WHALE SLAUGHTER

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 138, 8 December 1938, Page 5

WHALE SLAUGHTER

TOLL IN ANTARCTIC

JAPANESE DEPREDATIONS

(Special to the "Evening Post.")

AUCKLAND, This Day.

"The Japanese today are engaged in nothing cisc but wholesale slaughter of the whale in the Antarctic," said Captain W. W. Stuart, of the Marine De-. partment, Wellington, in addressing members of the Auckland Creditmen's Club at a luncheon held yesterday. 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 investigation on behalf of the Government, spoke of Japan's refusal to join the whaling convention. In 1936, he said, 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. Today Japan was building ' a 33,000-ton factory ship. t which would have a crew of 360 men. This was in 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 , in the industry, or else scrapping it and following Japan in the wholesale slaughter of whales. If that occurred the whale in the Atlantic would become something to be seen only in textbooks. Unless Japan played the game the problem was particularly acute.

Captain Stuart devoted the remainder of his address to a description of the hard life of the men in the chaser ships, the catching of whales, and the manner in which the oil was extracted on the factory ships. He mentioned an unusual accident which had occurred on one of the chasers. The harpoon was fired, and, striking the backbone of the whale, was deflected into the air and returned within three seconds to crash down on the deck, of the chaser. Six m«» were injured. . \