Although Cahfornia shore whaling began in 185 1 at Monterey and 

 then soon after at other stations along the upper and lower California 

 coasts ! Half Moon Bay. Pigeon Point, Carmel Bay, San Simeon, San 

 Luis Obispo, Goleta, Portuguese Bend, San Diego, and Punta Banda), 

 fin whales were rarely taken, as they are fast swimmers and sink when 

 killed. They began to be hunted extensively in the North Pacific only 

 after modern whaling techniques were introduced. Prior to 1945, 

 whaling in the North Pacific was conducted primarily by catcher boats 

 operating out of land stations in Canada, the United States, Japan and 

 the Soviet Union. Catches of fin whales off the west coast of North 

 America occurred mostly off California, British Columbia, and Alaska. 

 Large numbers of fin whales were killed by Alaskan shore whalers 

 operating from Akutan trom igi2 through 1959 (more than jooo 

 killed J and out ot Port Hobron trom 1926 through 1937 (more than 

 joo killed). 



When the modern era of pelagic whaling began in the North 

 Pacific in 1952, a single factory ship began operating off the Asian 

 coast. From 1954 through 1961 only three factory ships were operating, 

 but they had expanded operations eastward to the American side ot the 

 North Pacific. During this time, Japanese whalers killed more than 

 i.ooo fin whales near Akutan Island and in the Bering Sea while Soviet 

 whalers took apparently large ( but undocumented ; numbers of fin 

 whales in the Bering Sea. Along the United States coast, six vessels 

 operated from three shore stations from 1956 through 1972. when 

 commercial whaling was prohibited by U.S. law. During this time fin 



whales were taken along with sei. humpback, blue and sperm whales, 

 although fin whales became the major species pursued in the mid-1960s 

 because of declines in catches of humpback and blue whales. Annual 

 catches ot fin whales in the North Pacific and Bering Sea ranged trom 

 1,000 to i,ioo in the mid-1950s through the mid-1960s, after which 

 they declined sharply. Whaling for fin whales in the North Pacific 

 ended in 1976 when the IWC judged the North Pacific fin whales as 

 deserving ot protection and prohibited further harvesting. 



The pre-exploitation populations ot fin whales in the North Pacific 

 have been estimated at 42,000 to 45,000 with 25,000 to 27,000 in the 

 "American" region and 17,000 to 18,00 m the "Asian" region. Recent 

 data on the abundance ot fin whales in various areas comes mainly trom 

 opportunistic sightings or trom geographically localized surveys ot 

 marine mammals. Observations by Japanese scouting boats indicate 

 that fin whales are abundant in some former northern whaling grounds. 

 Recent aerial surveys in the Bering Sea and the North Pacific have 

 documented the presence ot fin whales there, primarily in summer, 

 although the\- did not appear to be extremeh' abundant. Aerial surveys 

 of Southern, Central, and Northern California waters have also 

 documented that fin whales are present but apparently not abundant, in 

 these areas. Recent estimates of current population sizes were 8,520 to 

 10,970 for the "American" region and 5,100 to 7,710 in the "Asian" 

 region. Continued sightings, perhaps increasing in frequency, should 

 be expected in and near the CINMS especially near San Miguel, Santa 

 Rosa and Santa Cruz islands in summer, as population(s) continue to 

 recover. 



Fr.L'RI- I i. Two o( .1 i;roup ol live tin uh.ilcs MghtcJ .u ; i "2 1 'N. 1 1 p'41 'W in the southern SCB. I" in uh.ilesm.u be present in the SCB year-round. Note the 

 sloping dors,ll tin : lett : and the white n^ht-lower lip rii^ht . Photos b\' P. Folkens. 



