SOVIET CATCHES OF SOUTHERN RIGHT WHALES EUBALAENA-AUSTRALIS, 1951-1971 - BIOLOGICAL DATA AND CONSERVATION IMPLICATIONS

Between 1951/1952 and 1970/1971, a total of at least 3368 southern rig ht whales Eubalaena australis were taken by Soviet whaling expeditions in the Southern Hemisphere, despite the species being internationally protected since 1935. These catches and the associated biological dat a (presented here for the first time) represent a unique source of inf ormation on the distribution, movements, size composition, reproductio n and feeding of southern right whales during summer months. Revelatio n of these previously unreported catches also has implications for the assessment of the current status of right whale stocks. Incorporation of the Soviet catches into population assessments generally leads to higher estimates of the size of the population at protection, but the relative increase in this size depends on the intrinsic rate of increa se in the population. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserv ed.