Talk:Blue Whale Unit

WiR with IWC

Just noting that I expanded this article as part of a Wikipedian in Residence role with the International Whaling Commission (see Talk:International Whaling Commission for more information and COI declaration). The IWC did not direct me to edit this article, nor did they supply any references, suggest any edits, or have any other involvement in the article's expansion. In fact they did not even know I had expanded it until I submitted my mid-point report. Giantflightlessbirds (talk) 20:18, 8 September 2026 (UTC)

Did you know nomination

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• Article history

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* ... that a Blue Whale Unit is equal to one blue whale, two fin whales, or six sei whales? Source: https://www.fao.org/4/96215E/96215e07.htm#TopOfPage

• ALT0a: ... that a Blue Whale Unit was equal to one blue whale, two fin whales, two and a half humpback whales, or six sei whales?
  • ALT1: ... that the Blue Whale Unit was created by whalers to prevent a glut of whale oil? Source: Burnett, D. Graham (2012). The Sounding of the Whale: Science and Cetaceans in the Twentieth Century. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0226081304. p81 , quoted here "In his testimony on the relative yields of the different species ("you will get some Blue whales which will amount to four Humpbacks, and a Fin whale may be less") and the principle of catch limits set in production units, it is possible to see the rudiments of what would become, by the early 1930s, the first "barrel quotas," the purpose of which was, above all, to smooth out production spikes and control prices. Cartels dislike gluts.
  • Reviewed: Template:Did you know nominations/Marvin Leonard Colker

5x expanded by Giantflightlessbirds (talk). Number of QPQs required: 1. Nominator has 13 past nominations.

Giantflightlessbirds (talk) 08:38, 9 September 2026 (UTC).

• I will take this review. HerBauhaus · talk 12:08, 9 September 2026 (UTC)
• Article was expanded more than 8x on 8 September and nominated the next day, and is comfortably long enough at 4,548 B (746 words). It is well sourced, Earwig is clean, and I didn't detect any copyright issues. The article is neutral and the QPQ is complete. Of the 2 proposed hooks, ALT0 is the more interesting and eye-catching. I would suggest changing “is equal to” to “was equal to”, since the BWU is historical. It could also be made a little hookier by including the rather striking humpback equivalence: ALT0a: ... that a Blue Whale Unit was equal to one blue whale, two fin whales, two and a half humpback whales, or six sei whales? One minor copyedit in the article: “needless wastage” is slightly evaluative and could be tightened to “increased wastage”. This is an interesting and well-written article. Nicely done! HerBauhaus · talk 13:33, 9 September 2026 (UTC)
• Good suggestions! I've changed the hook, and made that edit to the article (which better reflects the source anyway). Giantflightlessbirds (talk) 20:07, 9 September 2026 (UTC)
  • Issues addressed. Good to go with ALT0a. HerBauhaus · talk 04:51, 10 September 2026 (UTC)