Common minke whale season (April to June), over three-quarters within 30 nautical miles of shore. Of 902 minke whales caught off northeastern Brazil in 1980, only three were dwarf. Of 1,789 minke whales caught in the Southern Ocean by the Japanese between 1987–88 and 1992–93, only 16 were dwarf minkes (one was caught in 1987–88, five in 1988–89, three in 1989–90, four in 1990–91, and three in 1992–93). These were taken from December to March between the latitudes of 55°22'S and 65°04'S and the longitudes of 111°26'E and 178°12'E. An additional 180 minke whales (47 males, 133 females) which had flippers with a
Antarctic minke whale dark gray dorsally and clean white (occasionally light gray to gray) ventrally with a thin, dusky margin. Some small, dark gray "speckling" may be present on the body. Antarctic minkes lack the bright white, transverse "flipper band" of the common minke and the white "shoulder blaze" and bright white "flipper patch" (occupying the proximal two-thirds of the flipper) of the dwarf minke. Instead, their narrow, pointed flippers, about one-sixth to one-eighth of the total body length, are normally either a plain light gray with an almost white leading edge and a darker gray trailing edge or two-toned, with a thin