 As the scientific report of the "Rossiya" fleet noted for the 1973–74 season,

"“The sperm whale’s breeding areas have become the areas of its elimination….”"

By 1980, few profitable whaling grounds were left in the entire southern hemisphere, and only one fleet was left to work the Antarctic after 1980, the "Ukraina" fleet which took only Antarctic minke whales until it finally ceased whaling in 1987.Typical catches of minkes usually numbered about 3000 a year, though some were underreported.Large-scale Soviet whaling in the North Pacific Ocean did not begin until 1963 with the launching of the "Dalniy Vostok" and "Vladivostok" fleets, but it was no less intense than in the Antarctic.