There are 8 species of whale in the Southern Oceans surrounding Antarctica, including the blue whale, humpback whale, minke, orca and sperm whales. All Antarctic whale species migrate southwards to the Southern Oceans to feed in the cold, nutrient-rich waters full of plankton and krill, and then migrate back northwards to warmer waters to breed and give birth during the summer months. - The bones on shore are remains from the whaling times in the first half of the last century. Today whaling is regulated by the International Whaling Commission. The Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, established in 1994 and which surrounds Antarctica and extends over 50 million square kilometers, protects the whales from all types of commercial whaling in these waters. Japan has continued to hunt whales inside the sanctuary for the purposes of scientific research.