Sperm whale  (Physeter macrocephalus)

Sperm whales have a long history of commercial exploitation (1). Large-scale hunting began in 1712 in the North Atlantic, based at Nantucket in America (4). They were not widely hunted for their meat, but for ambergris and spermaceti. Ambergris is a substance that collects around the indigestible beaks of squid in the stomach of the whale, and was highly prized for use as a fixative in the perfume industry. Although artificial alternatives are now available, some perfume makers prefer to use ambergris today. Spermatceti was used in the production of cosmetics and candles (7). Sperm whales still have an economic value today for meat in Japan. Since the 1980s, the International Whaling Commission brought an international moratorium on whaling into force. Despite this measure, Japan continues to hunt sperm whales, and relatively small numbers are taken each year with hand harpoons at Lamalera, Indonesia (1). Further threats include entanglement in fishing gear and collisions with boats (1). Although whaling has, with the exceptions outlined above, largely ceased, the after-effects of such prolonged and intensive hunting are still being felt today. It is thought that the selective hunting of the largest, breeding males will have decreased pregnancy rates, and the loss of the largest females from nursery groups would have decreased the survival of the groups (1).

As a species, the sperm whale is not facing immediate threat, but some populations need to be carefully monitored, and there is need for tight management of any exploitation (1). In the eastern tropical Pacific, recent whaling was extremely intensive, and birth rates at present are very low. The Mediterranean population is particularly susceptible to collisions with ships and entanglement with fishing gear (1).