Scotland and the Antarctic

Section 7: The legacy of Bruce ... Whaling

How many whales are left?

Before whaling began it is believed there were 250,000 blue whales - the Earth's largest mammal. Today the estimate is between 500 and 1,000. An estimate of whale stocks was made in 1991 as follows:

Although the seal population has recovered in the Antarctic there has been little recovery of the whale population since whaling stopped in the 1960s. In 1994 the whole area covered by the Antarctic treaty was declared a whale sanctuary.

Minke whales and killer whales are frequently seen off the coasts of Scotland.

Small whales are still hunted from coastal locations in the northern hemisphere by the Inuit in Canada, by the Faeroese and by the Norwegians. The big whale-catchers are now only owned by the Japanese.