SC/69B/NH/04  

Document Number

SC/69B/NH/04

Full Title

Stranded Medium-Sized Baleen Whales (Sei, Bryde?s Rice?s) in US Western North Atlantic Waters

Author

Robert L. Brownell Jr, Sarah D. Mallette, Danielle Cholewiak

Authors Summary

To come

Publisher

IWC

Keywords

Publication Year

2024

Abstract

Three species of medium-sized baleen whales occur off the east coast of the United States (U.S. eastern seaboard and the U.S. waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico). These include the sei (Balaenoptera borealis), Bryde?s (B. edeni) and Rice?s whales (B. ricei) with maximum female sizes in the North Atlantic of 15.85 m, 14.78 m and 12.65 m, respectively. Species identification between these three species can be difficult to confirm, especially carcasses in an advanced decomposition. In these cases, the only way to determine the species ID is through genetic analyses.

Here we review the stranding records of sei, Bryde?s and Rice?s whales from the east coast of the

U.S. and the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. In addition, we re-examined the species identification for all stranded Bryde?s and Rice?s whales along the U.S. east coast and review identification problems for these species. We did not find any genetically confirmed strandings of Bryde?s whales.