Balaena mysticetus, Bowhead whale : fisheries
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Balaena mysticetus   Linnaeus, 1758

Bowhead whale

Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Balaena mysticetus  AquaMaps  Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Balaena mysticetus

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | CoL | ITIS | WoRMS

Mammalia | Cetartiodactyla | Balaenidae

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Pelagic.  Polar; 90°N - 0°S, 180°W - 180°E

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Pacific Ocean, Northern Atlantic and the Arctic. [Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort Sea population: LR/cd; Okhotsk Sea population: EN, D; Svalbard-Barents Sea (Spitsbergen) population: CR, D: IUCN 2010 (Ref. 84930)].

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 1,400.0, range 125 - 140 cm Max length : 1,800 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 1394); 2000 cm TL (female); max. published weight: 100.0 t (Ref. 1394)

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Lives among the pack ice, migrating to the high arctic summer, but retreating southward in winter with the advancing ice edge. Feeds on small to medium-sized invertebrates, especially krill and copepods. Bowhead whales were heavily hunted for several centuries. Today they are partially protected by the IWC. The current world population is still threatened by small-scale hunting by Alaskan, Canadian, and Russian natives. In addition, there are various forms of habitat degradation, including disturbance from oil and gas exploration and development activities (Ref. 1394). Lives among the pack ice, migrating to the high arctic summer, but retreating southward in winter with the advancing ice edge. Feeds on small to medium-sized invertebrates, especially krill and copepods (Ref. 1394).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Females calve once every 3 to 5 years, i.e., very low reproductive capacity (Ref. 118436).

Main reference References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Jefferson, T.A., S. Leatherwood and M.A. Webber 1993 FAO species Identification Guide: Marine Mammals of the World. Rome, FAO. 320 p. + 587 figures. (Ref. 1394)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 01 January 2018

CITES status (Ref. 108899)

Appendix I: International trade banned

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Appendix I: Endangered migratory species

Threat to humans

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial
FAO - Fisheries: landings, species profile | FishSource | Sea Around Us

Tools

E-book | Field guide

More information

Trophic Ecology
Food items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growth
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Fecundity
Spawning
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Physiology
Oxygen consumption
Human Related
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
Collaborators
Taxonomy
Common names
Synonyms
Morphology
Pictures
References
References

Internet sources

BHL | BOLD Systems | CISTI | DiscoverLife | FAO(Fisheries: species profile; publication : search) | Fishipedia | GenBank (genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | Gomexsi | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | PubMed | Tree of Life | Wikipedia (Go, Search) | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): -1.7 - 1.5, mean -0.9 (based on 4244 cells).
Resilience (Ref. 69278): Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (K=0.03; tm=20).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 71543): Very high vulnerability (88 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766): Unknown.

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