MODERN WHALING

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 75, 30 March 1933, Page 11

MODERN WHALING

DIMINUTION OF STOCK

"TOO MANY LICENCES"

THE SOUTHERN SEAS

{From "The Post's" Representative.) LONDON, February 16.

Captain Harold' K. Salvesen, a member of an English whaling firm, whose father was one of tho pioneers of modern t\haling in tho Antarctic, gave a lecture on the whaling industry last evening before tho Eoyal Society of 'Arts. Tho subject of tho diminution of the stock was fully discussed, and it was evident that tho trade is not altogether sympathetic with tho Discovery scientific expedition. Captain Salvesen, for instance, definitely quoted a Departmental ofiicer as saying they must issue more licences in order to provide funds for the Discovery expedition. lecturer described the methods of fishing, contrasting tho floating factories harbour fishing with the floating factories in the open sea. In regard to control, he said that the British intentions were good but, in spite- of his father's warnings, commencing as early as 190S, too many licences had been issued, resulting in a groat diminution in the stock of whales. Regulations in regard to waste lagged far behind practico even in the most efficient companies. As the floating factories adopted ice fishing, the British failed to enforce the regulations oven ou the licensed factories. In 1929 tha Norwegian Government . passed, a whaling law imposing regulations upon all whaling vessels under the Norwegian flag. It adopted almost in toto tW old British regulations, and it was desirable that a similar British law should be passed aud that British inspectors' should co-operate- with Norwegian inspectors.

Captain Salvcsen maintaineil tliat there was no fear of the extermination of any species of whale iv the Antarctic, because the- supply would still be appreciable Ions; after the time when I it would not pay to catch tho whales.! In South Georgia, in 1919, he said, j there- was a tremendous reduction in the quality and quantity of stock, when his father pleaded-once more for f. reduction in the number of licences. Statistics of catch, average length of whales, average oil production per whale, and the evidence of gunners all proved that there- had been a great diminution since that time. In the South. Shetlands seas whaling had almost petered out by 1927, and the floating factories were saved by taking to ice fishing. In the Koss Sea, too, there had been a very great diminu-1 tion of the stock, and floating factories! had now ceased to enter it. In the whole cf the Antarctic area from tho ■west coast of tho Weddel Sea and east to the east coast of the Ross Sea, how- j over, there was still an. enormous mini-! ber of whales remaining. TAKING HEAVY TOLL. "There is no certain evidence," said the lecturer, "but personally I have little doubt that we have already taken, and are even taking this year, a heavytoll of the stock. I am quite certain i that a. tremendous decline in the quantity and quality of tho stock has occurred in the area between Eouvet Island West to Graham Land. "Statistics of length of whales vet give no definite indication, lint, commencing with 1926-27, whalers took rach season the cream from an entirely new area—each year's area yielded a large number of largo animals. Tim whole area was covered in 1930-31. Some cream is left, but I expect from this season onward there will lio a considerable decline in tho average length. , ° "Hasty generalisation from statistics of catch might suggest that the stock is not declining—for the average oil production per whale catcher of the floating factory increased every season till 1930-31. But this is entirely explained by_: (a) A great annual increase both in average and in individual efficiency of floating factories, whalecatchers, and their personnel; (b) an extension of operations in area; (c) an extension of operations iv time." THE YIELD PER WHALE. . On his first visit to tho Antarctic ho estimated that the complete utilisation of tho catch throughout the season midOctober to the end of February could easily lead to a production of 120 barrels per whale—taking a "whale" as one blue whale, two fin whales, or three hump.whales. At that time the British authorities considered 90 barrels, a very high average. The followJng season (1929-30) the- average for his firm's two jiew floating factories, the Salvestria and Sourabaya, was ."'29 and 127 respectively, though the average for all floating factories in tho ice was only 105. In 1930-31 seven floating factories (in addition to " the Salvestria and Sourabaya) averaged above 110 of these, four were so-called "old-fash-ioned" factories with no stern-slip, but the averago of the whole fleet was only .104-32. For the current season, 1932----33, the average of the 15 factories operating under the- quota agreement is expected to be over, 110, though in the western area in the early part of the season whales were unusually unproductive, probably due in part to a decline in size. "Unfortunately, in whaling/ continued Captain Salvesen, "when more whales can be taken than the floating factory can completely utilise, production can be tremendously increased by taking the best parts of many whales rather than completely utilising a few. The better managers have always rationed their whale catchers to a limited degree—though, wh«n on . a visit to a competitor's floating factory, I exhorted him to do this, the very experienced manager replied, 'Fishing is fishing the world over; you must grab what you can before another man gets it.' NO PROPERTY IN WHALES. "It is an axiom to all who have the least knowledge of whaling (including even managers of-whaling companies) that whalers in every field in which they operate always so reduce the stock that economic necessity forces complete or almost complete abandonment of the area. Tho reason is quito simple. -Whaling companies never have property in the whales they hunt. If one- company spares them, not s the whales, but another company will profit from it. Governments have helped by limiting licences, but they have, in every instance, failed to limit them sufficiently. Tho British, authorities failed to take the easy opportunity offered by the sinking of floating factories during the war drastically to reduce licences; on the contrary, "soon nfter the unlicensed commenced to invade their preserves they permitted, and even encouraged, a large increase in catchers lest the revenue from the licenced whaling should decline. The revenue went chiefly to tho Discovery Committee, whose principal professed purpose was to obtain proper data for the purpose of preventing diminution in the stock of whales, but the whales were sacrificed to the data.

"To prevent the expansion was not in the power of cither the British authorities or tho whaling companies. If only we could have stopped others poaching on our preserves! As soon as it looked as if ice fishing would be profitable, new companies were formed with new material. As long as company promoters could persuade the public to hazard its ntoney tho expansion continued. This jvas rendered

specially easy, as tho new companies in general took into their employment the trained personnel of the old, even their homo manager, as in Norway, apparently, it is quite proper for a firm managing ono company to promote another company in direct competition and then to take over the management .of tho new company while still retaining that of the old. If the -old companies had failed to expand too they would merely have sacrificed their own profits to those of others who would have replaced them.". A DRAFT AGREEMENT. Speaking of the future, Captain Salvesen said that negotiations had already commenced, and a committee had been appointed and was engaged in drawing up a draft agreement for next season. This embodied the quota system, and if accepted by all tho companies would have most beneficial effects. "With ono exception," added Captain Salveseii, "the Antarctic whaling companies have all expressed themselves willing to negotiate a new agreement for next season. Tho exception is a British company—the company that set tho present high standard in the quality of whale-oil and in 1928 sent to the Antarctic the 'Southern Express,' the first floating factory to fish in the ice with factory ipla-nt adequate in relation to the number of hunting catchers employed. It is this company which alone is operating,outsido the quota agreement this season."