Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Fin Whales
Fin Whales Need Your Help!
Written by Samantha Marcon
When people think of whales, they think of big, friendly giants. Native Americans on the Pacific Coast used to worship them and even Europeans had admiration for them.1 People, however, are a threat to fin whales. Fin whales, or Balaenoptera physalus, are on their way to extinction if we do not help them.
Description of Fin Whales
Fin whales are social animals which means that they travel with other whales of the same species. They also feed with other species of whales. The whales have a very distinguishing coloring: black on their backs and white on their tails. These whales can live up to 90 years and can grow 75 to 85 feet, almost doubling the size of a school bus. The whales usually eat krill and small fish during the summer and do not eat while they are migrating during the winter. They are usually found in deep waters all-year-round. Fin whales are not found in tropical waters, but reside in colder waters. 2
Fin Whale Populations
Fin whales are mainly threatened by climate change and habitat loss. They were hunted by commercial whalers for their oil and meat until commercial hunting became illegal in the last century and were listed as endangered. However, fin whales are still affected from when hunting them was legal. Fin whales are now an endangered species wherever they are found. Even though many countries have put a ban on commercially hunting whales, Iceland continues to hunt fin whales furthering their endangerment. Since whaling became illegal in the beginning of the century, whale populations have been continuing to increase but are still being hurt by climate changes. 3 The North Atlantic Ocean is experiencing an increase of fin whales, but the Pacific and Southern Oceans' populations are not rising. 3 Fin whales were listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Conservation Act in 1970. Fin whales are still not close to getting off of the ESA list. 4
Recovery Plan
The recovery plan consists of several different ways in which fin whales can bounce back and recover. The main parts of the plan are to continue to stop whaling, reduce human-caused damage, learn about population dynamics, and find trends in sizes of populations. The ultimate goal is to get fin whales off of the list of the ESA. The seven main points from the recovery plan are: population structure, distribution and habitat use, feeding and prey selection, competition, reproduction, natural mortality, and abundance and trends. Population structure: there are 5 populations of fin whales consisting of populations in the Sea of Cortez, East China Sea Group, an eastern group, a western group, and a group that moves up and down the west coast of North America. Distribution and habitat use: fin whales prefer to reside on the west coast of North America during the summers and in the north of the Bering Sea. During May, the whales feed off of the Hawaii islands and during the winters, the whales tend to stay at higher latitudes. Feeding and prey selection: fin whales will tend to eat smaller schools of fish, as well as, euphausiids and large copepods. Competition: Fin whales' main competition is the baleen whale, but there really is not much of a competition between the two whales. Reproduction: fin whales do not reach sexually maturity until the age of 25 but are sexually active at a much younger age (6 to 12). Natural mortality: killer whales attack fin whales and sharks feed on young fin whales. Abundance and trends: the population of fin whales declined by 36-38% by 1975, but has started to increase and large amounts of whales have been seen off of the Alaskan coast. 5
How to Save Fin Whales
People can help save fin whales by not hunting them commercially and letting their populations grow. Another thing that could be done to save fin whales is to be careful with what one is throwing away because it could end up in the ocean which leads to whale habitat loss. People should be cautious with how they treat their surroundings and the environment to help protect fin whales. People can also visit http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/fin-whale to help fin whales by symbolically adopting a whale and donating to WWF to help protect them and their habitats.
2. NOAA. "Fin Whale (Balaenoptera Physalus)." Fin Whale (Balaenoptera Physalus) - Office of Protected Resources - NOAA Fisheries. NOAA Fisheries, 4 Sept. 2004. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. <http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/cetaceans/finwhale.htm>.
1. Pure Spirit. "Prior Lake, MN - Dog Training Classes." Whale Symbolism. Pure Spirit Animal Communication and Training Solutions, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. <http://www.pure-spirit.com/more-animal-symbolism/509-whale-symbolism>.
5. Resources, Office Of Protected, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration, and Maryland Silver Spring. "Recovery Plan for the Fin Whale." DRAFT (2006): 1-78. NMFS. Web. 26 Nov. 2016. <http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/pdfs/recovery/draft_finwhale.pdf>.
3. WWF. "Fin Whale." WorldWildlife.org. World Wildlife Fund, n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2016. <http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/fin-whale>.
When people think of whales, they think of big, friendly giants. Native Americans on the Pacific Coast used to worship them and even Europeans had admiration for them.1 People, however, are a threat to fin whales. Fin whales, or Balaenoptera physalus, are on their way to extinction if we do not help them.
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http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered
_species/cetaceans/about/fin_whale/
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Description of Fin Whales
Fin whales are social animals which means that they travel with other whales of the same species. They also feed with other species of whales. The whales have a very distinguishing coloring: black on their backs and white on their tails. These whales can live up to 90 years and can grow 75 to 85 feet, almost doubling the size of a school bus. The whales usually eat krill and small fish during the summer and do not eat while they are migrating during the winter. They are usually found in deep waters all-year-round. Fin whales are not found in tropical waters, but reside in colder waters. 2
Sexual Maturity of Fin Whales
Fin whales become sexually mature between 6 and 12 years of age. Fin whales are k-selected species; they do not reach sexually maturity until they are 25 years of age and they only give birth to one calf at a time. The females carry their calves around for 11 to 12 months before giving birth. It is not an easy task for fin whales to have calves. 2
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http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article
/2012/01/09/australia-doing-enough-
tackle-japanese-whaling-southern-ocean
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Fin Whale Populations
Fin whales are mainly threatened by climate change and habitat loss. They were hunted by commercial whalers for their oil and meat until commercial hunting became illegal in the last century and were listed as endangered. However, fin whales are still affected from when hunting them was legal. Fin whales are now an endangered species wherever they are found. Even though many countries have put a ban on commercially hunting whales, Iceland continues to hunt fin whales furthering their endangerment. Since whaling became illegal in the beginning of the century, whale populations have been continuing to increase but are still being hurt by climate changes. 3 The North Atlantic Ocean is experiencing an increase of fin whales, but the Pacific and Southern Oceans' populations are not rising. 3 Fin whales were listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Conservation Act in 1970. Fin whales are still not close to getting off of the ESA list. 4
Recovery Plan
The recovery plan consists of several different ways in which fin whales can bounce back and recover. The main parts of the plan are to continue to stop whaling, reduce human-caused damage, learn about population dynamics, and find trends in sizes of populations. The ultimate goal is to get fin whales off of the list of the ESA. The seven main points from the recovery plan are: population structure, distribution and habitat use, feeding and prey selection, competition, reproduction, natural mortality, and abundance and trends. Population structure: there are 5 populations of fin whales consisting of populations in the Sea of Cortez, East China Sea Group, an eastern group, a western group, and a group that moves up and down the west coast of North America. Distribution and habitat use: fin whales prefer to reside on the west coast of North America during the summers and in the north of the Bering Sea. During May, the whales feed off of the Hawaii islands and during the winters, the whales tend to stay at higher latitudes. Feeding and prey selection: fin whales will tend to eat smaller schools of fish, as well as, euphausiids and large copepods. Competition: Fin whales' main competition is the baleen whale, but there really is not much of a competition between the two whales. Reproduction: fin whales do not reach sexually maturity until the age of 25 but are sexually active at a much younger age (6 to 12). Natural mortality: killer whales attack fin whales and sharks feed on young fin whales. Abundance and trends: the population of fin whales declined by 36-38% by 1975, but has started to increase and large amounts of whales have been seen off of the Alaskan coast. 5
How to Save Fin Whales
People can help save fin whales by not hunting them commercially and letting their populations grow. Another thing that could be done to save fin whales is to be careful with what one is throwing away because it could end up in the ocean which leads to whale habitat loss. People should be cautious with how they treat their surroundings and the environment to help protect fin whales. People can also visit http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/fin-whale to help fin whales by symbolically adopting a whale and donating to WWF to help protect them and their habitats.
Works Cited
4. Dfg.webmaster@alaska.gov. "Fin Whale: Federally Endangered Listing Information, Alaska Department of Fish and Game." Fin Whale: Federally Endangered Listing Information,. Alaska Department of Fish and Game, n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2016. <http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfmadfg=specialstatus.fedsummary&species=finwhale>.
1. Pure Spirit. "Prior Lake, MN - Dog Training Classes." Whale Symbolism. Pure Spirit Animal Communication and Training Solutions, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. <http://www.pure-spirit.com/more-animal-symbolism/509-whale-symbolism>.
5. Resources, Office Of Protected, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration, and Maryland Silver Spring. "Recovery Plan for the Fin Whale." DRAFT (2006): 1-78. NMFS. Web. 26 Nov. 2016. <http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/pdfs/recovery/draft_finwhale.pdf>.
3. WWF. "Fin Whale." WorldWildlife.org. World Wildlife Fund, n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2016. <http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/fin-whale>.
Jeremy Lung
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting article. It is nice to see that people are talking about other whales that are not the mainstream whales like the humpback, blue, and sperm whale. Its weird to see the correlation between this whale and other whales, which makes me put into question whether or not its specific whales that are going bad or whales in general due to pollution and global warming.
Julian Lohser: Well written! I found it particularly interesting that the fin whale does not eat during the winter. I wonder what a 90 year old whale might look like compared to a younger one. I was slightly confused though; in back-to-back sentences, you say that fin whale reach sexual maturity between 6 and 12 years of age, and then you say that they reach sexual maturity at 25 years of age. I also wished you had gone a little further in depth on the difficulties that females have in carrying babies.
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