This is one of only a few species of beaked whales to be hunted commercially on a large scale. Hunts occurred from the 1850s to the 1970s, and over 65,000 whales were killed (with many more struck but lost; Reeves et al. 1993). They have also been hunted in a drive fishery in the Faroe Islands, with over 800 taken there (Bloch et al. 1996).

By far the major bottlenose whaling nation has been Norway, though some hunting was also done by the UK, Canada and Denmark (Faroes). The northern bottlenose was sought after for its oil (including a form of spermaceti oil in the head) and later for pet food. No hunting of this species has been conducted by Norway since 1973 (Jefferson et al. 1993, Reyes, 1991. The species has been essentially unexploited for almost 30 years, with only a few animals taken in some years in the Faroe Islands (on average 2.2 whales per year in the period 1709-2002). The aggregate population was certainly reduced by whaling, and the extent of recovery is uncertain (Reeves et al. 2003). Mitchell (1977) considered that the population was severely depleted in both the early and modern whaling periods. Few incidental catches have been reported (Reyes 1991).

There are no major fisheries for squid in the Northeast Atlantic, but future developments could represent some threat. This species, like other beaked whales, is likely to be vulnerable to loud anthropogenic sounds, such as those generated by navy sonar and seismic exploration (Cox et al. 2006).

Predicted impacts of global climate change on the marine environment may affect this species of whale, although the nature of impacts is unclear (Learmonth et al. 2006).