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Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Fishing ban · International · 1859–2022

Whale oil, kerosene and the 1986 whaling moratorium

Nature's voice · report
Between 1900 and 1999 industrial whaling killed about 2.9 million of my large whales, mostly fin whales and sperm whales.
Did nature suffer? Yes. Harm is on record. Disputed
Recorded
  • In the 1950s alone, more than 469,000 of my whales were killed in the Southern Hemisphere. NBC News
  • In the western South Atlantic my humpback whales fell to about 440 and are now about 25,000, which is 93% of their number before whaling.
What the record lacks: 2 none on record · 5 insufficient · 2 disputed See the gaps
Accounts of the harm differ
What ended the large-scale killing of whales: replacement of whale oil by petroleum products, or the ban?
  • Press and investigations Common account (no single holder named): Kerosene replaced whale oil and saved the whales.
  • Researchers Rocha, Clapham and Ivashchenko (2014), as reported by NBC News: Industrial whaling killed about 2.9 million large whales in the twentieth century; the international ban in effect from 1986 largely ended commercial whaling. NBC News

A widely repeated account says kerosene replaced whale oil and saved the whales. Reported research puts the large-whale kill at about 2.9 million in the twentieth century, after kerosene was widespread, and ties the end of most commercial whaling to the international ban in effect from 1986.

about 2.9 millionLarge whales killed by industrial whaling, 1900–1999
Rocha, Clapham and Ivashchenko (2014), as reported by NBC News; authors and outside experts say the figure is probably low.

Status As of the latest sources reviewed (2022 reference): no court ruling is on record; the record concerns what ended the large-scale killing of whales.

What?
Large-scale killing of whales continued through the twentieth century, after kerosene was widespread, and largely ended after the international moratorium in effect from 1986. NBC News
Where?
Global; the Southern Hemisphere accounts for more than 469,000 kills in the 1950s. NBC News
When?
Kerosene from 1859; industrial whaling 1900–1999; moratorium in effect from 1986. NBC News
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
  • Whaling sector — Reported to have lost its earnings after the ban.
Harmed
  • Large whales — About 2.9 million killed in 1900–1999. NBC News
Why?
The sources reviewed give the commercial demand for whale oil and products as the driver; the 'saved by kerosene' account is disputed by the research above. NBC News
How?
Industrial whaling with petroleum-powered fleets, ended largely by an international ban rather than by replacement of the product. NBC News
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Kerosene became widely used after 1859 and displaced whale oil in lighting. A common account holds that this petroleum product saved the whales. The sources reviewed report that the large-scale killing took place later.

According to Rocha, Clapham and Ivashchenko (2014), as reported by NBC News, industrial-scale whaling killed about 2.9 million large whales between 1900 and 1999. The most-hunted species were the fin whale (about 874,000) and the sperm whale (about 761,000). More than 469,000 whales were killed in the Southern Hemisphere alone in the 1950s. The authors and outside experts said the total was probably low because Soviet catches had been under-reported for years.

NBC reported that the international whaling moratorium in effect from 1986 largely ended commercial whaling, and that about 7,170 whales were killed in the 1990s.

Population recoveries have been recorded for some species. In August 2008 the IUCN moved the humpback whale from Vulnerable to Least Concern, linking the change to protection from commercial hunting; two subpopulations remained endangered. In the western South Atlantic the estimate rose from about 440 whales in the late 1950s to about 25,000, which is 93% of the pre-whaling population. In 2019 IMF economists calculated a value of more than US$2 million per whale; authors of the papers cited in that calculation wrote in 2022 that it lacked scientific basis.

  1. 1859Kerosene begins to spread as a lighting fuel (sources reviewed give no more precise date).
  2. 1900Industrial-scale whaling of large whales, about 2.9 million killed by 1999 (Rocha et al. 2014).
  3. 1986International whaling moratorium takes effect.
  4. 1990About 7,170 whales killed in the 1990s (NBC).
  5. 2008IUCN moves the humpback whale from Vulnerable to Least Concern.
  6. 2019IMF economists put the value of a whale at more than US$2 million.
  7. 2022Authors of the papers cited write that the valuation lacks scientific basis.

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

Where accounts differ

Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.

What ended the large-scale killing of whales: replacement of whale oil by petroleum products, or the ban?
Press and investigations
Common account (no single holder named)

Kerosene replaced whale oil and saved the whales.

Researchers
Rocha, Clapham and Ivashchenko (2014), as reported by NBC News

Industrial whaling killed about 2.9 million large whales in the twentieth century; the international ban in effect from 1986 largely ended commercial whaling.

NBC News
Is a whale worth more than US$2 million?
International bodies
IMF economists (2019)

Calculated a value of more than US$2 million per whale.

Researchers
Authors of the papers cited in the IMF calculation (2022)

Wrote that the valuation lacks scientific basis.

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

  • That petroleum products such as kerosene saved the whales (a widely repeated account, no single speaker named).
    Common account
  • That a whale is worth more than US$2 million.
    IMF economists, 2019

Recorded

  • About 2.9 million large whales killed 1900–1999; probably an undercount because of under-reported Soviet catches.
    NBC News
  • About 7,170 whales killed in the 1990s, after the 1986 moratorium.
    NBC News
  • Population recovery has been measured for the western South Atlantic humpback whale; the carbon value of a whale has not been measured.

In court and with insurers

Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

Lawsuits and rulings

No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

Insurers

No insurer decision on record.

What nature saw

Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

Large whales killed, 1900–1999
about 2.9m
Rocha et al. 2014, via NBC News; likely low
Whales killed in the 1990s
about 7,170
NBC News, after the 1986 moratorium
Western South Atlantic humpback whales
about 440 to about 25,000
From the late 1950s to now; 93% of the pre-whaling population

What we don't know

Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

Nature

  • Disputed What ended the large-scale killing of whales: replacement of whale oil by petroleum products, or the ban?

Accounts

  • Disputed Is a whale worth more than US$2 million?

Record

  • None on record The carbon value of a whale has not been measured; the population recovery of the humpback whale has.
  • None on record No primary source was found for the claim that 84% of world whale oil went into margarine in 1935.
  • Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: Richard York (2017, Socius) found that most whale killing came after the 1859 oil boom, in the twentieth century and especially after the Second World War; his paper could not be checked.
  • Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: petroleum-powered catcher ships made fast species such as the blue whale and fin whale catchable, with about 30,000 blue whales killed in the 1930-31 season.
  • Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: from 1911 whale oil entered margarine through hydrogenation, and Lever Brothers and Margarine Unie merged in 1929 to form Unilever.
  • Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: the International Whaling Commission adopted the moratorium on 23 July 1982 by 25 votes to 7 with 5 abstentions; Japan, Norway, Peru and the Soviet Union objected formally; Japan, Norway and Iceland killed more than 44,000 whales between 1986 and 2024.
  • Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: Soviet fleets killed 48,702 humpback whales in 1947-1973 and reported 2,710; North Pacific humpbacks fell about 20% in 2012-2021 after a marine heat wave.

Did the harm stop?

Commercial whaling largely stopped after the moratorium in effect from 1986; about 7,170 whales were killed in the 1990s according to NBC. Some populations have recovered and others have not.

Who paid?

The whale populations; the sources reviewed report that the whaling sector lost its earnings after the ban.

Sources

Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society— Researchers

Press and investigations

Communities and civil society

Connected cases

Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
Terms used on this page

Institutions

IUCN Red List
The International Union for Conservation of Nature and its global list assessing species' risk of extinction.
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