Collateral damage to marine and terrestrial ecosystems from Yankee whaling in the 19th century ...

• Main Authors: Drew, Joshua Adam, Lopez, Elora H., Gill, Lucy, McKeon, Mallory, Miller, Nathan, Steinberg, Madeline, McClenachan, Loren, Shen, Christa
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Columbia University 2016
• Subjects: Whaling > Environmental aspects; Whales > Ecology; Marine ecology; Whaling; Conservation biology; Wildlife conservation; Ecology; FOS: Biological sciences; Yankee; Odobenus rosmarus; walrus*
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.7916/d8dj5g4r; https://academiccommons.columbia.edu/doi/10.7916/D8DJ5G4R

Yankee whalers of the 19th century had major impacts on populations of large whales, but these leviathans were not the only taxa targeted. Here, we describe the “collateral damage,” the opportunistic or targeted taking of nongreat whale species by the American whaling industry. Using data from 5,064 records from 79 whaling logs occurring between 1840 and 1901, we show that Yankee whalers captured 5,255 animals across three large ocean basins from 32 different taxonomic categories, including a wide range of marine and terrestrial species. The taxa with the greatest number of individuals captured were walruses (Odobenus rosmarus), ducks (family Anatidae), and cod (Gadus sp.). By biomass, the most captured species were walruses, grampus (a poorly defined group within Odontoceti), and seals (family Otariidae). The whalers captured over 2.4 million kg of nongreat whale meat equaling approximately 34 kg of meat per ship per day at sea. The species and areas targeted shifted over time in response to ...