WEALTH IN THE WATER

Taranaki Daily News, 8 January 1927, Page 10

WEALTH IN THE WATER

WHALING AND SEALING. Wellington, Jan. 4. A revival of whaling and scaring expeditions in the South Pacific Ocean is suggested by Dr. Brooke Nicholls, an Australian naturalist, who is at present on a visit to New Zealand. In the opinion of Dr. Brooke Nicholls, New Zealand (as well as Australia) needs to take drastic measures so that the fisheries in South Pacific waters may be conserved and wisely operated, for in them lies the source of a large revenue for the Dominion. Practically nothing is known of the actual resources of the South Pacific and a biological survey is needed. This might take some years to complete, but it should be done before it is too late and before the final extinction of the whale and the seal in these parts. There are over 40 species of marine mammals in South Pacific seas, the majority of which might be made a commercial asset. “An acre of sea water is more productive than an acre of land,” he said. “The ton of oil or coal you take from the ground can never be replaced; but the ocean needs no fertilisation and its productivity is unlimited if properly conserved.” A close season for seals has existed in New Zealand since 1894, but owing to poaching, which it was found impossible to stop, the seals apparently have not increased to any great extent. At present the taking of seals is prohibited. Whaling in New Zealand waters has declined in importance, until at present only two or three stations remain, and the number of whales which they catch each year is not large. At the end of 1923 a Norwegian whale-fishing fleet started operations in the Ross Sea, under license from the New Zealand Government. This fleet is permitted to catch whales for a period of 21 years, the Government receiving payment for each factory-ship operating and a royalty on each barrel of oil over and above 20,000. The expedition is limited to two floating establishments (factory-ships), with five catchers to each establishment, but the number of whales allowed to be taken is apparently unlimited. Dr. Brooke Nicholls views with alarm the whaling industry being allowed to go on unchecked. Whales, although seemingly large enough to look after themselves as far as natural enemies are concerned, need to be protected from man and his methods of indiscriminate slaughter.