For several hundred years the small whales of the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean and Black Seas have been hunted with varying degrees of intensity. All too often the story has been one of overhunting followed by rapid decline of stocks, but so little is known about these small whales that today it is impossible to assess their populations or the effects of present hunting on the stocks. The author recounts the history of eight species of small whale and urges the need for more research to ensure planned cropping of a valuable resource. A Canadian proposal for whale hunting as a sport is perhaps a sign of a new danger to come.