Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus)

node · earth · Global ocean

The second-largest animal and the blue whale's closest comparison case, useful because the two were hunted by the same fleets and have recovered at very different rates. More than 700,000 fin whales were killed in the Southern Hemisphere from the early 1900s to the 1970s. IUCN moved the fin whale from Endangered to Vulnerable in 2018 with an increasing trend, its global population having roughly doubled since the 1970s. The blue whale was not downlisted. Same ocean, same ban, different trajectory - which is why "the moratorium worked" is not a sufficient account of either.