SERIOUS VIEW TAKEN

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19808, 9 December 1938, Page 5

SERIOUS VIEW TAKEN

BREACHES BY WHALER CONCERN IN PERTH (Reed. Dec. 9, 9 a.m.) PERTH, Dec. 9. Referring to the reports from New York that the United States authorities had boaided the American whaler Frango, and seized a portion of its £200,000 cargo of whale oil as a result of alleged violations in the Shark Bay area of the international treaty limiting the killing of whales, an inspector, Mr. Matthew Goodlan, who was the West Australian observer in the Frango from June to October, confirms the published story.

Mr. Goodlan’s log declares that whales 30ft. and 31ft. were brought aboard in the dead of night and warning was given by the Frango’s captain that if Mr. Goodlan and the American observer, Lieutenant Midtlyng, persisted in antagonising the crew by staying on the flensing deck at night they would “get a knife shoved into them.”

The Government *of Western Australia takes a serious view of the Frango’s alleged infringement of the whaling convention and is sending a summary of Air. Goodlan’s log to Washington.

TOLL IN ANTARCTIC JAPANESE DEPREDATIONS REFUSAL OF LIMITS •The Japanese to-day are engaged m nothing else but wholesale slaughter of the whale in the Antarctic, said Captain W. W. Stuart, of the Marine Department, Wellington, m addressing members of the Auckland Creditmen*s Club on Wednesday. This, Captain Stuart added, threatened to lead to the extinction of the whale in the Antarctic. Captain Stuart, who visited the Antarctic a few years ago in an in/estigation on behalf of the Government, spoke of Japan’s refusal to join the whaLing convention. In 1936, he ,aid, Japan had taken 20,000 tons of whale oil, and in 1937 the amount was 70 000 tons. When the figures for this year were published Captain Stuart considered that Japan s share would be over 100,000 tons. To-day Japan was building a 33,000-ton factory ship, which would have a crew of 360 men. This was lh addition to two other large factory ships.

Those countries in the convention were faced-either with keeping to it and seeing Japan take the lion’s share •if the industry, or else scrapping it and following Japan in the wholesale •■laughter of whales. If that occuri ed the whale in the Antarctic would become something to be seen only in text-books. Unless Japan played the game the problem was particularly acute.