捕鲸是指人类捕获鲸鱼作为粮食以及其他用途。目前为止国际捕鲸委员会限制世界各国捕鲸行为。在20世纪早初的滥捕问题最为严重。

19世纪末期爆炸性鱼叉与蒸汽动力的捕鲸船的发展，让以前无法猎捕的大型鲸鱼可以成为商业捕鲸的目标，所以鲸鱼原先并没有遭到计划性的猎杀。当露脊鲸、蓝鲸、长须鲸与大翅鲸这些更有吸引力的商业捕鲸目标的数量减少后，塞鲸于是成为最被注意的猎捕目标，特别是在1950年代至1970年代之间。因为塞鲸可以快速的移动与躲避，而且从牠们身上获得的油与肉比起其他大型鲸鱼来的少。

Whaling is the hunting of whales purportedly for meat, oil, blubber, and scientific research. Its earliest forms date to at least circa 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of subsistence whaling and harvesting beached whales. Industrial whaling emerged with organized fleets in the 17th century; competitive national whaling industries in the 18th and 19th centuries; and the introduction of factory ships along with the concept of whale harvesting in the first half of the 20th century. By the late 1930s, more than 50,000 whales were killed annually In 1986, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) banned commercial whaling in order to increase the whale stock.