A total of 93 cetacean species and an additional 41 subspecies or subpopulations have been evaluated for the IUCN Red List.
Assessments and classifications are being updated regularly – below is a summary of the red list status of cetaceans based on the 2022-2 issue of the IUCN Red List.
Critically Endangered
There are five cetacean species and 19 subspecies or subpopulations of cetacean that are currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. The Yangtze River dolphin (Lipotes vexillifer) is classified as critically endangered and may already be functionally extinct. The vaquita (Phocoena sinus), a porpoise resident in the inner Gulf of California in Mexico is the other cetacean that is listed as critically endangered. The Atlantic humpback dolphn (Sousa teuszii) which occurs only in the coastal zone of West Africa is critically endangered, as is the North Atlantic Right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) and the newly described Rice’s whale (Balaenoptera ricei). Critically endangered subspecies and subpopulations include six isolated subpopulations of Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris), two in marine waters in the Phillippines: Malampaya Sound and Iliolo-Guimaras and four in fresh or brakkish waters: Mekong River, Mahakam River, Songkla Lake and the Ayeyarwady River subpopulations.
Endangered
Twelve cetacean species are endangered: sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis), blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus), North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica), the Indus River dolphin (Platanista minor), the Ganges river dolphin (Platanista gangetica), Amazon River dolphin (Inia geoffrensis), Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris), tucuxi (Sotalia fluviatilis), Indian Ocean humpback dolphin (Sousa plumbea), Perrin’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon perrini), Narrow-ridged finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorienalis), and Hector’s dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori).
Seven species are classified as Vulnerable and ten are Near Threatened. Many species are very little known and have been classified as Data Deficient.
