by Leann Zotis

Created on: July 11, 2009   Last Updated: February 19, 2010

There are more than 80 species of whales identified in the oceans of the world today. Of those many species, certain whales are more highly prized for their value in the marketplace than others. One of the more popular and well known of whale species is the humpback whale. These whales are found in every ocean on earth. Whaling ships hunted the relatively small humpback whale until the population was virtually eliminated in the western North Pacific by the end of the 19th century. Whalers continued their search for the humpback in the North Pacific and Southern hemispheres, rapidly depleting their ranks there as well.

In 1966, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) issued a ban on commercial whaling of the humpback. When one species of whale is banned from hunting, the whaling industry simply sets its sights on another, allowable species.

The first large sized whale to be prized by the whaling industry is a species known as the Right Whale, originally named because it was the "right" whale to capture. The typical Right Whale weighs in at around 50 tons and has been found in every ocean at different times in history. The Right Whale has been targeted by the whaling industry as far back as the 9th century in the Bay of Biscay off Spain and France and in Japanese coastal waters in the 10th century. Again, this is a whale species hunted with such ferocity that its stock was severely depleted in the early 20th century. The ban on Right Whales has been in place since 1935.

Another popular big boy of the whaling world was the Bowhead Whale. Weighing somewhere in the vicinity of 60 tons, this slow swimmer was a relatively easy catch and a lucrative source of whale oil. Despite the near extinction level of this whale population, Bowhead Whales are still hunted by the Inuit people of Alaska under the terms of aboriginal subsistence.

The largest animal existing in the world today is the Blue Whale. At an average weight of 100 tons, this whale was highly prized and aggressively sought. The exploding harpoon gun, mounted on steam and diesel driven ships, helped whalers deplete this whale population at an astonishing rate. It has been estimated that 300,000 Blue Whales were taken in a 100 year period. The IWC banned the hunting of Blue Whales on a world wide basis in 1966.

Some species of whales only attracted the attention of  whalers after IWC bans forced them away from their preferred targets. The Minke Whale, at a healthy 8 tons, did not become a popular catch in the industry until such species as the Fin Whale were banned. Presently, the Minke Whale is still found in good supply throughout the world and it regularly targeted by whaling ships.

Modern methods of producing perfumes (once dependent on the ambergris of whales) and heating oils (from whale blubber) have greatly reduced the need for the products of the whaling industry.  Modern understanding and regulation over the critical elements of ecological sustainability in the environment have made whaling an all but prehistoric industry throughout most of the world.  Unregulated whaling is a thing of the past. Will it be in time to save some species of whales from extinction?  Only time will tell.

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