Occurrence of the Bowhead or Greenland Right Whale ( Balaena mysticetus ) in Canadian Arctic Waters

• Published in: Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada
• Main Author: Mansfield, A. W.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1971
• Subjects: General Medicine; Arctic; Canada; Greenland; Balaena mysticetus
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f71-282; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f71-282

The action taken in December 1970 by the U.S. Department of the Interior in placing eight species of large whales on an endangered species list has emphasized the need for up-to-date information on their populations. The present paper summarizes a large number of observations on one of these eight species and suggests that the bowhead population of Canada is recovering well after intensive exploitation up till the early years of the present century, though it may amount to only a small percentage of the population present before commercial whaling began.