These cold temperate to subarctic whales are found in deep waters, mostly seaward of the continental shelf (and generally over 500-1,500 m deep) and near submarine canyons. They sometimes travel several kilometers into broken ice fields, but are more common in open water. Few whales were caught in shallow waters over the continental shelf off Labrador and in waters less than 1000 m deep off the west coast of Norway.

The species occupies a very narrow niche; the primary food source is squid of the genus Gonatus (Hooker et al. 2001; Whitehead et al. 2003). The whales may also occasionally eat fish (such as herring and redfish), sea cucumbers, starfish, and prawns. They do much of their feeding on or near the bottom in very deep water (> 800 m, and as deep as 1,400 m; Hooker and Baird 1999).