Twentieth-century whaling of Minke Whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) around Ireland until 1977

Published literature on whaling off the coast of Ireland is restricted to shore-based whaling which took three forms: drive-hunting of Long-finned Pilot Whale (Globicephala melas (Traill, 1809)) (O’Riordan 1975), opportunistic coastal whaling from open boats which mainly targeted the North Atlantic Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis (Müller, 1776)) (Went 1968, McNeary 2007, O’Callaghan 2019), and ‘modern’ industrial-scale whaling using methods developed in Norway in the 1860s (Tønnessen and Johnsen 1982). ‘Modern’, shore-based whaling targeted the six largest cetacean species that occurred in Irish waters (Went 1968, Fairley 1981, Ryan 2022). Shore-based whaling ended in Ireland in 1922 with the closure of operations by Akties Nordhavet at its station near Blacksod, Co. Mayo (Went 1968, Fairley 1981).