Fin whale Balaenoptera physalus
Publication of Advice: 22 April 2026. Published by Marine and Freshwater Research Institute.
Advice
MFRI and NAMMCO advise that when the Revised Management Procedure is applied, catches in 2026 should be no more than 116 animals in the East-Greenland/West-Iceland (EG/WI) management area and 34 animals in the East Iceland/Faroes (EI/F) managment area. This is not inclusive of any transfers between years.
This is an preliminary advice for one year (2026), and will be updated later in the year once the new abundance estimates have been approved by relevant groups and committees within NAMMCO.
Stock development
Abundance reference points have not been defined for this stock.
Fin whales. Catch by effort type and abundance. The 2024 estimate is preliminary.
Basis of the assessment
Basis of the advice | RMP Catch Limit Algorithm |
Management plan | No management plan has been defined for this stock |
Input data | Abundance estimates and catches |
Prospects
The advice follows the International Whaling Commissions (IWC) Catch Limit Algorithm (CLA, Huseby and Aldrin 2006), the application of which for fin whales was last reviewed in 2023 (IWC 2023). The CLA is, when applied to a single stock, known to be precautionary whilst maximising the sustainable yield in the long term. Here, the CLA is applied to the total abundance of fin whales in the waters east of Greenland (EG), west of Iceland (WI) and between Iceland and Faroe Islands (EI/F), considering these area as a Small area. Catch cascading is applied to distribute the catches based on relative proportions of the abundance in EG+WI and EI/F respectively. Following the decision of the scientific committee of NAMMCO the advice is based on maintaining the stock at 60% of the carrying capacity in the long term, i.e. setting the tuning level to 0.6 in the CLA. Tuning levels between 0.6 and 0.72 have been determined to be precautionary by simulations conducted by the scientific committee of the IWC.
As the 2024 abundance estimates have not been approved yet, they are not used for this preliminary advice. Due to that, a 20% precautionary reduction in the catch is applied (so called phase-out rule).
| Basis | Tuning level | Total Catch EG/WI | Total Catch EI/F | Total Catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advice rule | 0.6 | 116 | 34 | 150 |
| —— | —— | —— | —— | |
| Reduced advice rule | 0.72 | 70 | 21 | 91 |
Quality of the assessment
The 2024 NASS survey could not adequately survey the main fin whale feeding grounds in West-Iceland/East Greenland due to fog and ice that was prevalent in that region that summer. Final review of the abundance estimate from the 2024 survey has not been completed by the relevant committees within NAMMCO.
Other information
In the last four surveys fin whales were found in greatest numbers in the area between West-Iceland and East-Greenland, while before 2000, fin whales were found in greater numbers in the waters east of Iceland suggesting a slight shift in distribution. The area in West-Iceland and East-Greenland that fin whales inhabit has also grown considerably, likely due to changes in temperature and ice conditions (Víkingsson et al. 2015). Other boreal species have been found in increasing numbers in East-Greenland in recent years, and the term climate driven regime shift has been proposed, as these boreal species are moving in while Arctic species in the region are receding (Heide-Jørgensen et al. 2022).
Pregnancy rates of fin whales have been shown to reduce with greater density due to more competition affecting body condition (Williams et al. 2013). These findings along with higher abundance of fin whales warrants further research into pregnancy rates and overall fecundity of fin whales around Iceland.
Advice, TAC and catch
Fin whale. Recommended TAC, national TAC, and catches.
Year | Recommended TAC | National TAC | Total catch |
|---|---|---|---|
1977 | 304 | 144 | |
1978 | 304 | 236 | |
1979 | 304 | 260 | |
1980 | 304 | 237 | |
1981 | 304 | 254 | |
1982 | 304 | 194 | |
1983 | 194 | 143 | |
1984 | 167 | 167 | |
1985 | 161 | 161 | |
1986 | 80 | 75 | |
1987 | 80 | 80 | |
1988 | 80 | 68 | |
1989 | 80 | 67 | |
1990 | 0 | ||
1991 | 0 | ||
1992 | 0 | ||
1993 | 0 | ||
1994 | 0 | ||
1995 | 0 | ||
1996 | 0 | ||
1997 | 0 | ||
1998 | 200 | 200 | |
1999 | 200 | 200 | |
2000 | 200 | 200 | |
2001 | 200 | 200 | |
2002 | 200 | 200 | |
2003 | 200 | 200 | |
2004 | 200 | 200 | |
2005 | 200 | 200 | |
2006 | 200 | 200 | 7 |
2007 | 200 | 200 | |
2008 | 200 | 200 | |
2009 | 200 | 200 | 125 |
2010 | 200 | 200 | 148 |
2011 | 154 | 154 | |
2012 | 154 | 154 | |
2013 | 154 | 154 | 133 |
2014 | 154 | 154 | 137 |
2015 | 154 | 154 | 155 |
2016 | 146 | 146 | |
2017 | 146 | 146 | |
2018 | 209 | 209 | 144 |
2019 | 209 | 209 | |
2021 | 209 | 209 | |
2022 | 209 | 209 | 148 |
2023 | 209 | 209 | 24 |
2024 | 209 | 209 | |
2025 | 209 | 209 | |
2026 | 150 |
References and further reading
Heide-Jørgensen M-P, Chambault P, Jansen T, Gjelstrup C, Rosing-Asvid A, Macrander A, Víkingsson G, Zhang X, Andresen C, MacKenzie B 2023. A regime shift in the Southeast Greenland marine ecosystem. Global Change Biology, 29, 668–685. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16494
Huseby RB, Aldrin M. 2006. Updated Documentation of a Fortran 77 Subroutine Implementing the Catch Limit Algorithm-Version January 2006.” NR-Note SAMBA/06/06, Norwegian Computing Center
IWC 2023. Annex L Report of the Sub‐Committee on Implementation Simulation Trials. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management. Volume 25 Supplement October 2023.
NAMMCO 2025. Report of the 32nd meeting of the Scientific Committee (NAMMCO/SC/32). NAMMCO-North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission. Tromsø. Norway. 80 pp.https://nammco.no/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/report_sc32_2026.pdf
Víkingsson G, Pike D, Valdimarsson H, Schleimer A, Gunnlaugsson T, Silva T, Elvarsson B, Mikkelsen B, Øien N, Desportes G, Bogason V and Hammond PS 2015. Distribution, abundance, and feeding ecology of baleen whales in Icelandic waters: have recent environmental changes had an effect?. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 3:6. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2015.00006
Williams R, Vikingsson G, Gislason A, Lockyer C, New L, Thomas L, Hammond P. 2013. Evidence for density-dependent changes in body condition and pregnancy rate of North Atlantic fin whales over four decades of varying environmental conditions, ICES Journal of Marine Science, 70: 1273–1280, https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fst059