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SC/69B/SH/07
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Resource ID
22150
Access
Open
Document Number
SC/69B/SH/07
Full Title
Mid-1800s whaling records appear to document the presence and migratory movements of pygmy blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda) between Australia and Indonesia
Author
Chatwin, D. And Branch, T. A.
Authors Summary
Paper SHxx presents 123 sightings of 'finback' whales during mid-1800s whaling for sperm whales spanning north-western Australia to Indonesian waters. During this time, 'finback' whales could have been any large rorqual except humpback whales. Based on current species distribution data, these sightings were most likely pygmy blue whales but could have been Omura's or Bryde's whales. The majority of these sightings align with modern satellite tracking data of the migration of pygmy blue whales from Australia to the Banda and Molucca Seas, but also extend further to the south-west, north, and north-east, and over a wider range of months, than the satellite tracking data.
Publisher
IWC
Publication Year
2024
Abstract
As a by-product of the search for sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) in Indonesian waters during the era of Open Boat Whaling, British and American whalers occasionally recorded sightings of other types of large whales. These included ?humpers? [humpbacks; Megaptera novaeangliae] and what the whalers called ?finbacks?. While ?finbacks? could have been Bryde?s or Omura?s whales in these waters, we suggest that most of these ?finbacks? were pygmy blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda), including 98 sightings by British whalers, and 25 sightings by American whalers. A great majority of these sightings align with modern data indicating a south-west to north-east migratory corridor for pygmy blue whales between Australia and Indonesia passing to the west of the island of Timor through the Timor and Wetar Straits. The schedule and location of these historical sightings also hint that historically migration north (at least) commenced earlier and that pygmy blue whale distribution range was broader than modern day evidence indicates, encompassing waters across the southern end of the southern islands of Indonesia, and into the Banda and Molucca Sea. We consider additional sightings of ?finbacks? east of Halmahera and Morotai islands more likely to be other balaenopterid species since they are mostly nearshore and outside of known pygmy blue whale ranges.