First record of a live blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) in the Iberian Peninsula after three decades

Covelo, Pablo; Ocio, Gorka; Hidalgo, Jon

doi:10.7325/galemys.2017.n6

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 5 publications

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“…It is currently accepted that blue whales in the Northeast Atlantic migrate either along the European coast (Sears & Perrin , Covelo et al. ) or in the high seas (Nieukirk et al. , Silva et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Baleen whales in Macaronesia: occurrence patterns revealed through a bibliographic review

Valente¹,

Correia²,

Gil³

et al. 2019

Mammal Review

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Macaronesia, an oceanic area located in the Northeast Atlantic, exhibits a high topographic and oceanographic complexity that enables a rich biodiversity. So far, seven species of baleen whales have been recorded in the area. These are migratory animals that travel long distances between feeding grounds at high latitudes in summer and tropical areas for mating and breeding in winter. As baleen whales are such mobile animals, the conservation and management of their habitat is highly challenging. Hence, knowing and understanding the patterns of their distribution is fundamental. Despite the many records of baleen whales in Macaronesia, heterogeneity in research effort has resulted in scattered occurrence data that leads to an incomplete picture of their distribution in the area. We aim to increase knowledge of distribution patterns of baleen whales, and identify research effort gaps in Macaronesia. From a total of 14 peer‐reviewed publications, four public reports, two poster presentations, and four data bases, we gathered 1798 records in Macaronesia since 1990 for four species of baleen whale: minke whale Balaenoptera acutorostrata, fin whale Balaenoptera physalus, blue whale Balaenoptera musculus, and humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae. Spatio‐temporal descriptive analyses and ecological modelling were carried out in order to understand occurrence patterns. The results show a big lack of research effort and occurrence data in offshore areas and in some coastal waters, namely off the West African coast. Moreover, blue, fin, and humpback whales are sighted mainly in spring in the north of Macaronesia, while minke whale distribution is clearly different: they have a stronger presence in summer. This study highlights areas in urgent need of research effort in order to inform decision‐makers and support effective measures for the protection and conservation of baleen whales in Macaronesia.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Baleen whales in Macaronesia: occurrence patterns revealed through a bibliographic review

Valente¹,

Correia²,

Gil³

et al. 2019

Mammal Review

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Systematic list of European cetacean species

Evans¹

2020

European Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises

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Unreported catches, impact of whaling and current status of blue whales in the South European Atlantic Shelf

Aguilar

Borrell

2022

Sci Rep

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The North Atlantic blue whale was depleted by modern whaling and it is still considered to be highly endangered. Despite its protection in 1954, catches continued in the South European Atlantic Shelf (SEAS) region and immediately adjacent waters until 1979. We compiled catches and investigate abundance trends in the region using original data from whaling (1921–1985) and scientific surveys around the last years of exploitation (1981–1987). The struck and lost rate was estimated at 3.2% for sperm whales and 2.3% for baleen whales. The compiled records include 60 catches, with an additional 1–2 blue whales likely struck and lost. From these, 29 individuals had been correctly reported as blue whales but 31 were mislabelled as fin whales. After correcting for loss rates, the number of blue whales killed in the region was estimated at 61 in 55 years (1.12 individuals/year). The data from the 1950s shows some oversized fin whales but it is unclear whether they are due to an incorrect reporting of species or to incorrect measurements, so it cannot be discarded that the actual number of blue whales caught was slightly higher than estimated. Mean body length of reported blue whales was lower than in higher latitudes of the North Atlantic, probably reflecting geographical stratification with higher proportion of immatures in the SEAS. The ratio between catches or sightings of blue whales and those of fin whales was 5.9% in the southern part of the SEAS previous to exploitation, it declined to 0.02–0.18% in the 1920s, and increased thereafter up to 1.6% in the 1980–1990s. Taking as reference the population size of fin whales in the SEAS, that of blue whales at the end of the 1980s can be guessed to be at ca337-497 individuals. Considering accepted population estimates in other areas as well as the observed rates of increase, current abundance is thought to be over a thousand whales in the SEAs and at in the order of 4000–5000 individuals for the whole eastern North Atlantic basin.

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First record of a live blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) in the Iberian Peninsula after three decades

Cited by 3 publications

References 5 publications

Baleen whales in Macaronesia: occurrence patterns revealed through a bibliographic review

Baleen whales in Macaronesia: occurrence patterns revealed through a bibliographic review

Systematic list of European cetacean species

Unreported catches, impact of whaling and current status of blue whales in the South European Atlantic Shelf

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