Blue Whale Unit

{{Short description|Unit of measurement in whaling}}

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.{{cite book|last=Burnett|first=D. Graham|title=The Sounding of the Whale: Science and Cetaceans in the Twentieth Century|year=2012|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0226081304|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/soundingofwhales00burn}}

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.{{cite web|last=Gulland|first=J.A.|title=Fisheries Management and the Limitations of Fishing|url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/96215E/96215e00.htm#Contents|publisher=Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations|accessdate=24 June 2012}}