Subject: Blue Whale products
n.patenaude@auckland.ac.nz
Tue, 25 Mar 1997 11:31:58 GMT+1200
Dear Dr. Patenaude,
My name is Brian and I am doing a report on the blue whale for my
science class. My question is, do people still use whales today for products
and if so, which products. I am doing this report because we were to find
out information on an endangered species and I thought that whales were
interesting.
Thank you for your time. Brian
Dear Brian,
Since 1966, blue whales have been protected and so whalers are not supposed to hunt them
(although some scientists believe that occasionally they still do). When they did hunt
them, the most important product was whale oil, obtained by boiling the blubber and the
bones. The oil was used to produce margarine and cooking oil. Japanese whalers also kept
the meat and sold it for human consumption. The tail was a delicacy and eaten raw, the
belly fat was sold as 'whale bacon'. Nowadays some whales are still hunted commercially.
The Japanese have the largest whaling fleet of all and their target species is the minke
whale. The meat is used for food.
Nathalie Patenaude