Categorisation of the length of bowhead whales from British Arctic whaling records
British whalers were the first and last from Europe to hunt bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) commercially from the Arctic whaling grounds of the Greenland Sea (East Greenland-Svalbard-Barents stock) and Davis Strait (East Canada-West Greenland stock). Thus, British Arctic whaling records are uniq...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1116638/full |
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| author | Jeremy Wilkinson Gaëlle Veyssière Gaëlle Veyssière Nick Hughes Matthew Ayre Maribeth Murray Robert Headland Ryan Charles Ryan Charles |
| author_facet | Jeremy Wilkinson Gaëlle Veyssière Gaëlle Veyssière Nick Hughes Matthew Ayre Maribeth Murray Robert Headland Ryan Charles Ryan Charles |
| author_sort | Jeremy Wilkinson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | British whalers were the first and last from Europe to hunt bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) commercially from the Arctic whaling grounds of the Greenland Sea (East Greenland-Svalbard-Barents stock) and Davis Strait (East Canada-West Greenland stock). Thus, British Arctic whaling records are unique, as they include both the beginning and the final story of the near extirpation of the species from these waters. By consolidating, cross-checking, and updating the work of numerous colleagues over the years, a database of over 11,000 individual records of British whaling voyages to these grounds between 1725 and 1913 has been established. Using conversion algorithms, it has been possible to derive statistically robust information on the length of the bowheads caught from the amount of oil they yielded. Translating oil yield to whale length is an important step as oil yield is one of the most common parameters documented within historical whaling records. Analysis suggests the length of whales caught at these two whaling grounds, Greenland Sea and Davis Strait, were different. A higher proportion within the East Greenland-Svalbard-Barents stock, taken from the Greenland Sea grounds, measured less than 12.5m (classed as juveniles), whilst the East Canada-West Greenland stock, taken from Davis Strait grounds, were skewed towards larger whales, 13 to 14 m long (classed as sexually mature). Furthermore, there was clear evidence that a shift in the distribution of whale length occurred when the whalers extended their hunting grounds to encompass additional regions within the Greenland Sea and Davis Strait in 1814 and 1817 respectively. Prior to expansion, we find that that the vast majority (85%) of the East Canada-West Greenland stock were of the length that are classified as sexually mature (>13.0 m), whereas only 39% of East Greenland-Svalbard-Barents stock taken were of this size. After the enlargement of the whaling grounds, the length distribution shifted with a reduction to 50% of the East Canada-West Greenland stock and an increase to 44% of the East Greenland-Svalbard-Barents stock being categorised as sexually mature. These results show the important information that may be derived from historical whaling records. Since the commercial hunt of the bowheads ceased in the European Arctic there have been substantial changes in both the oceanographic and sea ice regime in the region, thus understanding the past through whaling records can help to understand the implications of future climate-induced changes in bowhead whale populations and their habitat. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T17:19:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-66e1ec38c89f4e49b7915ead9417e1a9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-7745 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T17:19:22Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-66e1ec38c89f4e49b7915ead9417e1a92023-04-19T05:05:17ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452023-04-011010.3389/fmars.2023.11166381116638Categorisation of the length of bowhead whales from British Arctic whaling recordsJeremy Wilkinson0Gaëlle Veyssière1Gaëlle Veyssière2Nick Hughes3Matthew Ayre4Maribeth Murray5Robert Headland6Ryan Charles7Ryan Charles8Atmosphere, Ice and Climate, British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, United KingdomAtmosphere, Ice and Climate, British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, United KingdomCentre for Polar Observation and Modelling, University College London, London, United KingdomNorwegian Ice Service, Norwegian Meteorological Institute, Tromsø, NorwayArctic Institute of North America, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, CanadaArctic Institute of North America, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, CanadaScott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United KingdomAtmosphere, Ice and Climate, British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, United KingdomInternational Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC) Shark Specialist Group (SSG), Dubai, United Arab EmiratesBritish whalers were the first and last from Europe to hunt bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) commercially from the Arctic whaling grounds of the Greenland Sea (East Greenland-Svalbard-Barents stock) and Davis Strait (East Canada-West Greenland stock). Thus, British Arctic whaling records are unique, as they include both the beginning and the final story of the near extirpation of the species from these waters. By consolidating, cross-checking, and updating the work of numerous colleagues over the years, a database of over 11,000 individual records of British whaling voyages to these grounds between 1725 and 1913 has been established. Using conversion algorithms, it has been possible to derive statistically robust information on the length of the bowheads caught from the amount of oil they yielded. Translating oil yield to whale length is an important step as oil yield is one of the most common parameters documented within historical whaling records. Analysis suggests the length of whales caught at these two whaling grounds, Greenland Sea and Davis Strait, were different. A higher proportion within the East Greenland-Svalbard-Barents stock, taken from the Greenland Sea grounds, measured less than 12.5m (classed as juveniles), whilst the East Canada-West Greenland stock, taken from Davis Strait grounds, were skewed towards larger whales, 13 to 14 m long (classed as sexually mature). Furthermore, there was clear evidence that a shift in the distribution of whale length occurred when the whalers extended their hunting grounds to encompass additional regions within the Greenland Sea and Davis Strait in 1814 and 1817 respectively. Prior to expansion, we find that that the vast majority (85%) of the East Canada-West Greenland stock were of the length that are classified as sexually mature (>13.0 m), whereas only 39% of East Greenland-Svalbard-Barents stock taken were of this size. After the enlargement of the whaling grounds, the length distribution shifted with a reduction to 50% of the East Canada-West Greenland stock and an increase to 44% of the East Greenland-Svalbard-Barents stock being categorised as sexually mature. These results show the important information that may be derived from historical whaling records. Since the commercial hunt of the bowheads ceased in the European Arctic there have been substantial changes in both the oceanographic and sea ice regime in the region, thus understanding the past through whaling records can help to understand the implications of future climate-induced changes in bowhead whale populations and their habitat.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1116638/fullArcticbowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus)whaling - historicalCanadaGreenland |
| spellingShingle | Jeremy Wilkinson Gaëlle Veyssière Gaëlle Veyssière Nick Hughes Matthew Ayre Maribeth Murray Robert Headland Ryan Charles Ryan Charles Categorisation of the length of bowhead whales from British Arctic whaling records Frontiers in Marine Science Arctic bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) whaling - historical Canada Greenland |
| title | Categorisation of the length of bowhead whales from British Arctic whaling records |
| title_full | Categorisation of the length of bowhead whales from British Arctic whaling records |
| title_fullStr | Categorisation of the length of bowhead whales from British Arctic whaling records |
| title_full_unstemmed | Categorisation of the length of bowhead whales from British Arctic whaling records |
| title_short | Categorisation of the length of bowhead whales from British Arctic whaling records |
| title_sort | categorisation of the length of bowhead whales from british arctic whaling records |
| topic | Arctic bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) whaling - historical Canada Greenland |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1116638/full |
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