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How many blue whales were killed by whalers in 1931?
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whaling
Japanese factory ship hauling a minke whale through a slipway in the ship's stern, 1992.
During the 1930–31 whaling season, the worldwide kill of blue whales exceeded 29,000 animals.1
This period of intensive human predation reflects a time when commercial whaling was largely unregulated, leading to the severe depletion of whale populations. The rapid escalation of such practices highlights the critical importance of ethical conservation efforts to protect marine life from overexploitation.23