Mikhalev,Y.A.
Sperm whales of the Arabian Sea Technical Report
no. 155, 1998.
Abstract | BibTeX | Tags: Arabian Sea, baleen whale, baleen whales, Blue whale, blue whales, Bryde's whale, cetacean, Humpback Whale, humpback whales, Indian Ocean, IWC, pygmy blue whale, Pygmy blue whales, Slava, Soviet whaling, sperm whale, sperm whales, whale, whales, whaling
@techreport{,
title = {Sperm whales of the Arabian Sea},
author = {Mikhalev,Y.A.},
year = {1998},
date = {1998-01-01},
journal = {Report presented to the Scientific Committee of the Internaitonal Whaling Commission},
volume = {SC/50/CAWS40},
number = {155},
pages = {1-7},
publisher = {Internaitonal Whaling Commission},
abstract = {This article is part of the ongoing publication of materials about true whale catches by Soviet whaling fleets (Yablokov, 1994, Tormosov, 1995; Zemsky, et al, 1995, 1995a, 1996; Mikhalev 1995, 1997, 1997a). The goal of this article is to provide real quantitative characteristics, as well as size and sexual composition, of the sperm whales taken by the fleets Slava and Sovietskaya Ukraina in the Arabian Sea during the period 1963 to 1967. While the catching of baleen whales - pygmy blue whales, Bryde's whales, and humpback whales - in the northwestern Indian Ocean (Mikhalev, 1995, 1997) was absolutely prohibited and thus was a most serious violation of IWC rules, the sperm whale catches in the region had a more masked character. Harvesting of this species was not restricted to areas south of the 40øS, but rather by date and animal size. The first information about sperm whales met in this region by Soviet whalers became known through Yukhov (1969) His article reported that the stock was mixed, including both barren and lactating females as well as young males. Such detailed information about the sperm whales' stock structure should have indicated that the author's primary material was not based on visual observation, but on the results of catches. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, cetacean research laboratories were liquidated and a portion of their primary materials disappeared. Other portions ended up distributed among various former Soviet republics, now independent states, and in private archives. Nonetheless, it was possible to recover with a high level of confidence data on the biological composition, especially the quantitative and size characteristics, of whales taken in the Arabian Sea.},
keywords = {Arabian Sea, baleen whale, baleen whales, Blue whale, blue whales, Bryde's whale, cetacean, Humpback Whale, humpback whales, Indian Ocean, IWC, pygmy blue whale, Pygmy blue whales, Slava, Soviet whaling, sperm whale, sperm whales, whale, whales, whaling},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {techreport}
}
This article is part of the ongoing publication of materials about true whale catches by Soviet whaling fleets (Yablokov, 1994, Tormosov, 1995; Zemsky, et al, 1995, 1995a, 1996; Mikhalev 1995, 1997, 1997a). The goal of this article is to provide real quantitative characteristics, as well as size and sexual composition, of the sperm whales taken by the fleets Slava and Sovietskaya Ukraina in the Arabian Sea during the period 1963 to 1967. While the catching of baleen whales - pygmy blue whales, Bryde's whales, and humpback whales - in the northwestern Indian Ocean (Mikhalev, 1995, 1997) was absolutely prohibited and thus was a most serious violation of IWC rules, the sperm whale catches in the region had a more masked character. Harvesting of this species was not restricted to areas south of the 40øS, but rather by date and animal size. The first information about sperm whales met in this region by Soviet whalers became known through Yukhov (1969) His article reported that the stock was mixed, including both barren and lactating females as well as young males. Such detailed information about the sperm whales' stock structure should have indicated that the author's primary material was not based on visual observation, but on the results of catches. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, cetacean research laboratories were liquidated and a portion of their primary materials disappeared. Other portions ended up distributed among various former Soviet republics, now independent states, and in private archives. Nonetheless, it was possible to recover with a high level of confidence data on the biological composition, especially the quantitative and size characteristics, of whales taken in the Arabian Sea.