Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2005L01892:body:0:p2
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2005L01892
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'true' blue whales; the northern hemisphere Balaenoptera musculus musculus and the southern hemisphere Balaenoptera musculus intermedia. The third is the 'pygmy' blue whale Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda known mainly from the southern Indian Ocean, the eastern South Atlantic and the western South Pacific. Blue whales are extremely long-lived animals, with 'true' blue whales living up to 90 years and pygmy blue whales to around 50 years.

There are reported size and other morphological differences between 'true' and 'pygmy' blue whales, however, there is no confirmed set of features that make individuals of the two sub-species readily distinguishable from each other at sea. Studies have not yet conclusively distinguished differences between each subspecies, although recent acoustic research indicates segregation between the southern ocean populations. One notable differentiation is that during the southern hemisphere summer, 'true' blues are usually found south of 60°S, while 'pygmy' blues are usually found north of 55°S. The taxonomy of these different blue whales remains uncertain and may change with future genetic and behavioral work.

Blue whales were greatly over-exploited by commercial whalers in the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1960, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) banned the taking of blue whales in the North Atlantic, banned it entirely in the North Pacific in 1966, and in the southern hemisphere in 1967. However illegal unreported and unregulated hunting may have continued through to the early 1970's. In 1985/86 the IWC declared a global moratorium on commercial whaling. Scientists have estimated that prior to whaling, southern hemisphere true blue whales numbered approximately 311,000 and pygmy blue whales approximately 10,000. In 2001 it was estimated between 500 and 2300 true blue whales were living in Antarctic waters. No agreed estimates of the number of pygmy blue whales exist. Recent data has shown an increase in the number of Antarctic blue whales, but the species remains at less than 1% of pre-whaling numbers.

In Australia, blue whales are found in the waters off Australia's Antarctic Territory, and along the southern parts of the Australian coast including Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales through to southern Queensland. The majority of the most northerly sightings are likely to be pygmy blue whales.

Fin whales
Fin whales are large whales growing to a maximum of approximately 26m. The biology and life history of the species is poorly known. Most fin whale populations were severely depleted by modern whaling from the early 1900's until protection in 1975. The fin whale was second 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