Part 4

Commercial whaling began in Spain during the Middle Ages. At that time the black right whale was plentiful along the coast of the Basque province, and it provided an ideal quarry because it could be sighted from lookout towers along the coast and it was not difficult to approach. Equally important, these whales floated at death so they could be pulled ashore. They were prized for their oil, meat, and the baleen which was sold throughout Europe. The Biscayan whalers gradually reduced the local population of whales and began to range farther in their search. They came at last upon the haunts of another right whale which frequented the ice-filled seas of the North Atlantic. Here there was not a satisfactory method to preserve the meat so this was thrown away.

There is an extensive and fascinating history of this early whaling but only the briefest outline can be mentioned here. Throughout the story there is a constant search for new whaling grounds to sustain operations and to meet the increased demand for whaling products. As the industry expanded it was forced to capture less desirable species because the other species could not hold up against the onslaught.

Other nations took up whaling and soon the English and Dutch had large fleets of ships manned by Basque whalers. These ships were based in Greenland and Spitzenberg. The irregular coastlines of these wind-swept lands provided many harbors in which shore whaling stations could be situated. The camps were well constructed, and daily during the arctic summer, the ships put out for whales in waters which were rough, cluttered with icebergs, and shrouded in fog. Naturally, under such difficult conditions, there was great loss of ships and men. The companies were not friendly with one another and periodically raided the shore camps of each other, stealing and burning supplies and buildings. Under normal circumstances such activities would have been provocative of war. However, since communications were poor and the countries concerned were preoccupied with colonizing America, the situation took care of itself, for in time the whales diminished and the whaling companies failed.

Soon after this the colonists in America wrote to relatives in Europe about the richness of the country, not the least of its resources being the whales which spouted just off shore along the entire Eastern seaboard. Whaling companies were formed and these were concentrated along the New England coast. After the separation of the colonies from England, whaling developed locally with the ships which had been engaged in commerce between the colonies and the mother country. It did not take long to exhaust the populations of whales, so the Whalers began to range afar.

This led to the discovery of the haunts of the sperm whale in the open oceans of the tropics and subtropics. Yankee ingenuity developed a new kind of whaling in which the whales were brought alongside the base ship for processing. It took a great deal of skill to strip the blanket of fat from a whale which was three-fourths submerged and pitching and rolling on the restless surface. The blubber once removed, was hauled aboard and cooked in kettles to free the oil which was then placed in barrels and stowed below. This form of whaling was called pelagic whaling. It was not uncommon for ships to be away from home port for a year or two before the casks were full. This whaling was dominated by the Americans, and it contributed much to the prosperity of New England, providing much of the capital which later financed its manufacturing developments. This was the golden era of whaling so superbly described by Herman Melville in _Moby Dick_. Here is a real yarn about whaling written by a Whaler who later became a superb author.

The discovery of petroleum in Pennsylvania brought to the fore new illuminating fuels, kerosene and natural gas which were much cheaper than whale oil, so the whaling industry declined rapidly. This happened at the same time steam ships were replacing sailing ships, so it is not surprising that the beautiful sailing vessels which had been the mainstay of whaling were brought home to every little coastal village in New England to rot away, sad memorials to better days.

_Modern Whaling_

By the 20th century whaling was again possible because of new uses for whaling products. Chemistry has succeeded in finding new uses for whale oil. Fat derivatives such as soaps, margarines and a few other products owe their abundance and low cost to the whaling industry. Packing house technology has been applied to the butchering of whales so that the entire animal has many uses. Tasty meats are finding their way into the diets of many countries and the tougher, less tasty parts are ground and used to feed cats and dogs. Farms that raise mink and other mammals for the fur trade are heavy buyers of this source of meat to feed their animals. The remaining parts, blood, bones, and meat scraps, are dried and ground into nutritious meals which are used by the poultry and livestock industries as supplementary feeds. Currently each whale produces over $5,000 worth of products.

The heart of the processing operation is the pelagic factory ship which is nearly as large as an aircraft carrier. They are supplied by huge tankers which carry off the oil and by refrigerated ships which return the meat to port. In the 20th century the United States has not seriously participated in whaling and has not a single fleet in competition with the other countries which now have billion dollar investments in ships and gear. For the past 70 years, the leader in the whaling industry has been Norway. The industry is very competitive however, and England, Japan, Netherlands, USSR, and Germany have big investments.

The Norwegian lead was due principally to Svend Foyn who invented the harpoon with an explosive head. The harpoon was fired by a deck-mounted cannon and it had sufficient range and accuracy to permit killing those whales which heretofore were too fast and wary to be handlanced. The harpoon head had a time delay bomb which insured that the explosion occur deep in the vitals, and that the whale was made fast to a manila line so that it would not be lost. The cannon is mounted in the bow of a small fast ship known as a killer boat. These little ships operate for 1 or 2 days away from the factory ship in search of whales. The gunner who is responsible for firing the cannon is the most important member of the crew and on his experience and skill depend the entire operation. If he misses or fails to kill the whale, it will alarm the other whales and a day or two of searching may have been in vain.

The whaling season is extremely short and as soon as the yearly quota has been reached, all countries must stop. Naturally every country tries to get as many whales of the total as possible. Once a whale is killed, it is hauled alongside, and the body cavity is inflated with compressed air to make the whale buoyant. It should be remembered that the whales which are now being processed are the "wrong" whales and they would otherwise sink. The whale is then flagged, lighted, and a radio transmitter secured to it, and it is cast adrift while the killer boat continues to search for more victims. At the end of the hunting period, the killer boat retraces its route, picking up the whales it has killed. These are secured to the sides of the ship and brought back to the factory ship for processing.

Naturally, the technological improvements which make whaling profitable again would have been meaningless without the discovery of new whaling grounds. About 1900 the seas around the antarctic continent were found to be teeming with whales. These were principally three species--the humpback, the finback, and the blue. The blue whale is distinguished by the fact that it is the largest mammal on earth, reaching sometimes 100 feet in length and weighing over 100 tons. It is the species preferred by whalers but it is not as plentiful as its close relative, the finback, which is the second largest species, ranging in length from 60 to 80 feet. The humpback whale has never been too abundant, but along with the rorqual, or Sei whale, it has provided an extra dividend for the business.

The extreme richness of the antarctic whaling grounds is due to the fact that the entire perimeter of the continent is open to oceanic waters, allowing whales free access to a tremendous area of fertile waters. The limited richness of the arctic whaling grounds is due to the fact that the Arctic Icecap is flanked principally by the land masses of Eurasia and North America and the whales have access only to those portions opening from the Bering Sea and to a small area in the North Atlantic. Whales cannot swim too far in along the coast of either mainland because the period of open water is brief. Even in the antarctic whales tend to work near the ice floes and occasionally get caught by the sudden closures of the ice.

It is too difficult to estimate the number of whales which were taken from the arctic during the many seasons that whalers worked there. However, it cannot compare with the numbers which are realized annually from the slaughter around Antarctica. As many as 45,000 whales have been taken in a brief whaling season of less than 2 months. Contracting governments under provision of the International Agreement For Regulation of Whaling enforce the regulations as regards the number taken and there is a penalty if a juvenile whale is killed. Nursing mothers are also protected. The regulations are made by the International Whaling Commission and the number of whales which can be taken each year is determined from the statistics of the populations and these quotas are recommended by the Commission. It is hoped that by these regulations and studies, the industry can continue to prosper. The problems and activities of the scientists, the majority of whom work for the various governments' agencies, will be considered shortly.

Example of Unregulated Whaling

_California Gray Whale_

No account of whaling would be complete without mention of the shore and lagoon whaling of the California gray whale. There were 11 shore whaling stations scattered along the coast of California from San Simeon to San Diego, which had two stations. This whaling dates back to the gold rush days of California. It was not an uncommon experience for a whaling ship to come from the east and then to lose the entire crew in San Francisco before they could get on into the North Pacific to whale.

Although the principal profit for these whalers came from the arctic bowhead, it was customary to return to San Francisco to resupply in the autumn, and then to whale the California gray during the winter migration. Of course, this was whaling made to order because there was no need to search. The shore stations were able to process more whales in a day than a vessel could in a month of routine searching. Captain Scammon followed the migrating whales to the lagoons where he found them calving. These lagoons became the headquarters for the whaling ships which found whaling even easier than they had along the migration route. One of these lagoons still bears Scammon's name.

It was possible to watch the killing of whales from Point Loma, and from this vantage point the whaling boats were directed by flag signals to their quarry. The whales, once killed, were towed, tide permitting, by the hard rowing of the whaling crews back to Ballast Point. The numerous California shore stations have long since closed and rotted away and the grounds occupied with new enterprises. Most of the details of this era are lost, forever or buried in yellowing manuscripts and newspapers.

Although the gray whale may have been easy to find and to approach, whalers noted that those which escaped had learned the implications of whaling and thereafter were difficult to take. Lagoon whaling was particularly hazardous because the mothers frequently would charge the boats. Much of the time of the ship's carpenter was used repairing the damaged boats. Of course, the exposure of the breeding and calving grounds to whaling had a catastrophic effect, for the whales soon disappeared. It is decidedly difficult to determine from the limited records which remain just how abundant the gray whale was before whaling started. One is likewise puzzled by the report that a thousand a day passed San Diego. If this estimate had been made by an experienced whaler, it might be reliable, but if it were made by a layman, it could be most inaccurate. It is doubtful that anyone would have actually counted the whales for even an hour, so that the figure is probably an exaggeration.

The decline in the abundance of the gray whale occurred during the period when whaling was nearly over because of the low price of oil. Two brief subsequent attempts to whale this species produced only a small return of individuals, leaving the species virtually extinct.

Gray Whale Protected

In 1937 the International Whaling Commission declared the gray whale a protected species and forbade its members from whaling it. The population has recovered noticeably in the past 10 years, but it is too early to predict when it will level off. In 1959 it was estimated that the total population was somewhere between 3 and 5 thousand. It is hoped that the whaling nations will be content to honor their gentlemen's agreement to protect it until recovery is complete.

Value of Gray Whale

_Esthetic_

Already the whale has been viewed by hundreds of thousands of Californians and tourists who have been thrilled to see such an animal. Currently each season excursion boats are transporting visitors on a 2-hour excursion practically out onto the backs of the whales. It is hoped that the pleasure which it offers man will transcend the brief monetary profit which might accrue to a few whalers. It would indeed be shortsighted to let commercial interests deprive man of such a unique whale which can be enjoyed so easily by so many.

_Scientific_

There is real need to protect the gray whale for scientific studies. The principal problem in the study of populations of whales is to learn how large the population is and what are the various forces which limit its size. Such knowledge would make it possible for the industry to decide how many whales could be taken each season without reducing the population. The concept of taking only those whales which would overpopulate the habitat is an attractive one, and this would be in the long run, most profitable and stabilize both the whale population and the industry. Such knowledge also would prevent the overexpansion of the industry, which would also reduce the profit and hasten the decline of the resource.

Up to now, the studies which have been made to gain this knowledge have to be made on populations which are under severe exploitation. The researcher can never be certain that his findings are normal and useful in estimating the total population. The California gray whale provides him with a control population which is not under predation by man. Furthermore, this population becomes concentrated during breeding and calving and briefly during migration so that counting the total population is feasible.

_Commercial_

There is no doubt that the whaling industry will resume the harvest of the California gray whale once it has recovered. This is indeed unfortunate as the species is neither abundant nor large enough to provide much profit. Certainly history will repeat itself and the grand spectacle of the California gray whale migration will require another thirty or more years to repeat itself. The future status of the California gray whale may not necessarily have the same fortunate outcome, as the whaling industry at the present time is much more thorough. Furthermore, competition between the various whaling nations makes adjustment of regulations slow and cumbersome--much too slow for a species so limited in numbers and so accessible to complete extermination.

Already the Russians have expressed proprietary interest because they control the summer feeding grounds. Likewise, with the same reasoning, the Mexicans control the breeding waters. It would appear that the American interests, limited to two small shore stations at San Francisco, must be content to secure those whales which will escape the efficient Russian and Japanese fleets which could, at the most opportune moment, secure the species before the beginning of the long migration. At any rate, the species can only serve as an extra species in areas where whaling is already marginal because of limited stocks. It is hoped that eventually the whaling interest will remove the gray whale from whaling, leaving it as a living memorial to whaling.

Natural Population Controls

Conservationists should remember that nature has wisely designed each species of plant and animal with a built-in margin of safety; namely, a surplus of young which will repopulate the species from periods of extreme adversity. Yet these surpluses must somehow usually be eliminated lest the species overpopulate its habitat and destroy its own sustenance. The controls which limit the population are many and the population existing from year to year is the statistical average of these many controls. Diseases, predators, and other adversities are necessary evils, which are in the final analysis blessings in disguise. Whales, too, have their checks, although we are a long way from knowing their relative importance.

Perhaps the most critical moment in the life of the whale is birth, because the newborn whale must surface immediately or suffocate. Any abnormality in the birth process or weakness on the part of the infant may cause its loss. Inasmuch as a whale calves only every other year, the loss of a baby is serious, and especially so because a whale produces but a single calf. Less than one per cent of whale births are twins which is about the same frequency as for humans. A careful examination of the shores around the breeding lagoons reveals that a few babies are lost at birth.

Current Scientific Inquiry

_Life Expectancy_

Life expectancy is another very useful statistic for population studies. The whaling industry has no easy way of finding this out because whaling never gives an individual whale the chance to attain old age. Perhaps we can eventually determine life expectancy for the gray whale if it can continue to be protected from whaling. By counting the number of babies produced each year, and knowing the life expectancy, We might indirectly obtain the number of whales which die before they have realized their life expectancy. This number should represent the surplus on which whaling could be based. A further study would be necessary to determine what percentage of the surplus could be diverted to the whaling industry.

_Age Determination_

The problem of aging whales is an important one, and one to which much thought has been given. Actually, it is desirable to know at what age sexual maturity occurs; at what age physical maturity; at what age reproduction is no longer possible, and lastly, the age at death. In addition, we need to know the gestation period and the average number of pregnancies of which the female is capable. Many of these statistics can be obtained from the examination of a freshly killed whale. Such age determinations are made on every specimen which comes aboard the factory ships and also at the shore stations. There is some doubt as to the accuracy of some of these. Physical maturity is delayed in whales for many years, and it is judged complete when the cartilaginous end plates fuse to each vertebrum (backbone). After fusion, further lineal growth is impossible and after this time whales have been noted to shrink slightly each year.

The other structures which a biologist collects for aging are the ovaries of the female whale. These are sliced across into half-inch slabs, and the number of exposed grayish masses are counted. There is one of these structures produced for each pregnancy, and they persist as scar tissue throughout the life of the whale. These structures are functional during pregnancy and nursing and are responsible for a successful pregnancy. A count of these gives the investigator the total number of offspring which have been produced. If one assumes that the whale has not missed an opportunity to produce a baby, the count of these gives the age, assuming one knows the age of sexual maturity and the maximum length of bearing.

In recent years other structures have been tried for aging, so that males might also be aged, as well as females past the reproductive period. The best structure is the cylinder of wax which fills the outer canal of the ear leading to the eardrum. This enlarges as the whale grows, and the growth is marked by banding very similar in appearance to tree rings. Slicing the plug, the rings can be exposed and counted. There are produced but two rings a year. Toothed whales can be aged by sawing the teeth in half and noting the banding. Baleen also is periodically enlarged, but this is more difficult to check.

_Distribution and Population Rise_

The whaling industry spends a few weeks before the whaling season and at the end, hunting whales with a much lighter gun which implants a numbered cylinder deep in the skin of the whale. Each whale so marked is logged as to the species and the latitude and the longitude, and lastly, the date. Should the marked whale be processed in any succeeding season, a second entry is completed giving the date and place of capture. These records are used to determine the migration routes and the degree of intermingling of adjacent populations. The ratio of marked whales to unmarked whales allows the estimation of the probable size of the whale population. The length of time elapsing until a marked whale is recovered is an indication of the intensity of whaling.

Unlike the situation in the fishing industry where the reproductive potential of the fish is more than adequate to repopulate quickly, in the whaling industry the reproductive potential is small. Only one-fourth of the population can contribute replacements each year, and then only a single baby. Of course, each offspring has a reasonable chance of reaching maturity, whereas with fish only a very small number achieve adulthood.

One might expect that whales would be less affected by the fluctuations in environmental conditions, but this is only a surmise. We do not know as yet how to ascertain whether the food of whales is ever inadequate. Certainly the fact that baleen whales do best around the polar seas suggests that climatic fluctuations of the magnitude and duration of those producing the ice ages, may have profound effects on them.