IDLE WHALING FLEETS

Greymouth Evening Star, 9 April 1932, Page 10

IDLE WHALING FLEETS

SEQUEL TO RECORD SEASON. The whales of the Antarctic seas (have enjoyed the first qiiiet season in imany years. Few keels have crossed the grey waste of southern waters and ithe greatest whaling fleet ever seen ■has, with the exception of a few units, ibeen laid up at its home ports. This “close” season has not been ordered by the Governments controlling the whaling areas, and there has been no •tightening up on the licenses which New Zealand issues for firms following the industry in the Ross Sea dependency. The “close” season has followed a record year, when 37,000 whales were caught and the market flooded, with the result that a million barrels of oil were unsold. Another result of this glut was the tremendous fall in copra prices and a resulting depression which spread over the whole of the I South Seas Islands.

The world’s whaling fleet consists of 3.3 factory ships, many of them over 10,000 tons, 190 whale catchers, and five oil transport ships, in all 350,000 tons of shipping. Although the Norwegian whaling companies agreed among themselves that the exploitation in previous years had been overdone, three companies sent ships down into the Antarctic during this year. The Southern Whal-

ing Company, controlled by the great soap-making firm of Lever Brothers: sent out two 12,000 ton ships with 16 small' whale-catchers, to operate in tire Enderby Land region where the Mawson Expedition was engaged last year. Another firm sent three factory ships with attendant whale catchers, and an Argentine firm despatched two floating refineries to work to the

south and east of Cape Horn. ■’The total whaling "fleet in. the Antarctic during the past season, described officially as a “close season/’ was .therefore’seven factory ships hnd 40 [catchers,' instead of ' the' full fleet of' ■45 -ships and 200 catchers. •" Meanwhile the'British survey ship, Discovery 11,, continues, her work, iniveStigatihg 'the habits ' and breeding of Whales, about which very .little is. yet known. ' NobbUy'knows, example, to'what age" whales, live o'r though they ljv,e only on micrds’copic criistacea, they attain such a grdat size.

■ fo the course of her researches, the Discovery 11. "is expected to'make a complete circumnavigation of tjhe Antarctic, calling at'"Gapetown, ‘Frei-: mantle, and” WjellihgtP.fi'' fo the course Of her long voyage.

- ’The effect this close season, which h’as noon forced upon the Conipanies, will in the on cl” he! of: ■ great fidyantage, to the [industry.. ;At~ the fatj'e whales' hayO' bernT '’killed enuring the past decade, It 'would 1 pot’be long flefore the danger of • extinction would fiave compelled' the Governments controlling the whaling seas to prohibit whale fishing, £6fiieT years agOj they diet sealing. Hi I