The world's smallest whale population?

The North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica) was heavily exploited by both nineteenth century whaling and recent (1960s) illegal Soviet catches. Today, the species remains extremely rare especially in the eastern North Pacific. Here, we use photographic and genotype data to calculate the first...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biology Letters
Main Authors: Wade, Paul R., Kennedy, Amy, LeDuc, Rick, Barlow, Jay, Carretta, Jim, Shelden, Kim, Perryman, Wayne, Pitman, Robert, Robertson, Kelly, Rone, Brenda, Salinas, Juan Carlos, Zerbini, Alexandre, Brownell, Robert L., Clapham, Phillip J.
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: The Royal Society 2011
Subjects:
Conservation Biology
Bering Sea
Pacific
Eubalaena japonica
North Pacific right whale
Aleutian Islands
Online Access:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3030873
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20591853
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2010.0477
Description
Summary:The North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica) was heavily exploited by both nineteenth century whaling and recent (1960s) illegal Soviet catches. Today, the species remains extremely rare especially in the eastern North Pacific. Here, we use photographic and genotype data to calculate the first mark–recapture estimates of abundance for right whales in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands. The estimates were very similar: photographic = 31 (95% CL 23–54), genotyping = 28 (95% CL 24–42). We also estimated the population contains eight females (95% CL 7–18) and 20 males (95% CL 17–37). Although these estimates may relate to a Bering Sea subpopulation, other data suggest that the total eastern North Pacific population is unlikely to be much larger. Its precarious status today—the world's smallest whale population for which an abundance estimate exists—is a direct consequence of uncontrolled and illegal whaling, and highlights the past failure of international management to prevent such abuses.

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