Minke whale
Minke whale
The minke whale is the smallest of the balaenopterids, or rorquals. Itattains a length of 8-9 m and a weight of about 8 tonnes in the North Atlantic. As with all balaenopterids, the females are somewhat larger than the males. Minke whales are black or dark grey dorsally and white on the ventral side. A transverse white band is charachteristic for the species in the Northern Hemisphere. With a worldwide distribution, it is the most common of the rorquals.
Distribution and Stock Definition
The minke whale is found throughout most of the North Atlantic, but is generally more common in coastal or shelf areas (Fig. 1). Although the migratory patterns of North Atlantic minke whales are not known, they tend to occupy higher latitudes in the summer and lower latitudes in the winter. Breeding and calving areas are not known.
North Atlantic minke whales have been divided into four management stocks by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) (Donovan 1991)
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