They likely feed during summer off the U.S. Blue whales have been sighted in the waters off eastern Canada and in the shelf waters of the eastern United States.Īlong the West Coast of the United States, eastern North Pacific blue whales are believed to spend winters off of Mexico and Central America. In the North Atlantic Ocean, their range extends from the subtropics to the Greenland Sea. In general, distribution is driven largely by food availability-they occur in waters where krill are concentrated. Information about distribution and movement varies with location, and migratory routes are not well known. They generally migrate seasonally between summer feeding grounds and winter breeding grounds, but some evidence suggests that individuals in certain areas might not migrate at all. Where They Liveīlue whales are found in all oceans except the Arctic. Once closed, blue whales then push the trapped water out of their mouth with their tongue and use their baleen plates to keep the krill trapped inside. When blue whales hunt for food, they filter feed by swimming toward large schools of krill with their mouth open and closing their mouths around the krill while inflating their throat pleats. The primary diet of blue whales is krill-tiny shrimp-like animals, but fish and copepods (tiny crustaceans) may occasionally be part of the blue whale’s diet. Scientists think they use these vocalizations to communicate and-along with their excellent hearing-perhaps to sonar-navigate the dark ocean depths.
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They are among the loudest animals on the planet, emitting a series of pulses, groans, and moans, and it is thought that in the right oceanographic conditions, sounds emitted by blue whales can be heard by other whales up to 1,000 miles away. They generally spend summers feeding in polar waters and undertake lengthy migrations towards the equatorial waters as winter arrives.īlue whales typically swim at about 5 miles an hour while they are feeding and traveling, but can accelerate to more than 20 miles an hour for short bursts. We engage our partners as we develop regulations and management plans that foster healthy fisheries and reduce the risk of entanglements, create whale-safe shipping practices, and reduce ocean noise.īlue whales sometimes swim in small groups but are more often found alone or in pairs. We use a variety of innovative techniques to study, protect, and rescue these endangered animals. NOAA Fisheries and its partners are dedicated to conserving and rebuilding blue whale populations worldwide. The primary threats blue whales currently face are vessel strikes and entanglements in fishing gear. The number of blue whales today is only a small fraction of what it was before modern commercial whaling significantly reduced their numbers during the early 1900s, but populations are increasing globally. There are five currently recognized subspecies of blue whales.
Some of the biggest individuals may eat up to 6 tons of krill a day.īlue whales are found in all oceans except the Arctic Ocean.
They feed almost exclusively on krill, straining huge volumes of ocean water through their baleen plates (which hang from the roof of the mouth and work like a sieve). Blue whales are the largest animals ever to live on our planet.
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