Whales

Whales
By LCS: Guide to Hockey

In honor of the Whale swimming out of Hartford, LCS wanted to present a swell report on the actual sea mammals themselves. The only thing was that when we sat down to write the article on the genuine gentle giants of the sea, it felt a little too much like homework. Bombarded with painful flashbacks of elementary school science reports gone horribly wrong, we couldn't bring ourselves to write an original piece about Whales. So we fell back on our old instincts from grammar school and did what any slacker punk would do... we just ripped off the encyclopedia.
Aw, c'mon, we all did it! I'm sure everyone out there remembers the time the whole class had to write a report on somethin' and, like, eight or nine kids came in the next day with identical papers, word for word. I mean, really, without encyclopedias the school system as we know it would come to a screeching halt.
So, while we're too stupid to write anything on Whales ourselves, that there Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia: 1997 Edition has mad knowledge. The following was lifted right from it with the same delinquent intent of a procrastinating sixth grader.
Please enjoy this fact-filled lesson on Whales, courtesy of the fine folks at Compton. And god bless encyclopedias, everyone...

Whales

It weighs as much as 20 elephants but lives beneath the sea. The blue whale is Earth's largest animal. Larger than the largest of ancient dinosaurs, blue whales can grow to be more than 100 feet (30 meters) long and weigh nearly 150 tons. Not all whales are so large. The much smaller pilot whale grows to about 28 feet (8.5 meters) in length. And dolphins, which belong to the whale family, range only from 3 to 13 feet (1 to 4 meters). Although whales spend their lives in the sea, they are, like humans, warm-blooded mammals. After a baby whale is born, it nurses on its mother's milk, just like the young of land mammals. Whales are members of the order Cetacea, along with dolphins, porpoises, and the narwhal (see Dolphin and Porpoise). There are two basic types of living cetaceans: baleen, or whalebone, whales of the scientific suborder Mysticeti; and toothed whales of the suborder Odontoceti.

General Characteristics

Whales live in all of the open seas of the world, though some occasionally enter coastal waters. Some species, such as the white whale, or beluga, may travel upstream in large rivers. Some species migrate with the seasons; others remain year-round in the same habitats, where they find their preferred food. The present-day distribution and abundance of some species has been greatly influenced by the commercial whaling industry. Whalers eliminated or greatly reduced the numbers of some species of baleen whales in certain oceanic regions where whales once frolicked in abundance. This is particularly true in parts of the Arctic Ocean and the eastern North Atlantic Ocean, where the blue whale was almost completely exterminated in the early 1900s. Some species of whales, however, are numerous today in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.
The skin of whales is usually black, gray, black and white, or all white. Some, such as the blue whale, have skin that is bluish-gray. The surface of the skin is smooth, but like other mammals, whales have hair. Hair first appears while the fetal whale is still developing inside its mother's womb. In adult whales, hair is confined primarily to a few bristles in the head region and is largely absent over most of the body. Whales that live in polar regions are insulated from the extreme cold by a layer of blubber, or fat, enveloping their bodies. Whales have the general bow shape of a fish, though in some whales the head is greatly enlarged. In a special adaptation to sea life, the hind limbs of whales have vanished completely and only internal vestiges of the pelvis remain. The forelimbs are made up of the same bones as those of other mammals but are shortened. The fingers have been greatly lengthened and enclosed in mittens of flesh, which form the flippers. Flippers are used not for swimming but for steering. The powerful tail ends in a pair of lobes, or flukes, which extend horizontally on either side instead of vertically, as do the fins of a fish's tail. The tail is notched in the middle. The whale swims by diagonal downward strokes of the flukes and by wavelike motion of the rear portion of the body.
Whales have lungs, not gills, so they must come to the surface of the ocean to breathe. The smaller whales can remain underwater for several minutes, and some of the larger species can dive for an hour or longer. The whalers' expression "thar she blows" pertains to the familiar spout of water seen when a whale surfaces. Whales have one or two nostrils, usually located at the top of the head. At the moment the whale comes to the surface and expels its breath through its blowhole, the moisture in the whale's breath quickly condenses, creating a "cloud" called the spout. After inhalation, the nostril automatically closes and the whale dives. Baleen whales typically have a pair of blowholes, whereas toothed whales have only one. The pattern and height of the spout of expelled air can be used to identify different species.
A thick blanket of fatty blubber, the source of oil for which whales are chiefly hunted, insulates the warm-blooded animal against cold seawater. Blubber also serves as a reserve of fat that provides nourishment.
The heads of whales vary greatly from the typical mammalian form. The head of a sperm whale is one third the length of the body and has a square snout and a lower jaw that is small and narrow, relative to the large upper portion of the head. During the evolution of whales into a marine existence a sort of telescoping of the skull occurred in many groups. This resulted in an elongation of the front nasal region, resulting in the beaked appearance found in many fossil and modern whale species.
The two suborders of modern whales are distinct from one another in the structure and function of the mouth parts. The mysticetes lack teeth, whereas most of the odontocetes have teeth that are uniform in shape. Some odontocetes, such as the sperm whale, have teeth only in the lower jaw. When teeth are present in both jaws, as is the case with the killer whale, the teeth lie side by side when the mouth is closed, rather than having surfaces that touch one another.
The general skeletal pattern of whales is similar to that of other mammals except for some important differences, such as the lack of noticeable hind limbs, which have been adapted for life in a marine habitat. Whales have fewer neck vertebrae than do most mammals; thus the whale appears to have no neck. This results in a body form that is more efficient for forward movement in an aquatic environment.
Some species of whales migrate long distances for purposes of breeding or of giving birth to young, called calves, or in response to seasonally changing food sources. Most reliable information available on whale migrations involves the commercially important, large species. However, even smaller forms inhabiting the temperate zones are known to move toward the poles during spring and toward the equator during autumn. Male sperm whales form "bachelor schools" that travel farther into the upper latitudes than do females with calves. A possible explanation is that the calves are unable to tolerate the colder waters near the poles. Some odontocetes in tropical areas move offshore during spring and summer and return to coastal areas during autumn and winter.
Baleen whales annually migrate up to 3,000 miles (4,800 kilometers) each way from feeding grounds in high latitudes in winter to calving grounds in lower latitudes during the warmer months. They rarely school, but when they do congregate, it is usually in breeding areas. The seasonal distribution and density of zooplankton, a main component of the whale diet, in various regions of the ocean are major factors influencing whale migration patterns.
Whether an individual migrates may depend upon a variety of factors, including its health, nutritional state, and reproductive condition, as well as local environmental conditions. During migration, many whales rely on their fat stores of blubber for energy.
Streamlined for fast movement through the water, whales are able to swim up to 35 miles per hour (30 knots, or 56 kilometers per hour). They spend most of their lives on the surface, but some species can dive at least a half mile (0.8 kilometer) in pursuit of food.
Individual behavior within the whale order has received widespread attention because dolphins and pilot whales are so easily trained and because of their ability to use echolocation (the process of producing high frequency sound waves that are reflected back from objects to the emitter, thus indicating the distance and direction of the objects). Most research conducted on whale populations in artificial pools gives limited insight into the natural behavior of individuals or groups. However, open ocean observations show that some whales are social, traveling in groups called schools, herds, pods, or gams.
Some species of small toothed whales are highly social, traveling in schools, and are apparently capable of engaging in simple communication with other members of the school. Sometimes a school appears to operate with the single purpose of capturing prey. This form of social cohesiveness appears to be much less strongly developed in the larger toothed whales and is entirely absent in the baleen whales.
Social organization of whales in their natural ocean habitat has been most thoroughly studied in the sperm whale. The basic social unit in sperm whales is the breeding school, which contains members of both sexes. Cohesive schools of 20 to 40 individuals are common, with females outnumbering males on average by 4 to 1. Some schools may be composed entirely of females, some of which have been known to remain together in a school for up to ten years. Schools of only males are also common, with the largest schools having as many as 50 immature and nonbreeding adolescent males.
Most of the other odontocete whales are less gregarious than the sperm whales. Beaked whales, seldom seen in groups of more than three, are the least social of the medium-sized toothed whales. Beluga whales form family groups of up to 20 individuals. The schooling behavior of baleen whales is considered to be primitive. They normally do not form cohesive schools when traveling or feeding, though several may be found in a particularly good feeding area at the same time. Groups of individuals of a species may travel together during migrations, but the numbers are ordinarily small (usually fewer than a half dozen) and the association among the members of a school is weak. The popularized behavior of dolphins coming to the aid of an injured individual of their species is not a widespread phenomenon among whales as a group. Mother whales, however, will help a newborn calf remain at the surface to breathe because this is essential to the young animal's survival. Also, male gray and humpback whales have been observed to remain with an injured female who may be carrying the male's offspring, but males will not assist other injured males. Females also show no apparent concern for an injured male. Thus, the individual behavior of whales in a social context is not strikingly different from that of other mammals.
Like dolphins and porpoises, some whales can be playful. Pilot whales have been observed swimming on their backs or resting vertically in the water with their head down and tails sticking up into the air. Other forms of behavior characterized as play include rubbing of each other's genitals and balancing wood or other objects on the fins. Some of the dolphins and smaller whales will ride in the wave created by the bow of a moving boat, presumably a form of play.
Whales sometimes swim into very shallow water and become stranded on the beach. This phenomenon is called beaching, or stranding. When a whale is onshore it is helpless. Its heartbeat accelerates and its body becomes overheated very rapidly. Without the support of water a whale cannot move and its lungs may be crushed by the weight of its body. If not returned to the water immediately, a beached whale eventually dies. In addition, it is often impossible for humans to coax a beached whale back into the ocean. Stranded whales that are rolled back into the ocean generally suffer broken ribs, abraded skin, and pressure damage to their internal organs. If the animals are towed out to sea, all or many of them return to shore at a different site and die. Pilot whales are the species of whale most likely to exhibit beaching behavior. It is seldom that only one whale will become beached. Mass beachings and deaths often occur. As soon as a whale becomes beached, it sounds a distress call for assistance that is understood by others of its species. Thus other whales may also become beached when attempting to help the whale in distress.
The explanation for beaching behavior has not been resolved by scientists. There are several possible reasons for the strandings. The most probable explanation is a malfunctioning or disturbance of the whale's echolocation process. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that baleen whales, which do not use echolocation, seldom become stranded. There are certain sites along whale migration routes where beaching is more common than at other sites. Scientists speculate that these sites may be absorbing the echolocation signals that the whales emit. Loud, upsetting sounds such as underwater explosions or magnetic disturbances in the ocean have also been blamed for mass strandings. Another plausible explanation for whale strandings seems to be disease. Seventeen diseases have been identified in beached whales. The diseases are caused by a wide range of agents, including parasites, bacteria, viruses, and worms. Worms, for example, have been known to attack the echolocation organs of whales, which could cause a whale to become beached. Whales produce two basic types of underwater sounds that presumably serve two different purposes. Low-pitched signals, such as barks, whistles, screams, and moans, are audible to humans and are believed to be used in social communication. Other sounds are brief clicks of high intensity that have a wide range in frequency, with some sounds having more than ten times the highest frequency audible to humans. These sounds are used for purposes of echolocation. Echolocation has been widely recognized in the odontocetes, especially the dolphins, as a means of navigating and of locating and identifying food sources. The sounds used in echolocation are produced within the head, but the exact mechanism of production is unknown.

Baleen Whales

The baleen whales include the family of right whales, Balaenidae, so named because whalers considered them "just right"--easy to kill and full of oil and whalebone. Among these are the black right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) of both northern and southern seas. Scientists believe that those in the western North Atlantic may be gradually increasing in numbers. However, populations in the eastern North Atlantic and in both the eastern and western North Pacific show no signs of recovery, and only a few remain in each area. An estimated 1,500 to 3,000 occur in the southern oceans, with little evidence of a significant increase in population sizes in most areas. Some scientists place the southern right whale in a separate species: E. australis. Black right whales reach lengths of 70 feet (21 meters) and are black on the upper body. The underside is sometimes paler in color. The baleen plates in the mouth may be more than 8 feet (2.4 meters) long.
The pygmy right whale (Caperea marginata) is circumpolar (found in all polar regions) in the oceans of the southern hemisphere. This small, gray whale with a light-colored belly normally reaches a length of less than 20 feet (6 meters). About 2,500 individuals of the bowhead, or Greenland, right whale (Balaena mysticetus) are believed to be in existence. The bowhead whale, once circumpolar in the Arctic seas, may now be extinct in the European Arctic and is found in numbers estimated as low as 50 in the Arctic Ocean around the northern-most Canadian islands. The greatest numbers are found in the Arctic Ocean around Barrow, Alaska, where the species was almost eliminated in earlier times. Bowhead whales are usually found in the vicinity of ice. They have extremely large heads, which may be more than half the total body length, that are sometimes used to lift sheets of ice. Bowhead whales reach lengths of 65 feet (20 meters) and have dark gray to black bodies with white on the lower jaw and on the tail. Bowhead whales have baleen plates that measure up to 13 feet (4 meters) in length.
The gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus), placed in a separate family (Eschrichtidae) from other baleens, is found in the eastern portion of the North Pacific. The estimated population size is assumed to be stable at approximately 11,000 individuals, although estimates range from 7,000 to 15,000. A population once found in the North Atlantic is believed to have become extinct. Gray whales reach lengths of 45 feet (14 meters) and weights of more than 35 tons. They are usually dark gray with lighter colored blotches on the body. Gray whales have no fin on their backs.
Another family (Balaenopteridae) of baleens are the rorquals, a Norwegian term meaning "furrow whales" that refers to the deep folds or pleats found on the throat, chest, or belly. These furrows allow the whale to expand the throat and body to accommodate large amounts of food during a single feeding. All rorquals also have a small fin located on the rear of the back. The rorquals include the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), of which 3,000 to 5,000 are estimated to exist. The species is found in all of the world's oceans. Humpback whales have black bodies and white undersides. They reach lengths of 50 feet (15 meters) and have long, slender flippers that are almost one third the length of the body.
The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus), originally found in all of the oceans, is the largest animal to have ever lived. Whalers have reported colossal specimens over 100 feet (30 meters) long and weighing up to 150 tons. The young, born in April or May, measure 23 to 25 feet (7 to 7.6 meters) at birth. They reach a length of 60 feet (18 meters) by the end of their first summer. They are blue-gray on the upper surfaces, with pale yellow or white undersides. Estimates of the number of blue whales range from as low as 7,000 to as high as 13,000. However, the total numbers are greatly reduced in all areas from those prior to the first whaling expeditions. The species is considered to be almost extinct in the eastern North Atlantic. A few hundred individuals of a smaller form of the same species, known as the pygmy blue whale, live in the Indian Ocean.
The fin, or finback, whale (Balaenoptera physalus) occurs worldwide, however, it is primarily at home in subpolar and temperate regions. As many as 30,000 are estimated to be in oceans of the northern hemisphere, and more than 70,000 have been reported sighted in southern oceans. Finback whales reach lengths of 70 feet (21 meters) and are about 22 feet (7 meters) long at birth. They are dark gray or black above with a white belly. The minke, or lesser piked, whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) is found in large numbers in most oceans. As many as 50,000 have been reported sighted in the eastern North Atlantic, and some estimates as high as 380,000 have been given for the southern oceans. These whales are smaller than the other rorquals, reaching lengths of only 30 feet (9 meters). The upper surface of the body is a bluish-gray and the undersides are white. The upper side of the flipper has a white band.
The sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis) is found in relatively high numbers in all oceans, with the total number estimated at more than 100,000. It reaches lengths of more than 50 feet (15 meters).
Bryde's whale (Balaenoptera edeni) is found in all warm water oceans, with the total number estimated to be more than 88,000. This species is bluish gray above with white undersides. It reaches lengths of 49 feet (15 meters). Toothed Whales
The toothed whales include more than 65 species in six different families. Among these are the true dolphins (family Delphinidae), which includes the pilot whales (genus Globicephala) and the killer whale (Orcinus orca), largest of the oceanic dolphins. Killer whales prefer coastal waters to the open ocean. They hunt in schools and, though relatively small at 30 feet (9 meters), will attack other whales two or three times their size. Two other families include the true porpoises (Phocoenidae), which are marine species, and the river dolphins (Platanistidae), consisting of six species of primarily freshwater or estuarine forms. The remaining three families are the sperm whales (Physeteridae), the beaked whales and bottlenosed whales (Ziphiidae), and the white whales and narwhal (Monodontidae). The sperm whale, or cachalot, (Physeter catodon), vividly described in Herman Melville's novel 'Moby Dick', is the largest carnivorous animal on Earth. Males grow much larger than females and reach a length of 60 feet (18 meters) and 53 tons. Females seldom attain lengths of more than 30 feet. Sperm whales have a flat-topped, almost square-fronted, head, which is one third the total length of the entire body. The thin lower jaw, shorter than the snout, is armed with strong, pointed, ivory-like teeth, more than 8 inches (20 centimeters) long. Sperm whales are found in all oceans, and, though the species has been heavily hunted, most populations are considered stable. More than half a million sperm whales are estimated to exist. Although traditionally included with the other toothed whales, genetic analyses suggest that sperm whales are actually more closely related to the mysticetes than to the odontocetes.
The family of beaked whales includes 19 species, most of which are characterized by having only one or two pairs of functional teeth in the lower jaw and only vestigial, or largely diminished, teeth in the upper jaw. Shepherd's beaked whale (Tasmacetus shepherdi), with 90 teeth, is an exception. The snout of beaked whales is greatly elongated, giving the impression that these whales have beaks. They have a small fin on the back and a pair of small flippers that are located far forward on the sides. Beaked whales range in color from dark gray to black. Some have whitish undersides and white on the dorsal fin, beak, or other parts of the body, depending on the species. Most species in the family attain lengths of 15 to 28 feet (5 to 9 meters), but Baird's beaked whale (Berardius bairdii) may reach lengths of 42 feet (13 meters).
Beaked whales are found in all oceans of the world, though some species are restricted in distribution. Two species of bottlenosed whales, Hyperoodon ampullatus, and H. palnifrons, are confined to temperate and polar regions of the North Atlantic and southern oceans, respectively. The southern bottlenosed whale (Berardius arnuxii) is found in temperate regions of the southern oceans. Shepherd's beaked whale has a circumpolar distribution in the southern hemisphere.
Most beaked whales belong to the genus Mesoplodon, a poorly known group. Sowerby's beaked whale (M. bidens) is found only in temperate waters of the North Atlantic. The ginko-toothed beaked whale (Mesoplodon ginkodens) is restricted to warmer waters in the Indo-Pacific, and was not described by scientists until 1958. The arch-beaked whale (M. carlhubbsi), of the temperate regions of the North Pacific, was not described until 1963. All of the newly discovered species of whales described in the 20th century have been toothed whales. Six of the new species belong to the genus Mesoplodon. A new species of beaked whale (Mesoplodon peruvianus) was described in 1991 on the basis of ten specimens found along the coast of Peru over a 15-year period. This was the first new species of whale described since the description of the arch-beaked whale in 1963. In contrast, the last species of the commercially prized baleen whales, Bryde's whale, was described in 1878. Most of the new species of whales reported since the 1800s have been described from individuals washed ashore or captured incidentally in nets. The beluga, or white whale (Delphinapterus leucas), lives primarily in the Arctic Ocean and the adjoining seas, including the Bering Sea, the Sea of Okhotsk, Hudson Bay, and the St. Lawrence river estuary. Belugas are bluish gray as juveniles, but the entire body of adults is white. These whales reach lengths of up to 14 feet (4 meters). Belugas have a total of 32 to 40 small teeth that are found in both the upper and lower jaws and have no dorsal fin.
The narwhal (Monodon monoceros) is a circumpolar species restricted to Arctic seas. Like the belugas, young narwhals are bluish gray. However, the adults are gray on the upper surfaces with a mottling of darker spots and are white underneath. They may reach lengths of 12 feet (4 meters). Narwhals do not have functional teeth, except for the adult male, in which the left tooth of a pair grows into a long, spiraling tusk that may reach a length of 9 feet (3 meters). The tusk of the male narwhal serves as a weapon or, like horns and antlers in other mammals, may serve to communicate dominance or be used for territorial display.
Some scientists place a third species, the Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris), in the same family with the beluga and the narwhal. The Irrawaddy dolphin is found from coastal areas of northern Australia to the east coast of India.

Evolution

Recent studies based on genetic sequences have confirmed that all cetaceans were derived from a single ancestral stock and are closely related to the hoofed mammals in the order Artiodactyla, made up of the even-toed mammals, such as cattle, deer, and camels. Nevertheless, the evolutionary origin of whales remains controversial among zoologists. The oldest fossils clearly recognizable as primitive whales were discovered in the Eocene epoch excavation layer of sites in Nigeria and Egypt. These early forms are placed in an extinct suborder (Archaeoceti) known as zeuglodonts. Whether they are the ancestors of either modern suborder is a matter of conjecture. The largest archaeocete was Basiolsaurus, a whale from the late Eocene epoch that reached a length of almost 70 feet (20 meters). (For relative dates of the various eras, epochs, and periods see Earth.)
Authorities disagree on how closely related the extinct zeuglodonts and the two groups of modern whales are. Based on the limited fossil evidence, many experts have favored the theory that the modern forms arose independently from separate terrestrial (land-based) ancestors, a scenario called polyphyletic origin. However, some authorities argue that the two modern groups had a common ancestor, perhaps diverging from zeuglodonts early in the Tertiary period, a scenario called monophyletic origin. Studies indicate that the chromosomal structure of baleen and toothed whales is very similar, supporting the monophyletic theory.
The progression from a terrestrial existence to a marine one resulted in inevitable changes in form and function. Fossil evidence is available to show the progression of certain bodily features. A streamlined body shape is apparent in early Eocene epoch fossils, and the nares, or nostrils, had moved from the anterior (frontal part) of the head to a more dorsal position (on the back) by the middle of the Eocene epoch. Tail flukes are known to have been present during the late Eocene epoch, by which time dental forms had begun to become specialized. The first difference in skull shapes of the odontocetes and mysticetes is apparent in early Oligocene epoch fossils. Baleen plates in the mouth had evolved by the late Oligocene epoch. Presumably, various physiological mechanisms for handling oxygen debt and lactic acid buildup as well as the development of blubber for fat storage and for temperature regulation evolved early, though evidence of the evolutionary history is unavailable.
Determination of genetic relationships among the modern whales has been based on the fossil record, chromosomal comparisons, and scientific opinion regarding the importance of various traits and anatomical characteristics. The true ancestry and lines of divergence are uncertain for many of the living families. However, most scientists agree that the earliest ancestors of whales originated about 70 million years ago in the late Cretaceous or early Tertiary period. The ancestors presumably evolved from a land-based existence to an amphibious one and eventually entered the marine environment.
The earliest fossils known to be toothed whales are from Eocene epoch sediments. Most modern families can be traced back to the Miocene epoch, but the ancestral relationships are uncertain. Members of the extinct family Squalodontidae were abundant from the middle Oligocene epoch through much of the Miocene epoch, finally disappearing in the Pliocene epoch.
Baleen whales descended from an ancestor with teeth. The extinct family Cetotheridae, abundant from the Oligocene epoch through the Miocene epoch, belonged to the suborder Mysticeti, but whether early members of this family are direct ancestors of the modern families is a hotly debated topic. Fossils from the Pliocene and Miocene epochs are assignable to the families of right whales and rorquals, suggesting that they diverged into separate lines during late the Oligocene epoch. Fossil representatives of gray whales are known only as recently as the Pleistocene epoch.

History of Whaling

Archaeological evidence suggests that primitive whaling, by Inuit and others in the North Atlantic and North Pacific, was practiced by 3000 BC and has continued in remote cultures to the present. The primitive quarry were small, easily beached whales or larger specimens that came close to shore during seasonal migrations from polar feeding grounds to breed in sheltered bays. The Japanese used nets, and the Aleuts used poisoned spears. The Inuit successfully hunted large whales from skin boats, employing toggle-headed harpoons attached by hide ropes to inflated sealskin boats. In Europe, the Nordic people hunted small whales, and Icelandic laws dealt with whaling in the 13th century. The forerunners of commercial whaling were the Basques, who caught black right whales as the animals gathered to breed in the Bay of Biscay. When seaworthy oceangoing ships were built in the late 14th century, the Basques set off in search of other whaling bays and found them across the Atlantic in southern Labrador. Drafting Basque whalers for its Arctic explorations, the English Muscovy Company initiated the exploitation of whaling bays in Spitsbergen, Norway, in 1610. The Dutch followed immediately, and broke the English monopoly, which had already stifled native competition. Smeerenburg ("Blubbertown"), a Dutch whaling village, was built on Spitsbergen after 1619.
Smeerenburg shut down in the 1660s, and Dutch and German whalers navigated the open sea until their activity collapsed in the 1780s. At that point Britain, in order to support its industrial revolution, took over as the principal European whaling nation. During the great age of early commercial whaling in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the chief vessels used to capture whales were relatively light double-ended rowing boats. A crew of only six men put off in pursuit of a whale with hand harpoons and a coiled line to "play" the whale, which was killed with a hand lance when it was sufficiently exhausted. American boats were usually only 30 feet (9 meters) long and made of cedar, while the British boats were stronger.
Both northern and southern commercial whaling entered a period of severe decline around 1860. The United States fleet of over 700 vessels declined rapidly, owing partially to overfishing but principally to the discovery, in Pennsylvania in 1859, of petroleum, which replaced whale oil in the lamps and candles of America. The Dutch fleet had collapsed early in the century. The British Arctic fleet was devastated in the 1830s and 1840s by overfishing and ice and by the introduction of vegetable oil, steel-boned corsets, and gas-fired lamps. Residual activity, however, continued in the South Pacific and Davis Strait, in the northern Atlantic Ocean, until the eve of World War I. After World War II, so important was whale oil to the fat rations of Europe that a wave of newer, larger factories and more powerful diesel-engined ships was built, backed up by airplanes, helicopters, and support shipping. In about 1962, with no more concentrations of large whales, the commercial expeditions from Europe withdrew and left whaling chiefly to the Soviets and Japanese. Even this was doomed to failure. By the 1980s the international whale trade was dead, though small-scale whaling continued.

Conservation

For centuries whales have been hunted for their meat, which has been used as food for humans as well as other animals. Europeans used harpoons to kill whales from whaling boats at least ten centuries ago. By the 1600s most of the coastal countries had major permanent whaling operations in the Arctic, where several of the larger species were once abundant. In the late 1800s the invention of the explosive harpoon gave whalers an added advantage in capturing the faster and more powerful species. In the early 20th century, whale factory ships began to accompany the harpoon boats in order to process the whales in a commercially efficient manner. More than 50,000 whales a year were killed by whaling operations during some years in the mid-1900s, before restrictions and enforcement became effective. However, a few nations still permit whaling operations, which now use underwater sonar, helicopter spotters, and powerboats to find and kill their prey.
Whales provided a variety of products of use to humans besides food. Whale oil was first used as lamp fuel and as a lubricant. Later uses included the making of glycerin, soaps, creams, and margarine. Whale oil was also used in the paint, varnish, and printing-ink industries.
A waxy material known as spermaceti, which fills the head cavity of the sperm whale, has been used to make cosmetic creams, ointments, and candy. Spermaceti is a crystalline form of oil in the sperm whale and was erroneously believed by early whalers to be coagulated semen. Ambergris is an oily substance formed in the intestines of some, presumably diseased, sperm whales. Ambergris is used as a fixative in making perfume.
A by-product of the whaling industry was scrimshaw, whalebone or whale teeth that were intricately carved or engraved. Sometimes the carvings or engravings were highlighted by brushing ink into the engraved or carved lines. Cribbage boards, walking canes, and snuffboxes made from whalebone were often adorned with scrimshaw. About two dozen countries have engaged in commercial whaling at one time or another. But because of the decline in the demand for whale products and the threat of endangering many whale species, most have stopped their whaling expeditions.
In 1937 the International Whaling Agreement was signed by the whaling nations in an attempt to conserve whales. The agreement placed minimum length restrictions on whales taken and established a three-month whaling season. The number of whaling vessels per country was also limited. However, some authorities consider these initial regulations to have been politically and commercially motivated rather than a sincere effort to protect whales.
In 1946 the International Whaling Commission (IWC) was established to set up the guidelines followed by whaling nations today. The sizes, kinds, locations, and seasons of catches are controlled. However, strong international politics came into play, and some nations steadfastly voted against, or even ignored, restrictions that were not economically advantageous. The limitations were passed almost too late for the blue whale, which had already declined to dangerously low numbers in all oceans. The once large populations of blue whales in the eastern North Atlantic were almost brought to extinction. Today, fewer than 500, and possibly as few as 100, are found there. In 1971 the United States declared all commercially exploited whales endangered species and made it illegal to import any whale products. The United States lists the blue, bowhead, finback, gray, humpback, right, sei, and sperm whales as endangered species.
During the 1970s a movement to eliminate all whaling operations began within the IWC. In October 1985 the nations belonging to the IWC imposed a moratorium on commercial whaling. However, Iceland, South Korea, Norway, Japan, and the Soviet Union continued to hunt whales. (In June 1992 Iceland withdrew from the IWC.) Since the IWC moratorium includes a clause that allows whales to be taken for scientific purposes, it is difficult for the IWC to regulate a member who declares a whaling operation to be for scientific research. Some authorities strongly believe that whale populations continue to be threatened by commercial exploitation.
This article was written in part and critically reviewed and updated by J. Whitfield Gibbons, Senior Research Ecologist and Professor of Zoology, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia.
FURTHER RESOURCES FOR WHALE
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