In recent surveys oft Central and Northern California i^ between 

 Point Conception and Cape Mendicino) researchers located blue 

 whales in all months from May through November in water 45 to 

 about 2000 fathoms fx = 493 fathoms j deep, as singles and pairs and 

 less frequently in groups of up to ten. Some blue whales have been 

 reported tar off the Northern Cahiornia coast m May; so. at least some 

 of the species' movements m the area occur along pelagic routes. Some 

 blue whales continue northward as far as the three major summering 

 grounds - one in the eastern Gulf of Alaska, one south of the eastern 

 Aleutian islands and one between the western Aleutians and 

 Kamchatka. 



Catches of blue whales from British Columbia shore stations 

 peaked in June and September, suggesting a northward movement past 

 Vancouver Island in spring and a southward shift in autumn. Blue 

 whales have been seen in Monterey Bay m recent years in September 

 through December. Catches off San Francisco in the 1950s and 1960s 

 occurred primarily in September and October and were presumed to 

 be of whales migrating southward. 



Although most whales appear to have migrated throuith the SCB 

 and arrived back on the southern grounds by October, several bits of 

 information strongly suggest that the SCB is included in the blue 

 whale's range year-round: a single sighting off San Clemente Island in 

 December 1977: a report that in November 1985 there were four 

 different groups of blue whales in the Santa Barbara Channel between 

 Ventura and Anacapa Island; and the presence of whales elsewhere off 

 Southern and Central California m November and December This 

 being the case, blue whale calves, usually born in autumn or winter 

 after the whales' departure from high latitude feeding grounds, likely 

 pass near or through waters of the SCB. and possibly also the CINMS. 

 when southbound. Some may linger in the area. 



There are few reliable data on abundance of blue whales anywhere. 

 In 1874, Charles M. Scammon reported that there were "large num- 

 bers" of blue whales off the coasts of the Californias. usually close 

 inshore, between May and September. He and his fellow yankee 

 whalers did little to reduce the numbers o( blue and other fast 

 swimming rorquals, preferring instead to concentrate on the slower 

 moving and more "catchable" species 1' sperm, gray, bowhead and right 

 whales j. In fact. Scammon wrote, "it [the blue whale 1 is considered the 

 swiftest whale afloat and for this reason is seldom pursued and still 

 more rarely taken. He regarded as noteworth\' the takes of blue 

 whales off Baja California in the late 1850s at Bahia San Bartolome, 

 Ascension and Cedros islands and Bahia San Qucnti'n by whaling 

 vessels and the killing of a 92 footer in 1 S62 off Monterey b\- shore 

 whalers. 



Recently, scientists have estimated that around the turn of the 

 century there were some 4,500 to 5,000 blue whales in the North 

 Pacific. Because they had not been exploited prior to the beginning of 

 this century, it is reasonable to suppose that the population! s) (or 

 stocks I comprising that total were healthy at the turn of the century. It 

 was not long into the twentieth century, however, that the luck of the 

 blue whales and other large rorquals ran out. Steam and subsequently 

 diesel powered whalers and the perfection of the explosive harpoon 

 made all whale species vulnerable to whaling. Since these modifications 

 made it possible to catch and kill all species it became sound economic 

 logic to kill the largest "catchable " whales first. Therefore, as the 

 largest animals on earth (to jo m and 25 metric tons) the blue whale 

 received immediate and prolonged pressure. 



In the years beriven 1910 and 197; approximately 560,000 blue 

 whales were killed worldwide. Though the vast majority of them ( some 

 j J 0,000 : were killed in the .Antarctic, there were significant catches 

 elsewhere, including 8,200 in the North Pacific. Most of those 8,200 

 were taken from grounds bet\veen Japan and Kamchatka and along the 

 south side of the .-Xleutians. But there were significant removals from 

 the northeast Pacific, as well: e.g. 855 and 215 from shore stations at 

 ."Xkutan (1912-1939) and Port Hobron (1926-1937), Alaska, respec- 

 tively; over 250 by shore stations in Southeast Alaska, British Columbia 

 and Washington shore stations 1908-1952; about 50 by a California 

 shore station operating within about 125 nm of the Golden Gate from 

 Its base in San Francisco Bay, 1958-1965; and over 2,800 by catcher 

 boats and floating factories operating off Baja California, 1913-1929. 

 Little modem whaling was conducted in or near the SCB or in the 

 broader area from northern Baja California to Guide and Pioneer Sea 

 Mounts off San Francisco. Five blue whales were taken off Moss 

 Landing in 1919-22 and an 80 footer was taken near San Clemente 

 Island in July 1927. 



By the time blue whales were extended protection in 1966, popula- 

 tions were significantly depressed and there was concern about the 

 ability of most stocks to recover. In 1984 it was estimated that there 

 were between 1,400 and 1,900 blue whales m the North Pacific, mostly 

 on the eastern side. It was further reported that the eastern North 

 Pacific stock, though still somewhat depressed, was growing at an 

 unknown rate. That growth has resulted in progressively more sight- 

 ings of blue whales each year off California, in general, and in the SCB, 

 in particular. 



Figure i i. A blue whale stranded on Jalama State Beach, San Luis Obispo 

 Countv' in 1976, dwarfs curious onlookers. Surprisingly, living blue whales 

 may well be the third most common large whales in and near the CINMS, 

 behind gra\' and humpback \\ha'es. Photo by S. Leatherwood.) 



ti^i- ■ m|p "-. \ 



