Endangered whales won't reach half of pre-hunting numbers by 2100, study says

Endangered whales won't reach half of pre-hunting numbers by 2100, study says

Populations of the endangered blue and fin whales, which were hunted nearly to extinction in the 20th century, will not have recovered to even half of their pre-whaling numbers by 2100, according to a new Australian study.

The research, published in the Fish and Fisheries journal next month, analysed 122 years of whaling data from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and current population survey data to project future population growth, based on predicted food availability in the southern oceans.

It found that three species – the Antarctic blue (Balaenoptera musculus intermedia), fin (Balaenoptera physalus) and southern right (Eubalaena australis) whales – will have recovered to less than half of their 19th-century numbers by the start of the 22nd century, despite bans on hunting those species being introduced in the 1960s, 1970s and 1930s respectively.
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