KILLING WHALES

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVIII, Issue 46, 6 February 1928, Page 8

KILLING WHALES

SOON EXTINCT, COMPANY’S HUGE PROFITS. London, Jan, 20. Behind Norway’s claim to Bouvet Island, in the Antarctic, which has been British territory for 102 years, lies, says the Daily News, the rivalry between two Norwegian companies for the right to secure whales in those waters. Th© world’s supply of the mammals is rapidly becoming exhausted. In certain contingencies, the paper adds, conflicting claims to the control of these isolated spots on the earth’s surface might lead to international trouble. One company, according to the Daily News, applied to Norway for th© whaling concession. The other, better informed, applied to Britain. Both applications were granted. I t is estimated that only 10,090 or 12,000 whales remain, and the exterminating rate is 1500 to 2000 a year. Various companies arc aiming to kill as many as possible to prevent others from securing them. The Ronsbery Whaling Co., operating off South America, paid g 50 per cent, dividend and put £55,000 in reserve in 1924. besides ordering four new whalers. Bouvet Island, the paper adds, is composed of black lava with no vegetation, but it is inhabited by seals >-• hi ds It does not promise much from th© point of exploration but such places are valuable in war time. For instance, South Georgia produced 50,000,000 gallons of whale oil for explosives. The importance of such spots is likely to grow na, lor instance, Adelie Land, which France claims and which Britain has asked Australia to control. Conceivably, this might lead to trouble in certain contingencies, and it is now suggested that such disputable noints should he scheduled for the League’s allocation, by agreement among the powers. Regulations for the preservation of whales and seals, it is suggested, should also be made