MODERN WHALING

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 19970, 3 July 1930, Page 5

MODERN WHALING

AN IMPORTANT INDUSTRY. ADDRESS BY MR E. AAGAARD. From hia experience* la the Boss Sea, Mr E. Aagaard, of the 0. A. Larson Norwegian Whaling Expedition, ha» collected a rich store of Information on whales and modern whaling methods, and an address on this subject was listened to with keen interest by a large audience at a meeting of the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury last evening. f Dr. B. B. D. Milligan presided and briefly introduced tho speaker. Generally supposed to be a young Industry, about 20 or 25 years old, the history of whaling actually dated back to the 16th century, Mr Aagaard said, when it was carried on on a scale which some people had said was aa large as that of the present day, although that was an exaggeration. To the English and Dutch must be the credit for starting commercial whaling, although it had been carried on to an extent by the Biscayau fishermen. In search f a northern -.ssage to _ Asia, the English and Dutch, while failing in their main objective, discovered Spitsbergen and the surrounding island - in 1596. A little later these island# were visited by Henry Hudson, who did not realise the value of the animal life that abounded there. In 1611 the first whaling expedition—an English no—set out for Spitzbergen, and soon after other ships followed. Disputes followed, and the English claimed the sole rights, while the Dutch pressed a similar claim. In the meantime the Spanish entered the competition, leaving the other two nations to their quarrel and helping themselves. Conditions were becoming unbearable, although there were whales enough for all, and finally definite whaling territories were set apart for the disputing nations and peace reigned once more. Vessels Small but Strong. The size of the ships used at that time was about 200 or 300 tons, and these vessels were very strongly built. Already in those early days the same conditions prevailed as existed to-day —that was to say, the men were paid a bonus on the whales killed. The whale-chaser was a rowing boat propelled by four to six oars. It was only desired that there should be room for five or six men, and for rope, and that the boats should be easily handled. The harpoon was thrown by hand, although in 1781 a harpoon gun was used, but was not successful, proving more dangerous to the operator than to the whale.

Mr Aagaard went on to ny that it was early supposed that it would be a wise scheme to colonise Spitsbergen, but the bad living conditions, the general uncleanlinesß, causing outbreaks of Bcurvy, were responsible for the abandonment of the project, and the land was inhabited only in the summer months. During one period of ten years in the seventeenth century the Dutch and English sent 150 expeditions each a year. Decline of Whaling. In these ten years nearly £3,000,000 was distributed in prizes to encourage whaling. It was easy to understand that at that rate the whales could not last. The Spitzbergen whales were Greenland and right whales, which were tremendously fat, slow, and easily caught. Consequently the whalers killed the goose that laid the golden egg, and in 1820 there was only one whaling ship at Spitzbergen, the whales having retired to the more remote seas. Along the coasts of North Europe, Iceland, Greenland, and North America, however, there were other whales, such as the humpback, which were very fast, and to catch these new equipment had to be made.

The whaling industry was revolutionised by the perfection of the harpoongun by Captain Sven Foyn, a Norwegian, who was born in 1809. Realising that it had become necessary to use a steamer to chase the whales, he began experimenting, and in some attempts nearly lost his life. He perfected his gun in 1868, when he had spent nearly bia whole fortune. His first season with the gun brought him thirty whales, wbieb saved his finances, and his catches improved yearly. The first whaling expedition south was to Bouth Georgia and South Bhet land, about twenty-five years ago, and for this expedition it was found neces sary to get a bigger type of 'chaser, and a transport vessel for the oil and the supplies. Tank ships were used, and at South Georgia a factory was erected ashore, and the whales were boiled out there. It was found, however, that the southern whiles changed their feeding grounds, following the prawns, so that they were difficult to find. The 'chasers had go further abroad. Consequently the factory equipment was carried on board ship. Two Main Groups. Mr Aagaard explained that there were two main groups of whales —the fin whale and the tooth whale. The fin whale was the most important group and* included the blue whale, which was the biggest variety in the world. Instead of teeth it had what was known as baleen, or whalebone. The blue whale grew to maturity In one year and lived, at the most, 15 years. It bred about every second year and had two and sometimes three calves. The fin whale, which took its name from its class, was a smaller variety, and had the biggest fin. It averaged 70 to 80 feet in length, and resembled the blue whale. The humpback, in the same group, was fat and never grew more than 50 feet in length, but was nearly half as thick as it was long. The most important tooth whale was the sperm whale, which was the best known variety in New Zealand. It was totally different from the others, having a tremendous head, about a third of its total length. The sperm fed on the octopus, and its great head offered a grip for the octopus. This suited the whale, which gripped the body in its low-placed jaw, and with the octopus clinging round its head dashed its head against the sea bottom, thereby crushing its prey. He did not think that there was much chance of exterminating the Antarctic whale, which protected itself with its speed, and often outdistanced the chaser, and could stand the chase for a day without giving in. Legislation had been framed to protect the whales, and cows with young and calves could not be slain. Nor must a whale under 40 feet long be killed, although it was hard sometimes to avoid an accident. No bonus was paid to the men on such a whale accidentally killed. An inspector was on everj factory ship to see that the law was observed. "I don't think there is any fear of exterminating the whales as yet," Mr Aagaard concluded, "so people can set their minds at rest." The speaker showed a number of illustrations and answered a large number of questions. He was accorded a hearty vote of thanks.