blue whales were once abundant around the world. in the nineteenth century, they were hunted almost to extinction by whalers. they were finally protected by the international community in 1966. a 2002 report estimated there were 5,000 to 12,000 blue whales worldwide, located in at least five groups. more recent research into the pygmy subspecies suggests this may be an underestimate. before whaling, the largest population was in the antarctic, numbering approximately 239,000 (range 202,000 to 311,000). there remain only much smaller (around 2,000) concentrations in each of the eastern north pacific, antarctic, and indian ocean groups. there are two more groups in the north atlantic, and at least two in the southern hemisphere. the north atlantic group of blue whales can be seen in the saguenay-st. lawrence marine park near tadoussac qc, canada.