion, migration, and diving activities, known as the ‘whale pump,’ circulate essential nutrients throughout the ocean.
This supports healthy marine ecosystems and promotes the growth of phytoplankton, which sequesters large amounts of carbon from the atmosphere. Whales help sustain fish stocks and contribute up to 50% of our oxygen.
Unfortunately, for some, the only value whales have is what they can provide, from meat to traditional Medicinals.
Marine Conservation Groups
There are many wonderful conservation organizations on the front lines, fighting back against Japanese, Norwegian, and Icelandic whale hunters as well as the causes of climate change. One of the biggest and best-known organizations is the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society which gained fame as the focus of the show Whale Wars. Their stated mission is to “end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world’s oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species”. They are known for their policy of direct action. This means that they actively try to expose illegal behavior, confront Japanese whaling vessels, and put themselves between the ships and the whales.
WWF is working on an exciting new initiative to promote the conservation of whales and dolphins around the world. The Protecting Whales and Dolphins Initiative focuses on whales and dolphins in marine environments and centers around three main pillars of activities:
1) Improved monitoring and mitigation of bycatch in fishing gear.
2) Reduction of underwater noise and collision risks from shipping.
3) Improved protection of critical cetacean habitats used for feeding, breeding, resting, or migration.
They collaborate with other international organizations, providing evidence and tools for other conservation partners to tackle threats and harmful practices, and advocacy that includes targeted awareness raising and communication campaigns with governments and industries
“Effective networks of marine protected areas can ensure that ocean life from giant whales to tiny krill can thrive free from pressure of overfishing while improving resilience to climate change.”
Chris Johnson, Global Lead WWF Protecting Whales & Dolphins Initiative
Another popular organization takes a different approach, the group Save the Whales has the following mission statement: “To persevere and protect the ocean and its inhabitants.” This group works to educate and teach young people about the importance of marine ecosystems.
Other groups include Oceanic Preservation Society, Dolphin Project, American Cetacean Society, Ocean Alliance, and Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society are working day and night for the cause.
Conservration Regulations
All marine mammals are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Some are also protected under the Endangered Species Act and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
With some exceptions, the MMPA prohibits the “take” of marine mammals—including harassment, hunting, capturing, collecting, or killing—in U.S. waters and by U.S. citizens on the high seas. The act also makes it illegal to import marine mammals and marine mammal products into the United States without a permit.
The Endangered Species Conservation Act 1969 followed by The Endangered Species Act of 1973 provides a framework to conserve and protect endangered and threatened species and their habitats both domestically and abroad.
