"THERE SHE SPOUTS!"

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1506, 31 July 1912, Page 6

"THERE SHE SPOUTS!"

FINANCE OF WHALINGBIG RISKS AND BIG FORTUNES. THE PRESENT-DAY BOOM. Visiting Wellington at the present timo is Mr. B. Jacobsen, a Norwegian, who has Leon residing in Durban for some yoars, and who is interested in tlio operations of ono of tlio whaling companies of that port. Ilis object in coming to New Zealand is to ascertain if there is a reasonable prospect of tlio industry being mado a payable one on this coast, and, if so, to lloat a .company to operate somewhat on the lines of tho companies which have already made a start at liussell and Stewart Island. Tho Latest "Base"—Great Barrier. Mr. Jacobsen has been visiting tie north, and has pitched upon tho Great Barrier Island as a likely place for tho establishment of a shore station, as lio belioves it to bo in the track of the whales going north, whilo another advantage is that there is good harbour accommodation and plenty of timber. He has obtained tho option over a. piece of land there, and if ho sees that there is a reasonablo prospect of doing well—the operations of tho companies at present in New Zealand waters will bo a fair guide—lie will exorcise that option, and float his company. Ho anticipates no difficulty in raising tho capital. Should the Companies be Allowed to Clash at Sea? I would like.to know," he said, "is whether tho Government is going to allow tho companies to fish anywhere, or to allocate so much of tho coast-lino to each company. This is a thing that the Government of Western Australia has seen to, and I think it is the right thing. Givo each company 75 or 100 miles of coast, and i.ssuo licenses only to bo many companies, so that each will nave a chance to fish in security. I may mention that there is always a big risk in unknown waters, and, so far, Now Zealand waters are unknown to us. All that is being done now is experimental, and no ono can say whether tho industry is likely to bo a permanent one! x "Certainly there are whales about— humpbacksj sperm whales, and even right whales—not so many of tho last-named, I beliove—but to make the business pay you have to get tho whales in pretty regular supply during tho season. It would take, for instance, about 200 hump-backs a month to mako a company with a capital of .£IOO,OOO pay. We got about a thousand whales altogether in Durban last year, but that is a particularly good ground, as tho whales go north of the Mozambique Channel regularly, and return south the same-way after the breeding season." 1912—'The New Steam "Killer." Mr. Jacobsen furnished somo interesting data as to the whaling industry of tho world, which is of interest in view of tho possibilities in Now Zealand. Consequent upon a jump in tho prico of whale oil (now quoted at about .£l6 a ton), thero had been a big revival of tho pursuit all over tho world. Practically the whole of the industry is now controlled by Norwegians, who seem to be specially adapted for tho work. Old methods had been supplemented with new ones. A number of steam "killer. 1 ;," which were very stoutly built rnd encined, and could steam from 12 to 11< knots an hour, wero attached cither to a shore station or a floating factory (as in tlio caso of the New Zealand Whaling Company). Record Catch of 1911. In Durban the companies had shoro stations—tlirco factories; alongside ou.e another—and, owing to [ the want of harbour accommodation elsewhere oil the 1 coast, the "killers" had to bring their catches into Durban Harbour, and from there convey them bv rail on specially-construct-ed trucks, a distanco of four miles from tho port. Each whale cost JU to transport in that maimer. Cheap black labour was employed. In. 1911 the world's catch ill whales was 22,500, this total being double tho number caught during tho preceding year.

Ono of thts best grounds in tho world was San Georgio, off the Falkland Islands, whero GOOO whales were caught last season. The fishing there is in the hands ol Norwegians, and some very big fortunes have been mado in tho industry. On the other hand' lots of ventures have failed. One company, established itself on Kerguelen Island not long ago, but it did very poorly, and the company had to go into' liquidation. Sperm Whales in our Waters? Bight whales were, of course, tho most valuable, and were correspondingly, rare. Tho whalebone of a good "right 5 ' often amounted to a quarter of a ton, and was worth .£2OOO per ton at the present time. Sperm whales, too, were valuable on account of tho speoial quality of their c,. and the rich stearine-laden oil which' was pumped from tho head. Mr.' Jacobsen judges that thero aro sperm whales in New Zealand waters. Ho bases his supposition on tho fact that ambergris has been found on tho beaches at rare intervals. Ho also corrects a report published to tho effect that ambergris was never found within a whale. He stoics that that idea is entirely wrong. Over .£2OOO worth of ambergris'had bean found in three sperm whales secured in Tasmanian waters last season. Tho substancc was a. secretion caused by an intestinal disease, and was only found here and there in a whale. A hump-back whale was worth from .£IOO to J2120 when properly handled, ne added incidentally that the wlialo which camo ashore at Lyall Bay recently was a hump-back, not a riglit whalo. This was easily discernible as tlio latter had a smooth, non-corrugated skin, and wero nearly black in colour. The Money in Porpoises, ■ Mr. Jacobsen went on to say tlmt tlio porpoise, which abounds in these waters, is a valuable animal if ho. could bo fished economically. These denizens of tho sea sport, round in great numbers, but, as soon as one is struck, they all disappear liko lightning, and tho fishing has to bo postponed until they get over their The porpoise produced a very fine oil, and his "hide" was valuable.