Minke whale Balaenoptera acutorostrata
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 168 animals in the Central Icelandic Coastal management 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
Minke whale. Catch and abundance. The 2024 estimate is preliminary.
Basis of the assessment
Abundance reference points have not been defined for this stock
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 minke whales in the Central Icelandic Costal Area. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Advice rule | 0.6 | 168 |
| Reduce advice rule | 0.72 | 107 |
Quality of the assessment
The 2024 NASS survey could not adequately survey blocks in West-Iceland/East Greenland due to fog and ice that was prevalent in that region that summer.The survey coverage of the Icelandic coastal waters was however decent, and so was the coverage of the waters east of Iceland and around the Faroe Islands.
Other information
Abundance of common minke whales increased up to 2001 but decreased thereafter. This change likely represents changes in distribution within the Central North Atlantic stock area, as a result of changed abundance and distribution of important prey species such as sandeel and capelin. The preliminary and yet to be approved estimates from the 2024 survey shows a reversal of this decreasing trend, perhaps due to recent increase in the abundance of capelin and sandeel.
Advice, TAC and catch
Minke whale. Recommended TAC, national TAC, and catches.
Year | Recommended TAC | National TAC | Total catch |
|---|---|---|---|
1977 | 320 | 194 | |
1978 | 200 | 198 | |
1979 | 200 | 198 | |
1980 | 200 | 202 | |
1981 | 200 | 201 | |
1982 | 200 | 212 | |
1983 | 212 | 204 | |
1984 | 182 | 178 | |
1985 | 147 | 145 | |
1986 | 80 | ||
1987 | 80 | ||
1988 | 80 | ||
1989 | 80 | ||
1990 | 0 | ||
1991 | 0 | ||
1992 | 0 | ||
1993 | 0 | ||
1994 | 0 | ||
1995 | 0 | ||
1996 | 0 | ||
1997 | 0 | ||
1998 | 250 | 250 | |
1999 | 250 | 250 | |
2000 | 250 | 250 | |
2001 | 250 | 250 | |
2002 | 250 | 250 | |
2003 | 250 | 250 | 37 |
2004 | 250 | 250 | 25 |
2005 | 250 | 250 | 39 |
2006 | 250 | 250 | 61 |
2007 | 250 | 250 | 45 |
2008 | 400 | 400 | 38 |
2009 | 100 | 100 | 81 |
2010 | 200 | 200 | 60 |
2011 | 216 | 216 | 58 |
2012 | 216 | 216 | 52 |
2013 | 229 | 229 | 35 |
2014 | 229 | 229 | 24 |
2015 | 229 | 229 | 29 |
2016 | 224 | 224 | 46 |
2017 | 224 | 224 | 17 |
2018 | 217 | 217 | 6 |
2019 | 217 | 217 | 0 |
2021 | 217 | 217 | 1 |
2022 | 217 | 217 | 0 |
2023 | 217 | 217 | 0 |
2024 | 217 | 217 | 0 |
2025 | 217 | 217 | 0 |
2026 | 168 |
References and further reading
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