Humpback Whale Exploitation

In the past, humans have used their knowledge of the annual humpback whale migration to a devastating advantage. Whaling stations existed on Moreton Island and at Byron Bay in the 1950s. Whaling ceased in the Southern Hemisphere in 1962, Humpback whales numbers are slowly recovering from this large-scale decimation.

It is encouraging to know, that there is an annual increase of 13.5% reported since 1990, but the Humpbacks are still the third most endangered species of all the big whales.

SPECIES	AREA	ORIGINAL(i)	PRESENT
Sperm	Southern Hemisphere	1,200,000	920,000
	Northern Hemisphere	1,100,000	1,000,000
Blue	Southern Hemisphere	200,000	8,000
	Northern Hemisphere	10,000	1,000
Fin	Southern Hemisphere	500,000	90,000
	Northern Hemisphere	55,000	15,000
Sei	Southern Hemisphere	200,000	35,000
	Northern Hemisphere	70,000	15,000
Bryde’s	Southern Hemisphere	30,000	30,000
	Northern Hemisphere	60,000	60,000
Minke	Southern Hemisphere	450,000	360,000
	Northern Hemisphere	150,000	120,000
Grey	Southern Hemisphere	-	-
	Northern Hemisphere	25,000+	15,000
Right	Southern Hemisphere	120,000	3,000
	Northern Hemisphere	-	1 000
Bowhead	Southern Hemisphere	-	-
	Northern Hemisphere	35,000	5,000
Humpback	Southern Hemisphere	100,000	3,000
	Northern Hemisphere	20,000	6,000

(i) Original ' means ten best estimate of the
population before intense exploitation began.

Note: The above figures are an indication of stocks in the worlds oceans, however the data obtained to formulate these estimates has come under criticism from many scientific groups around the whole due to the nature of data used and their analysis.

Today, enlightened attitudes and the FIOMA legislation ensure the conservation of the species. The 1980 Whale Protection Act banned the import of whale products and goods containing whale products from 1981.