-  behaviour
 -  species
 -  whales, not fish

Fin whale, Mexico. © Colla/Innerspace Visions

Fin whale Balaenoptera physalus 18 - 22 m (59 - 721/4 ft) 30 - 80 tonnes Distribution: worldwide Status: endangered Population: c. 120,000

After the Blue whale, the Fin whale is the second longest whale, with some individuals reaching more than 26 meters, though the average length is much less. A fast swimmer, it was the development of mechanically powered vessels in the early 20th century, together with harpoon guns and inflation lances (used to inflate whale carcasses with compressed air to keep them afloat) that gave the whalers the means to target this species.

Norway, which had pioneered much of this new whaling technology, was the first nation to start whaling in the Antarctic. They were soon joined by the United Kingdom and during the 1930s by Japan and Germany as well. The whalers began by targeting the largest species of whale, the Blue whale, and as this species became more scarce, they switched to the next largest, the Fin whale. In the southern hemisphere alone, three quarters of a million Fin whales were taken by the whaling industry, almost half of these in a single decade, the 1950s.

Fin whales are found all over the world, but are most common in the southern hemisphere. Like the majority of baleen whales, they are highly migratory. Their migratory behaviour is not well understood, but they seem to spend summers in high latitudes feeding and winters in warmer waters where they breed and give birth 20°Celsius.

More great whales:
Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus)
Sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis)
Bryde's whale (Baleonoptera edeni)
Minke whale (Balaenoptera spp.)
Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)
Right whales (Eubalaena spp.)
Bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus)
Gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus)
Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus)