16
season than at any other period. The foetus is then usually in its first stages of development. I should add that it is generally during October and November that the largest number of female whales are taken round this Dependency, as they then seem to be more numerous than at any other time.
2. With regard to the possibility of being able to distinguish the female from the male or bull whale before capture, this seems to be of great uncertainty. If the weather is calm and the sea smooth it may be possible to do so. A whaler of some years' experience once told me that while hunting he could always tell a female humpback whale from the male by the fin, the female having a gracefully curved fin, while that of the male was a stumpy curled fin." With regard to other whales, my informant told me that a good whaler might be able to tell the difference of sex by the shape of the head, but then the sea had to be very calm-a somewhat rare occurrence in these waters.
3. There is certainly no discrimination amongst the whalers even when they know the difference of sex, and female whales with a newly-born or young calf are deliberately hunted down and usually fall an easy prey to the hunter. The whaler knows well that the mother whale will not travel very fast, owing to her calf, whom she seldom-if ever-leaves, and he frequently takes advantage of this knowledge to kill the young calf first, not for its value, which is practically nil, but in order that he may the more easily capture the mother. When the young whale is killed the poor mother lingers alongside the vessel, and soon meets with the fate of her offspring. Such deliberate killing of mother and calf is of common occurrence, not only here, but, I am inclined to think, wherever whaling operations are carried on, and calls for future regulation. If it be impossible to identify the female whale when alone, there is no mistaking the mother whale with her calf.
I have, &c.,
The Honourable
The Colonial Secretary,
Falkland Islands.
27589
J. INNES WILSON,
Stipendiary Magistrate.
No. 13.
17
last year this shows a decrease of 20 whales cach boat or 1 less per week; hut in this connection it must be taken into consideration that, as aforesaid, the boats of the Southern Whaling and Sealing Company arrived late in the season, and their total catch up to the 31st March was only 136 whales. Taking the average catch of each boat of the seven companies, the following is the result:-
5.
Company.
Cia. Argentina de Pesca South Georgia Co., Ltd. Tönsberg Whaling Co. Ocean Whaling Co. Sandefjord Whaling Co. Bryde & Dahl
Southern Whaling and Sealing Co.
Catch per Boat.
Number of
Bont
1910 11.
1911-12.
312:5
345:5
307:5
205-0
263-3
297-0
298-2
272-0
290:3
285-6
261-0
230-3
68-0
The Sandefjord Whaling Company was the only company which employed two floating factories as in the season 1910-11. The floating factory " VIK "hired by Messrs. Bryde & Dahl arrived too late in the season-March to be employed
by that company and left about the end of April with only 475 barrels of oil ex- tracted from a few flenched carcasses obtained at Husvik Harbour.
6. Oil. The total average number of barrels of oil extracted from each whale as compared with the 1910-11 season is as follows:
1910-11 1911-12
27 2 harrels. 30:3 barrels.
This shows an improvement of over 3 barrels of oil per whale, but a better idea
will be obtained of the advance in this direction from the following averages of each company as compared with their 1910 11 production :-
Company
1910 11.
1911-12.
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
LC.O. 885
22 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC. COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
FALKLAND ISLANDS.
THE STIPENDIARY MAGISTRATE, SOUTH GEORGIA, to THE COLONIAL
SECRETARY.
(Received in Colonial Office, 2 September, 1912.)
The Office of the Magistrate, South Georgia,
20th May, 1912.
SIR,
I HAVE the honour to submit the following report, for the information of His Excellency the Governor, on the whaling operations at South Georgia during the half-year dating from the 1st October, 1911, to the 31st March, 1912-commonly known as the whaling season. (Enclosed Schedules A. and B.)
2. The past season has again been a most excellent one, the results exceeding those of the record season 1910-11. The largest number of whales were caught durirng the months of November, December, and January. The continual stormy nature of the weather during February and March often made whale hunting quite an impossibility.
3. During the six months under review, the record number of 5,681 whales (vide Schedule A.) have been taken from the waters off this Dependency, yielding in all 172,318 barrels of oil, valued approximately at £407,403, or a total weight of 29,109 tons of oil at a given average value of about £14 per ton, calculating each barrel to hold 172 kilos. If we include with the above the guano and baleen, the total approximate value of "the catch " realises £433,425. (I have given the exporter's valuation, but personally think this is an under-estimate of at least 10 per cent.) When compared with the same period of 1910-11, this shows an increase of 160 whales and 21,861 barrels of oil, or a total increase in valuation of £19,073.
4. From seven companies engaged in the whale fishery of the Dependency there have been employed in all 21 licensed steam whalers, or two more than last season, namely those of the Southern Whaling and Sealing Company, Limited, which arrived in January. Each boat has had an average catch of 270 whales, or over 10 whales each per week during a period of six months. When compared with
7.
Cia. Argentina de Pesca South Georgia Co., Lol. Tönsberg Whaling Co.
Ocean Whaling Co.
Sandefjord Whaling Co.
Bryde & Dahl
Southern Whaling and Sealing Co.
Barrels.
Barrels.
27.9
26-3
26.9
28-1
240
32.2
32-8
35-6
22.0
27.6
25.0
28-2
39-1
Guano. The total output of guano amounted to 30,270 bags (ride Schedule B.), or an increase over 1910-11 of 19,220 bags. The guano is prepared by a cutting up and drying process of the flenched whale carcass. The South Georgia Corupany, Limited, the Ocean Whaling Company and the Southern Whaling and Sealing Company, Limited, are required by the conditions of their lease to utilise the whole whale; and it is satisfactory to note that the Tönsberg Whaling Company have now also erected a guano factory, producing for the period under review 3,500 bags. Four companies were thus engaged in the manufacture of guano, and from their combined total catch of 2,751 whales, we get an average of 11 bags of guano from each whale, as compared with only 6 bags by two companies last season.
The following shows the average number of bags of guano obtained from cach whale by the four companies aforesaid as compared with the 1910-11 season:-
Company.
Average quantity of Gunno per Whale,
1911 12.
19030 11.
Rage.
Bags.
South Georgia Co., Ltd. Ocean Whaling Co.
281
1181
1264
1991
Southern Whaling Co., Ltd.
14-70
Busberg Whaling Co.
3:92
31292
C
Page 270Page 271
18
8. Baleen.The baleon or whalebone includes that taken from the right whale (true baleen), blue, fin, and humpback whale; but the quantity herein given-81 tons is much under what is really shipped, as large quantities of the "hump-back quality" (being of the least value) are often used for cargo-stowing purposes and is seldom taken into consideration by the lessees when sending in their returns.
9. Shipping-During the season or six months ended 31st March, 1912, there were 27" departures," giving a total tonnage (net registered) of 28,718, as compared with 24 vessels of a total tonnage of 23,045 for the same period last year.
Some particulars of vessels cleared during the season 1911-12.
Number of Vessels.
Where from.
Number of Vessels.
19
10. There has been a considerable increase in all the species of whales killed, with the exception of the "hump back"; so that, apart from a better utilisation, this should also help to increase the average quantity of oil, &c., from each whale. Almost twice the quantity of oil can be usually obtained from a full-grown blue whale as compared with that obtained from the "hump-back." The "hump-back is generally much easier to capture during the season than any other whale.
I hope to be able to forward at an early date a few notes on the whales obtained in the waters off this Dependency.
Whither bound.
1311-12 1910-11
Whales captured.
Kight.
Sperm.
Blau.
Fin,
Hump-back.
Total.
71 49
3
Nil
208 76
293
5,100
5,681
97
5,299
5,521
8
Argentine
9
Argentine.
7
United Kingdom
5
2
United Kingdom. Norway.
6
Norway
5 (whaling)
South Sandwich Islands.
2
Germany
2
do.
South Orkney Islands.
1 (whaler)
Falkland Islands
1
Falkland Islands.
1
do.
South Orkney Islands
1
Australia.
1
do.
1
South Sandwich Islands Holland
1
Canary Islands.
1 (exploring)
Antarctic.
Nationality.
Steam.
Sail.
Total.
Total tonnago.
Norway
5
14
16,188
Argentine
British
Germany
Totals
1
7
4,463
Nil
5,763
Nil
2,301
21
6
27
28,718
11. At the height of the past whaling season, there were something like 1,500 persons of all classes and nationalities engaged in the whale fishery of the Depen- dency. Considering the various characters amongst such a miscellaneous collection of men, there has been very little trouble, as far as I am aware, at the various whaling stations.
It is a well-known fact that whale fishing and work in connection therewith often attracts some of the worst characters of a community, and it is such characters that employers in this industry are not always none too careful in making enquiries about (if they ever do so) before engaging.
The Honourable
the Colonial Secretary.
Falkland Islands.
I have, &c.,
J. INNES WILSON,
Stipendiary Magistrate.
It will be observed from the above that I have not included the shipping in port, which at the end of March and beginning of April was considerable. For example, from the 1st April to the present date (20th May) 18 vessels have departed, giving a total tonnage of 22,096. It will thus be seen that from the 1st October up to the date of this report, 45 vessels (50,814 tons net registered) have departed from the Dependency. From May to September, there is only the shipping, principally trans port, to and from the shore stations, namely: Grytviken, Leith Harbour, and Husvik Harbour. Although the Ocean Whaling Company have a shore station at New Fortune Bay, nearly all the men are taken back to Norway during the winter months, and only a few-14 or 16-left to look after the station during that time.
Quarterly shipping returns (Lloyds) are sent in at the end of every quarter to the Collector of Customs.
Observations.
9. Compared with last year an advance has been made during the season 1911-12 in the utilisation of the whale carcass, leaving a much smaller percentage of waste matter than formerly. As I have already remarked, apart from those companies who are required by the conditions of their lease to utilise the whole carcass, it is pleasing to note that the Tönsberg Whaling Company have now a guano factory on their station for that purpose. The Sandefjord Whaling Company, Messrs. Bryde & Dahl, and the Cia. Argentina de Pesca do not have a guano plant, and I now understand that it seems somewhat doubtful if the latter company (Cia. Argentina de Pesca) will erect such a factory, which they thought of doing last year. According to the averages given in paragraphs 6 and 7, the Ocean Whaling Company are considerably ahead of any other company in their production per whale, and, as I reported elsewhere, this company had practically no waste matter. The returns of the South Georgia Company, Limited, show a considerable improvement on last year's utilisation, but there is room for a still greater improve ment in this direction by that company, as these averages will help to show: 281 barrels of oil and 11-81 hags of guano per whale seems to be still short of a total utilisation," particularly when compared with that of the Ocean Whaling Company.
SCHEDULE A.
WHALING: SOUTH GEORGIA.
The following statement shows the total number and class of whales taken off South Georgia by the various licensed whaling companies, during the half-year lating from the 1st October, 1911, to the 31st March, 1912-
Class of Whale and Number,
Total.
Name of Company.
Right.
Sperm
Blue.
Fin. flump.back. Other.
Shore Factories.
Cia Argentina de Pesca
S2N
16
37
122
1,206
Nil
1,382
South Georgia Co., Ltd.
12
2
12
53
1,101
Nil
1,180
Tinaberg Whaling Co. (also float- 27
ing factory).
Nil
79
31
754
Nil
891
Nil
3
9
531
Nil
544
Ocean Whaling Co.
Floating Factories.
-
Sandefjord Whaling Company Bryde & Dahl
10
Nil
45
34
768
Nil
837
3
Nil
18
42
628
Nil
601
Southern Whaling Co.
2
Nil
11
8
112
Nil
136
Totals ...
71
3
203
290
5,100
Nil
5,681
J. INNES WILSON,
Magistrate.
South Georgia,
20th May, 1912.
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