Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2005L01892:body:0:p3
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2005L01892
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 5355–8172

to the blue whale in commercial importance because of its size and wide ranging distribution. In the southern hemisphere the pre-exploitation abundance was estimated at around 500,000 and may have been reduced to as few as 25,000. There are no estimates of current fin whale abundance for the southern hemisphere or for Australian waters.

Fin whales are widely distributed in both hemispheres between latitudes 20-75°. The species is more common in temperate waters, and the Arctic and Antarctic Oceans. Areas of upwelling and interfaces between mixed and stratified waters may be an important feature of fin whale feeding habitat. In the Antarctic the species is seen feeding both at the ice edge and further to the north in areas of complex bathymetry.

In Australia, there are confirmed records of fin whales for all coastal waters except in New South Wales and the Northern Territory, but the available information suggests that the species is more commonly present in deeper water.

Sei whales
Sei whales are moderately large whales growing up to 18m. The biology and life history of the species are less well known than for blue and fin whales. Sei whales were hunted by modern whalers primarily after other whale species (such as blue, fin and right whales) had been depleted. Most populations of sei whales were reduced by extensive whaling from the 1950's until the 1970's. International protection was afforded in 1977 for this species.

The sei whale is one of the less well studied great whales and the current status of most populations is poorly known. The original southern hemisphere population may have numbered around 100,000. There is no accepted current abundance estimate for sei whales in the southern hemisphere and no estimate for Australian waters.

The movements and distributions of sei whales are unpredictable and not well documented. Sei whales are similar in appearance to Bryde's whales which has resulted in confusion about distributional limits and frequency of occurrence, particularly in warmer waters where Bryde's whales are more common. The available information suggests that sei whales have the same general pattern of migration as most other baleen whales including blue and fin whales, although the timing is generally later and the current scientific view is that the species does not go to such high latitudes. There is evidence from catch data of a pronounced segregation of the sexes during migration, where the pregnant females generally arrive and depart from feeding areas earlier than males.

Sei whales are not often found near coasts and the species is infrequently recorded in Australian waters, with records only occurring from Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and Queensland.

Habitat critical to the survival of blue, fin and sei whales

It is not