Pygmy sperm whales are toothed whales named after the waxy substance—spermaceti—found in their heads. The spermaceti is an oil sac that helps the whales produce sound. Learn more about pygmy sperm whales.

The dwarf sperm whale is a toothed whale named after the waxy substance, spermaceti, found in its head. This organ is a sac of oil that helps the whales produce sound. Learn more about the dwarf sperm whale.

Learn more about sperm whales and what NOAA Fisheries is doing to best conserve the species.

Initiation of 5-Year Review for the Sperm Whale

Sperm whales have been a part of American culture ever since Captain Ahab set out aboard the Pequod to find the infamous white whale in "Moby Dick". Large, noisy, and often social, sperm whales are a remarkable species found from the equator to the poles.

In 1970, the sperm whale was listed as endangered throughout its range under the Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1969.

NOAA Fisheries announces the adoption of an Endangered Species Act (ESA) Recovery Plan for the Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus). The Recovery Plan contains revisions and additions in consideration of public comments received on the proposed draft Reco

Contact information for Protected Resources and Science Center staff who work on sperm whale management and research.

First time NOAA Fisheries has had a report of a dead sperm whale in Alaska's Inside Passage

Study listened for sperm whales in an offshore wind energy development area.

This 2005-2013 study confirms the broad distribution of sperm whales across the North Pacific and highlights subtle temporal patterns in their acoustic activity, which may be related to shifts in animal behavior or movement. 

Photo-identification used to document long movements of sperm whales in the North Atlantic between the Western North Atlantic and the Azores.

The goal of this Recovery Plan is to promote recovery of sperm whales to a point at which they can be downlisted from endangered to threatened status, and ultimately to remove them from the list of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants, under the

Further understanding the distribution patterns of sperm whale populations in Hawaiʻi and contributing methods for building species distribution models.

Finding on a petition to list sperm whale in the Gulf of Mexico as an endangered or threatened distinct population segment under the Endangered Species Act.