"PASS THE WHALE”

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 6863, 19 March 1929, Page 3

"PASS THE WHALE”

Excellent Qualities Possessed By "Sea Beef” Says Sydney Writer GOOD FOOD GOING TO WASTE Commander Richard Byrd, in wireless dispatch from the Antarctic, lias referred to the laying in of a stock of whale beef, and mentioned the jocular requests of his men when at. meals to “pass tho whale." Mr David Ci. Stead, writing in the “Sydney Morning Herald," says that he is in a position to testify personally as to the, excellent qualities possessed by whale meat, and when one goes into the matter there is no earthly reason why the meat should not ba good. Whales, of course, altkougl living in a watery environment, are not fishes, but ar warm-blooded mammals. The meat is red, and very much the consistency of large beef. This meat is not oily, as perhaps one naturally imagines, the oil being separately contained in the great masses of blubber and connecting tissues underlying the skin. What is looked upon commercially as the edible beef for human consumption is that taken from the vast muscles lying along each side of the massive tail. The best meant is obtained from the finner or black finback whale, but that of the humpback is nearly as good, while the beef of the blue whale is not far below in edible quality. Now these arc the great commercial whales which arc most abundant, and, to the writer, at least, it appears most extraordinary that wo have gone so long without making the fullest use of these giant sea denizens. Here mighty wealth has passed and repassed our doors for year after year, and, when not right at hand, has lain in southern seas within a stone’s throw, almost, of us. Thousands of tons of oil, of bones, and meat, of skins, whalebone and other products have been contemptously cast aside, while our gallant friends the Norwegians have journeyed for many thousands of miles to come to our seas to get tho valuable and necessary commodities which geographically, at least, are ours. But to retuhn to our muttons—-in this case beef. In America an increasing quantity of whale beef is being sold for human food, largely in the canned state. In this case the meat is one of the secondary prodfccts. In Japan it is a primary one. In the United States as much as five tons of beef is obtained from one small sei whale, a species which is very common on the coasts o fthe Tasman set. About eight tons is obtained from a moderate sized tinner. This whale meat has been found to be in a high degree suitable for surnan consumption, apart altogether from its attractive appearance and taste, and modern students of nutrition have ascertained (what old hands have discovered in actual practice) “that the digestibility of whale protein is similar to beef protein, and is in a high degree suitable for tissue repair in the human organism." In my own personal experience with whale beef as served on tho table, I was not told as to the origin of the dish—a great savoury platter of stow, with potato and suitably garnished. My host awaited rpy comments, if any, before telling me. I remarked on the excellence of the beef (without one thought as to the possibilities) and its tenderness, and was most surprised when I found that it came' from the tail of a finback -whale. urther gustatory acquaintances with this meet but served to add to the high opinion previously formed. When we do at alst wake up to the possibilities of whaling in the Tasman Sea, not one pound of this valuable meat should be lost to human consumption, but it should be cut into suitable strips and frozen, and so used as required in homes and food establishments in our towns and cities. It may be mentioned that whale meat brings on the average about one shilling per pound in San Froncisco.