FUTURE OF WHALING.

Evening Star, Issue 22030, 16 May 1935, Page 8

FUTURE OF WHALING.

Whauno in the Antarctic is a profitable industry, and under modern conditions a reliable one. Britain and Norway are the countries chiefly concerned in it, and they have been in consultation lately on the question of imposing further joint restrictions on whalers. It is really an urgent matter. In the Arctic Seas, which were more accessible than the Antarctic, whales fell an easy prey to the hunters, and the leviathan is rarely seen in them now. Great ocean areas in the far south, however, still contain whales in fair numbers, but this will not long be the case unless strict preservation regulations are enforced. In the old days of the hand-flung harpoon and small boat, whaling was a hazardous adventure, and the catch by a single ship of no large size was never very great. Three years might pass before a satisfactory cargo of about four thousand barrels of whale oil was obtained. This is all changed under modern methods; and indiscriminate slaughter has been the rule. As an illustration of the extent of the trade, it may be pointed out that in 1933 the earnings of the British and Norwegian whaling companies amounted to £3,000,000. The system by which the industry is now carried on is known as pelagic whaling. Under it large seagoing steamers are built so as to permit the hoisting on board of whale carcasses, which are immediately converted into oil. These factories—for they are nothing less—are mobile; they follow the whaling fleet and are always on the spot. As the swift-moving whalers are ai'nied with deadly weapons of destruction, it can be imagined that a terrible toll of the Antarctic whale is taken. In the 1930-31 season, when whale oil production broke all records, 40,201 whales were killed in the Antarctic. They had been pursued by 232 whalecatching boats, operated from six shore factories and forty-one floating factories. The monstrous proportions that whale destruction has assumed may be gathered from the fact that between 1868 and 1900 the total world catch of whales was only 20,025. Britain and Norway were aroused to the fact that if this pace were kept up the Antarctic would'soon be as bare of whales as the Arctic, and restrictive measures were passed by Norway in 1929. Last year the matter was taken further, and an

Order-in-Council laid down that tlie Norwegian whaling companies must restrict their activities to the four months between December 1 and March 31 of each season. This measure cuts about six weeks off the normal season. The British whaling fleet in the Antarctic is only slightly less than the Norwegian, so that the restrictions will be of little use without Britain’s participation. This is the aim of the negotiations between the two countries that have been proceeding lately. The importance of the industry has been recognised in England, and the ship William Scoresby has been carrying out research work, off and on, for several years. The cables to-day announce that she has returned to London, after on absence of seven months, during which time she has acquired valuable information which is expected to have an important bearing on the industry.