WHALING INDUSTRY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXX, 20 June 1936, Page 3

WHALING INDUSTRY

IN THE ANTARCTIC MODERN METHODS DESCRIBED ADDRESS TO ROTARY CLUB Adventurers into the icy wastes of the Arctic and Antarctic regions ever since man was bold enough to enter the “great white silence,” whether for exploration or the reward that the whale has brought, have numbered prominently among them many of Norwegian birth; and some of the impressions gained of the operations of the whaling industry by a member of that race were given in an address to the Rotary Club on Thursday by Mr E. Aagarre. at present visiting Nelson. Among the records brought back by he explorers was information of trenendous schools of <vhales, said Mr fagarre, which had given an impetus o the industry many years ago.

Among the records brought back by the explorers was information of tremendous schools of Whales, said Mr Aagarre, which had given an impetus to the industry many years ago. Among the varieties of whales was the Blue Whale the most important of the species, the cosmopolitan of the seas, which measured as much as 114 ft and whose weight was as many tons, calculating whale flesh at a ton a foot. Nxt came the greyhound of the whales," very fast, not very fat; and the humpback, which was most familiar to New Zealanders, averaging 45ft in length, and fat and bulky. The long-armed whale, so-called because of its long front flippers, was the one that frequently came close inshore to rub itself against the rocks to relieve the irritation of its barnacle-infested belly.. The whaling industry was not as young as some people thought, for it

: was during the attempt to find an alternative route to China by the north-east passage that whales had been discovered in the waters about Spitsbergen, in the 16th century. The prohibition by the Norwegian Government of whaling along the i northern coast of Norway had given rise to the Antarctic industry, all the Norwegian whalers being left stranded . with their valuable equipment. Mr Aagarre referred to Captain C. A. Larsen and Commander Christensen, i who had seen the possibilities and had been rewarded with success in the Antarctic. j IN THE ROSS SEA i The elimination of the waste of time by the substitution of the factory ship for the old-time whaling stations, was recounted, and the short available time of four to five months was now sufficient to secure a full cargo. The Ross Sea field was always unreliable owing to the pack-ice, though in 1928 when Mr Aagarre was there the whalers had a good season. Ross Sea was 2400 miles south of New Zealand, oi' ten to twelve days’ steaming. During the first month of the season the whalers operated outside, and then forced their way through the pack-icc. IT 1928 they pushed through in seven days, which he thought was a record. The C. A. Larsen was an up-to-date vessel with a modern factory on deck, the whale’s carcase being hauled up

on deck and rendered down. The factory ship was accompanied by five chasers which killed the whales. The chasers were 140 ft in length, of 240 tons, and with a speed of 12 knots, which was not quite as fast as the whale could swim under favourable conditions, but they had to consider the question of fuel. The “kill” was effected by means of a swivel gun in the \ bow. To stalk a whale it was necessary to know its habits, and the gunmen were uncanny in determining Where a whale would appear after it had sounded. Once it dived it continued to swim in a straight line; when it came to the surface it breathed from nine to ten times, each breath talcing three to four seconds. The object of the gunman was to kill the whale as quickly as possible, and his ' aim was directed behind the front flipper, file harpoon penetrating the lungs and exploding. When killed the whale exhaled and sank. It was i drawn to the surface and inflated with air,, and towed to the factory ship, there being hauled up the shute and

stripped of its blubber which was torn off by means of a knife like a hockey stick. The blubber was cut in long strips and feel to the cutters, minced and put in digesters, boilers heated by steam. The oil melted and the residue was skimmed ■ oil. Many people thought that the blubber was the only oil-yielding substance in a Whale, but one-third to one-half of the oil obtained was extracted from the bones and meat. The only part dumped was the intestines. The cranium and jaw were cut up, and a good head would yield from ten to fifteen barrels of oil. It was perhaps | a significant fact, said Mr Aagarre. j that while a whale’s head might be : as long as the room in which he was ' speaking, it contained a brain only the size of a human head. The bones Were cut up and fed to high pressure digesters, under a pressure of ISOlbs . to the square inch, and the oil floated to the top. HIGH PRESSURE WORK

The C. A. Larsen was able to handle 1400 barrels of oil a day, six of which made a ton. The crew were paid on the bonus basis, receiving a certain allowance for every barrel; and the average pay was jd to Id per barrel. The captain on the factory ship received Is per barrel. The men worked at high pressure all the time for the season was short and they had to make the best of it. The food was good and there was plenty of whale meat which when treated correctly was the equal of good beef, and a blindfolded man would be unable to tell the difference between the two , meats. 1 The whale oil was used chiefly for soap manufacture, and in 1928 the price approached 30cl per ton. It was now about half' of that. Dur- , ing the war it reached a peak of 4GOd i per ton. i Referring to the sperm whale, Mr Aagarre said that it was the only whale which would put up a fight when wounded: and was the only one to yield ambergris, the evil-smelling substance that went into the manufacj ture of the best perfumes.

The killing of the whale had been reduced to a fine art of recent years, ancl the most modern method was that of electrocution. A small harpoon, virtually an arrow, was fired into the whale, the missile being attached to a wire. As soon as it struck, the

current was turned on and the whale was electrocuted in 10-11 seconds and became rigid. Thus it did not sink as in other methods where the whale immediately exhaled when struck. The Norwegian Government had taken steps to restrict the operations of whalers, and the factory ship had been placed on a quota. The Government refused to pay a dividend c-n any excess quantity. Rotarian T. Rigg, who moved the vote of thanks to Mr Aagarre, paid a tribute to the spirit of scientific adventure that had actuated the Norwegian explorers; and spoke of the desirableness of an international agreement so that the whaling industry might long remain a profitable one to all countries interested.