ROSS SEA WHALING

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22142, 22 June 1935, Page 17

ROSS SEA WHALING

Sir, —For the past 12 years the public of New Zealand have been watching with interest the activities of the whaling ships operating in the Ross Sea areas. A dependency of New Zealand, the Ross Sea and environs have been leased to various whaling companies since 1923. Of these syndicates, five in all, only one was of British capital, and that was the factory ship Southern Princess, which left New Zealand for the Antarctic whaling grounds in 1929, returning to New Zealand in April, 1930, with a cargo of 70,000 barrels of oif in her tanks. In 1923 the old pioneer factory ship. Sir James Clark Ross, took 35,000 barrels of oil from activities in the Ross Sea. The following year she returned and took home to Norway a cargo of 42,000 barrels. This was a Norwegian company. These operations were repeated every year, and in 1927 the Sir James was joined by another ship of the same company, the C. A. Larsen. More modern than the Sir James, the Larsen made full use of her better facilities, and something like 75,000 barrels of whale oil left New Zealand waters for foreign markets. In 1927, also, the Neilson A 10n7.0 operated from an Australian base. This tanker netted about 55.000 barrels of oil from the same fishing grounds. In 1929 five factory ships and 27 chasers were working in these Antarctic waters, and oil to the value of about three and a-half million pounds went into their tanks. Of this huge sum, a very small percentage was paid as revenue to the New Zealand Government. In 1930 the new James Clark Ross, of 23,000 tons, and accompanied by seven whale chasers, returned to its Stewart Island base from Antarctica with a million pounds value of oil in storage. Since 1932 there has been a closed season in the Ross Sea whaling grounds, but how long will it be before the lease to these Norwegian companies is renewed? Now is the time for something to be done to prevent these huge profits from going into foreign shareholders' coffers. The whaling grounds in the Antarctic are a heritage from our early forbears; a heritage which should have been utilised for the country's advantage all these years. Two years ago an Australian company was formed. The old Athenic and Opawa were purchased and reconstructed into modern factory ships. The first year's operations paid for the vessels and then showed a handsome dividend to the shareholders. In 1928 a New Zealand company was about to be formed, but the project fell through from lack of support. Why cannot interest in New Zealand be revived? Why not organise a gigantic State lottery, the proceeds to be used in forming a New Zealand whaling syndicate, operated by New Zealanders and in the interest of New Zealand ? The cost of the reconstruction of some ship into a modern whaler and the cost of a fleet of chasers would be met by the first season's catch. I have spent seven years in Antarctica with several companies, and each year millions of pounds value of oil goes out from a heritage which is rightfully ours. The closed season, which is at present of three years' duration, has given the whales time to multiply to something like their original number. Now is the time for the New Zealand Government to step in and alleviate unemployment to a certain extent, eliminate the necessity of levies, sales tax, etc., and make use of the vast fortune which lies at our back door. 1 intend returning to the whaling grounds this Reason, to again live in hopes that some day I shall be working aboard a New Zealand whaler, instead of one owned and operated by Scandinavians. Bun Henderson