Two intense decades of 19th century whaling precipitated rapid decline of right whales around New Zealand and East Australia.

ABSTRACT: Right whales (Eubalaena spp.) were the focus of worldwide whaling activities from the 16th to the 20th century. During the first part of the 19th century, the southern right whale (E. australis) was heavily exploited on whaling grounds around New Zealand (NZ) and east Australia (EA). Here we build upon previous estimates of the total catch of NZ and EA right whales by improving and combining estimates from four different fisheries. Two fisheries have previously been considered: shore-based whaling in bays and ship-based whaling offshore. These were both improved by comparison with primary sources and the American offshore whaling catch record was improved by using a sample of logbooks to produce a more accurate catch record in terms of location and species composition. Two fisheries had no

SUBMITTER: Carroll EL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3972245 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature