THE WHALING INDUSTRY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3864, 3 April 1928, Page 7

THE WHALING INDUSTRY.

WILL IT BE DESTROYED? It is very interesting to read the following statement on the whaling industry made by an authority 80 years ago: “It appears that while .our northern whale fishery has long been declining, the Americon southern whale fishery has risen into great importance. It is, however, very generally believed that in the south, as well ag in the north, there is a very perceptible decrease in the supply of fish, and that the whale fisheries have consequently passed their zenith.” In the. light of the catches being made to-day, it will generally be agreed that the authority of 80 years ago erred when he stated . that the whale fisheries had passed their zenith. The above statement was made, it will be observed, when the present deadly methods of catching and killing whales had never even been thought of—when the harpoon and the ship’s boats,- the expert harpooner, and the hardy rowers were the combination which went forth to attack the monsters of th e deep-; and the attackers, moreover, always ran a risk of losing their lives. They do not run much, if any, risk under the existing methods. . With the mechanical apple ances now’ in use, th e whale, once sighted, is doomed to a speedy death. Our representative asked Sir Douglas Mawson on Tuesday morning what will be the final result of the present wholesale destruction of the whales. Sir Douglas is the greatest present-day authority ° n ,-4P^ ar s^ ca > ar *d he knows more than a little about whales. ®\ r . Douglas said he believed in the whaling industry, but it required to be under control. Without control and restriction the industry would soon be dead and gone. It had to be remembered that the control would have to extend over every part of the seas inhabited bv whales. It took a long period of years for a whale to come to its full size, and it lived for well over 100 years. It could thus be seen-that with unrestricted killing by the latest mechanical contrivances of the slow-growing mammal .there could be but one result. The effect of the kffling might not be noticed for a short while, said Sir Douglas, but it would then rapidly make itself felt. Sir Douglas said that there would have to be an international agreement to meet the position, and that Britain was interesting herself in such an agreement. He indicated that some progress had been made towards an international agreement to meet tlie danger of extinction of the whales, and that in due course more would be heard of the matter.