Threatened species of Balaenoptera acutorostrata
Name(s):
Threatened species of Minke whale
Piked whale
Nature
***.
Background
Some scientists identify three geographically isolated populations of Minke whales that may be separate subspecies: [Balaenoptera acutorostrata acutorostrata] (North Atlantic); [Balaenoptera acutorostrata bonarensis] (southern hemisphere); [Balaenoptera acutorostrata davidsonii] (North Pacific).
Minke whales are distributed throughout all oceans. In the North Atlantic and the western North Pacific especially they have been badly depleted. In the Southern Ocean, Minke whales are thought to be not far below their pre-whaling numbers.
Incidence
In the North Atlantic the International Whaleing Commission (IWC) agrees the population is depleted to below 54% of its original level and should be protected. The latest (1995) unofficial estimate is around 60,000. Norway is currently catching around 300 minke whales a year in the North atlantic under their objection to the IWC moratorium. The estimated Global population for Minke whale is between 610,000 and 1,284,000.
Type
(S) Suspect problems