MONEY IN WHALING

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 136, 10 June 1937, Page 12

MONEY IN WHALING

JAPANESE INTERESTS

AUSTRALIAN ACTIVITIES

"Evening Post," June 10,

New Zealand's interest in whaling is .almost entirely'''.confined,'to the Cook j Strait fisheries, : with headquarters in JTory Channel, but there should be 'more for New Zealand in the industry than that. There is the Ross De- ■ pendency, a sector of the Antarctic . Circle, v/hich is under New Zealand administration and is visited by whalefishing expeditions using modern measures of capture and treatment; in fact, New Zealand has derived some revenue from whaling-industry licensing fees. Norwegian whaling enterprises have refitted in and drawn supplies from New Zealand in recent years; but there is no large-scale New Zealand enterprise engaged in the -Antarctic fisheries. Japanese whalefishing vessels entered into Antarctic waters, and are reported to '. have done remarkably well last season. ' Now Australia is'concerned for its own ■whaling industry, especially since Japanese have conducted unrestricted operations in southern waters. Over recent years the prices at which whale oil has been sold have not been remunerative, and may account, for lack of interest.. in the industry- But the market is now improved. H. M. F. Faure and Co., oil 'brokers arid merchants, London, -showed that No. 0/1 oil sold..at up to •£9O per ton in 1920, dropped to £33 in ,1923, and was down to as low as £S :10s to £11 10s in -1.934, but ranged from £10 to £20 in 1935, and £-17 to ~£2O last year. The tendency is upward. So much for the market. -Faure's remarked in their review for .:'1936-that "the future outlook for the ■■whaling industry remains distinctly . favourab'e," and adds: "There is every • reason to assume that ' the price .obtainable tor .the next year or so will continue, to show a very handsome return to whaling companies." SUBSIDY PLAN. .; A proposal that .a-substantial grant or subsidy should be made' available ■ for the development of the , whaling ' industry is under. . consideration by the Federal authorities, reports the "Sydney Morning Herald."-. It is expected that.the Minister/in charge of , Development will submit a concrete | plan to the Cabinet before the Federal. .Parliament meets. Authorities on Antarctic whaling'have pointed out > that Australian enterprise has practically disregarded opportunities to join in the industry. At the same time, attention has been drawn to the un- ■ restricted Japanese operations. UNCHECKED KILLINGS. Early this year Captain J. K. Davis, Australian Director of Navigation, who : has been a member. of many cxpedi- • tions to Antarctica, predicted the ■ almost complete extinction of whales . within a few years because of the ■unrestricted killing by Japanese whal- ■ ers. At the end of last year, Captain Frank Hurley said that the whaling industry' appeared to be conducted on the "lines of international ferocity." ■ Last October the Prime Minister of ' Australia, Mr. Lyons, hinted that pri- ■ vate enterprise should find whaling ■'' sufficiently attractive without the need »for Government action. Mr. Lyons .; drew attention to the huge catches • claimed by Norwegian companies. - FOREIGN ENTERPRISE. The present Japanese objective is re- .- ported to be 100,000 tons of whale oil :; a year. It is expected that Japan will ' have four factory ships with 25 chasers '■ in the south this year, while Germany :. will probably have three fleets, with an objective of 300,000 tons a year. Nor- ■ wegian expeditions may also be en- ■; gaged. But up to the present no de J . finite arrangement has been made to • send Australian financed and controlled ■ expeditions into southern waters or ■'. elsewhere, despite the. fact that the ■ Commonwealth Government, in 1936, ■ took over the control of certain areas ' in the Antarctic. ■- A sub-committee, which included the ■Australian Minister for External Affairs : (Sir George Pearce) and the /Acting " Minister of Defence and Assistant •' Minister of Commerce (Mr. Thorby), ' has investigated further the proposals ■ for development of the industry. In the Australian sector in 1921, 12,174 whales were taken, while in 1931 the number, increased to more than 40,000. In the 1930-31 season 43 ■'• floating factories, 232 whale catchers, : and 10 transport vessels, owned by 33 companies, sailed for the Antarctic. - Not one_ of these companies was Aus- ;■ tralian in character. In 'addition, six ■■ land stations were in operation.

Some of these factory ships cost from £500,000 to £750,000 each. The price of whale oil before the economic crisis was £30, a ton, but during the depression the price fell heavily, and in 1933 it was only £ 13. a ton, In that season the number of whales taken in the Antarctic fell to 24.237. The price has recently risen to £20 a ton.' There has been a great expansion in whaling ictivities.