EFFECT OF WORLD WHALING ON THE POPULATION OF LARGE WHALES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80B01439R000500110022-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 14, 2000
• Sequence Number: 22
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release2001/03/04: CIA-RDP80B01439R 00500110022-3
Effect of World Whaling on the Population
of Large Whales
1. The major whaling areas of the world are the
northern Pacific and the Antarctic. Only Japan, the
USSR and Norway still operate whaling fleets in these
waters. Although the world whale catch has been regu-
lated to some extent by international agreements since
1932, modern methods of catching and processing whales
have led to their severe decimation.
2. The largest whales, the blue, sperm, humpback,
fin and sei whales, have nearly disappeared from the
north Pacific and are being rapidly depleted in the
Antarctic. In particular, the humpback and blue whales
are approaching extinction.
3. The International Whaling Commission* (IWC) has
been charged since 1946 with regulating the whale catch
in order to protect and ensure the growth of stocks.
The Commission has not been successful in maintaining an
overall catch limit in the Antarctic. The overall catch
has been declining in recent years not so much because
of regulation as because of a reduction in stocks. In
the 1961/62 whaling season, the overall world catch of
large whales listed above amounted to 60,090 according
to official data of the whaling nations (see Table 1).
By the 1966/67 season the catch had fallen to 51,593
whales. In this time span the catch of blue whales de-
clined from 1,255 to 70 and the catch of humpbacked
whales declined from 2,436 to 4. The distribution of
the catch by country of blue and humpbacked whales since
1961 is reflected in the following tabulation:
1961/62 Season
1961-1967 Total
Blue
Humpback
Blue
Humpback
USSR
402
270
692
533
Japan
489
2
1254
9
Norway
132
12
136
12
* Composed of Argentina, Australia, Canada, Denmark,
France, Iceland, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand,
Norway, Panama, South Africa, USSR, UK, and US.
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 Approved For Release.2001/03/04: CIA-RDP80BO1439R 00500110022-3
4. Of the total catch of 51,593 large whales
reported for the Antarctic in the 1966/67 season, Japan
caught 44 percent, the USSR 39 percent and Norway 17 per-
cent. The overall catch limit and each country's share
of it is set by the IWC. Moreover, an independent com-
mittee of scientists under IWC sponsorship has estab-
lished maximum catches that will not endanger the whale
population for each species; i.e., the maximum sustain-
able yields for each type of whale in the Antarctic.
These limits require drastic reductions in quotas which
the whaling countries are unwilling to accept.
5. The depletion of the humpbacked and blue whales
was not solely the fault of the Soviets, although they
must share in the blame with the Japanese for continued
killing of these species after they became scarce. The
drastic reduction of the blue whale has been accomplished
since the end of WW II by modern whaling fleet operations
because this is the largest and most valuable meat pro-
ducing whale. The humpbacked whale, also decimated since
the end of WW II was largely slaughtered by whalers
operating from shore stations in New Zealand and Australia.
It was the misfortune of the humpback to have established
migratory habits that took it close to the coasts of
these countries. This industry, of course,became uneco-
nomic with the thinning out of the species.
6. If the killing of the blue and humpbacked whales
is entirely stopped, they may have a chance for survival.
The blue apparently has the poorest chance because it has
no known migratory pattern. It feeds from the equator to
the Antarctic and Arctic and mates in the open ocean. So
few remain that the probability of encounters for mating
purposes is not very good. Scientists believe, however,
that there may be some hope for the blue and humpbacked
whales and cite the case of the "right" whale, a species
supposedly extinct at the end of the 1800's has been
found in recent years to still exist and to be increasing
somewhat.
OER/CIA
7 August 1969
Approved For Release 2001/03/04: CIA-RDP80BO1439R000500110022-3
 Approved For Release 2001/03/04: CIA-RDP80BO1439ROO0500110022-3
Table 1
World-wide Number of Whales Caught in Selected Seasons
1961/62 1966/67
Total 66,090
51,593
of which:
Blue 1,255 70
Fin 30,178 6,342
Humpback 2,436 4
Sei 8,804 18,990
Sperm 23,316 25,921
Unspecified 101 266
OER/CIA
7 August 1969
Approved For Release 2001/03/04: CIA-RDP8OBO1439ROO0500110022-3
 Approved For Release 2001/03/04: CIA-RDP80BO1439R000500110022-3
25X1X6
TRANSMITTAL SLIP
DDI --
ROOM NO. I BUILDING
DATE
7 August 69
Sources of information are the
Bureau of Fisheries irfhe Department
of Interior and a sp ialist at the
Smithsonian sti e (a
(sp. ? ). provided the
information on the New Zealand
culpability.
HUUM NO. BUILDING
4-F-18 I
FOR M O 24 I REPLACES FORM 36-8
WHICH MAY BE USED.
EXTENSION
5001
25X1X6
Approved For Release 2001/03/04: CIA-RDP80BO1439R000500110022-3