Blue Whale Unit

A blue whale unit (BWU) was a unit of measurement used in the regulation of whaling. It was originally used by a cartel of whaling companies in the Antarctic Ocean in the 1930s. It was later used by the International Whaling Commission through the 1960s to measure nations respective whale quotas.^[1] One blue whale unit can be expressed in terms of: one blue whale, two fin whales, two and a half humpback whale, or six sei whales. The ratios are roughly based on the relative amounts of oil that each species yields.^[2]