SLAUGHTER OF WHALES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22498, 16 February 1935, Page 14

SLAUGHTER OF WHALES

INTERNATIONAL ACTION TAKEN TO PREVENT EXTINCTION Nineteen countries, including Australia, have taken pity on whales in all waters (says the Melbourne Argus), and have signed a convention to stop the indiscriminate slaughter which has almost rendered them extinct in places where they once abounded. A purely commercial motive, however, lies behind this measure. For years whales have been-killed and boiled down faster than they could breed. Vast fortunes have been made out of whale oil, chiefly by Norwegians, the principal operators in the Antarctic. Dozens of old ships were pressed into the whaling business, but the climax was reached about two years ago, when it was found that scientific methods of slaughter had defeated their own ends. Whale oil had been offered on the world’s markets in enormous quantities for several years. The result was that the price fell heavily. Worse still, there was a grave danger, of the whaling grounds being “ffehed out.” Strenuous efforts were made by Norway and other interested countries to limit catches, but, this having failed, it was realised that international action would be necessary to save the industry, in which millions of pounds had been invested.

The new convention aims primarily at saving the whales from extinction. The Act already passed by the British Parliament to give effect to the agreement will limit severely the operations of British whalers, and other countries will enforce the same restrictions. Whaling vessels and shore factories will have to be registered, and provision is made for the adequate scrutiny of catches and inspection of records. It will be illegal to catch whales of certain species under specified sizes, and the killing of calves :>r of females accompanied by sucking whales is prohibited Whaling in the Antarctic will, not, therefore, be carried out on such a large scale as before. Australia and New Zealand have jurisdiction over large areas of Antarctica in which there are great numbers of whales, the Commonwealth’s dependency being about two-thirds the size of Australia itself. Neither Dominion, however, has exploited the whaling industry. It was not until 1905 that modern methods were applied to whaling in Antarctica. It is estimated that since then more than 300,000 whales have been caught, yielding products valued at more than £70,000,000. Shore factories were first used for boiling down, but the practice to-day is to employ large ships, some of them 5f 23,000 tons, as floating factories. These are accompanied by fleets of small “ chasers,” which make catches and tow the carcasses to mother ships for treatment. . A LUCRATIVE INDUSTRY. The industry has been astonishingly lucrative since the whales were forced into a losing battle for existence against such modern equipment as aeroplanes and wireless. Both are now used in discovering whales and informing the chasers. -In March, 1930, three factory ships returned to their base in New Zealand after less than five months’ work with whale oil valued at more than £1,000,000. Another ship arrived shortly afterward with the world’s record catch, valued at £570,0DD. Another whaler that reached Hobart a few days later had made a modest catch of 745 'whales, and she ended oil valued at £230,000. In that year the crew of one vessel whiqh did well earned more than £IOOO each in commissions. There were no fewer than 35 floating refineries in the Antarctic that year. , , , The glutting of the niarket led to an unofficial whaling holiday .in 1930-31. But next year 129 ships, including 17 floating factories, returned to the Antarctic to resume the slaughter. They took about 25,000 whales between them, this made the total catch of iO.OOO shales, whose products were valued at £3,000 DUO, of a few seasons before appear modest. The Whaling Association of Oslo limited the production of whale oil in the Antarctic to 1,850,000 barrels in 1933-44, this being a reduction of 250,000 barrels compared with the previous year. Other countries tried to limit the catches, but some whaling organisations refused to recognise restrictions. The Commonwealth Government considered the question of patrolling the waters of its dependency, but the cost was a serious problem. Previously, the research ship Discovery II had spent months in the Antarctic studying whales, their feeding grounds and breeding habits, and it was proved that unless international action was taken to restrict catches, the whales would be exterminated. . .. ■ Even with the restrictions now imposed, it is considered by such authorities as Sir Douglas Mawson that ■ Australia could exploit the whaling industry profitably. It has been proved that the fields which the great whales inhabit are much larger than was thought. Exactly the same species as are caught in the waters of Antai'ctica are to be found off both the eastern and western coasts of Australia, and there are excellent grounds almost due south of Tasmania.