Manawatu Evening Standard. WEDNESDAY, OCT. 12, 1932. THE WHALING INDUSTRY.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LII, Issue 268, 12 October 1932, Page 6

Manawatu Evening Standard. WEDNESDAY, OCT. 12, 1932. THE WHALING INDUSTRY.

The arrival in New Zealand waters of the modern factory whaler, Sir James Clark Ross, heralds the resumption of whaling operations in the Ross Sea. Throughout the Antarctic last season the whales were granted a substantial respite from the tremendous slaughter which has marked recent years. Economic conditions were the main reason, the depressed state of world trade leading to a marked glut of whale oil, but another —and not unimportant one—might be found in over-production resulting from the remarkable efficiency of the gigantic plants comprising the factory ships and their chasers, which require only a base at which to assemble before leaving for the scene of slaughter where the operations are completed. The fact that its greatest buying concern had informed the Sandefjord Whaling Association of Norway that it could not give a written declaration to buy oil, if whaling were undertaken in 1931-1932, led to the agreement to suspend operations temporarily, only two small companies refusing to be bound. Last month, however, it was reported that the giant mother ships and their chasers were steaming towards South Georgia, there to launch another and intensive slaughter of the mammals. It was estimated that the harvest would reach 25,000 whales before a course was changed for Norway in March next. In this great fleet there are 17 nfother ships and 112 chasers. Aeroplanes and wireless are modern inventions which are being employed to locate the whales. In the 1930-31 season two factory ships were licensed by the New Zealand Government to operate' in the Ross Dependency. It was the eighth year since the territory came under the Dominion’s jurisdiction, and the intensive slaughter that has proceeded since 1923-24 is reflected in the annual “catch.” The first amounted to 17,791 barrels of 40 imperial gallons, but five years later 122,000 were taken. In 1929-30 the figure had jumped to 169,190, but with two factory ships at work in the following season the huge total of 272,500 barrels were reported to the Government. This was not the full story of the slaying that went on, for a ship licensed by the Norwegian Government hunted outside the territorial waters and took home a cargo of 1Q5,000 barrels. The total yield since the Dependency was brought within the authority of New Zealand is set down at 1,280,146 barrels. It is not yet clear whether one or two ocean plants will be in the Ross Sea this season, nor is it also clear that an agreement, reported some time ago to have been effected by the Norwegian Whaling Companies’ Association to restrict production this season, will be strictly honoured. Two companies refused to subscribe to the document which proyides for quotas for each concern, but even under the proposed restriction, and allowing for ships not bound by the agreement, it has been estimated that a total of 2,000,000 ban-els or half the present capacity "of the world whaling fleets, will be produced. Such slaughter gives rise to serious thoughts whether whales* are

being gradually exterminated. The voyage of the Discovery 11., which was recently in New Zealand waters, is expected to shed much light upon the problem. Its primary object is the investigation of the life and habits of the whale. There has been a real fear that the South Georgia grounds are being depleted, and some years ago the Government of the Ealkland Islands imposed restrictions on whaling. Operations to-day are so vastly different from other years that there is, a substantial reason for the fears expressed. The modern factory ships with their satellites remain at sea for months once their base is left, and this remarkable example of efficiency in modern enterprise has led to the killing of whales on a most extensive scale. The Ross Sea has provided a harvest for exploitation by foreign interests, but the question that remains unanswered is: Will this harvest fail, and, if so, when?