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Reference :-
mimmim.O. 885
23 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
64
APPENDIORS.
As already stated, the data concerning the humpbacks show that the sexual season probably does not open before the beginning of November;* yet 92 per cent. of the mature cows are already pregnant in the period between mid-November and mid-January. This seems to indicate that the sexual season of the humpbacks is a much shorter one than that of the species of Balanoptera.
Further, the corpora lutea of each kind of whale indicate that in each the sexual season is of a polyestrous character, and the times during which effective pairing can happen may well be quite short ones at the period of each restrus Anything which disturbs or harries the whales during their pairing season must of necessity have the effect of diminishing their future numbers. Quiet is essential for effective pairing and in its absence many, and perhaps the majority, of the females will remain unimpregnated at the end of the sexual season.
The following is one of the general notes left by Major Barrett-Hamilton:- "The species most hunted at South Georgia are humpbacks, which are preferred to the finners and blue whales. A few sperm and right whales are caught, the former in November and December, the latter when amongst the other whales, but (according to Mr. Henriksen, the manager of the South Georgia Company) usually they keep to themselves north-west of the island and are not worth hunting specially there. Though a right whale is three times as valuable as a humpback, the latter are preferred where abundant, because their size is convenient for handling. Similarly finners and blue whales are not killed if humpbacks can be obtained, being hard to kill and only manageable in fine weather. Blue whales are a bit too large for the tackle if adult. Therefore South Georgia is primarily a humpback fishery" (Henriksent).
The whaling season at South Georgia opens on 1st October and continues to 31st March. The largest number of whales are caught in the months of November, Decem- ber, and January (see Reports of the Stipendiary Magistrate at South Georgia to the Colonial Secretary, dated 20th May, 1912, and 21st May, 1913). In some notes attached to his 1912 Report (S.G. No. 94/1912), the Stipendiary says:-" The generally recognized whaling season in the Dependency is from October to March, as it is between those months that the humpback whale comes and goes in large numbers, and it is from this whale that the whale-hunter relies to make his 'catch.' Finback and blue whales are to be found round the island at all times, but are very seldom hunted during the season when humpbacks can be obtained, this is owing to the fact that humpbacks are ever so much easier to kill and in every way give considerably less trouble."
In the Reports cited the Stipendiary has given the numbers of each species of whale caught for each year from 1909-10 to 1912-18; these figures, so far as they relate to humpbacks, finners, and blue whales, are set out below. Since the monthe of November, December, and January constitute the most productive part of the whaling season at South Georgia we may assume that the whales landed at Leith Harbour during this period of the last season form a fair sample of the total catch for 1913-14. In order to compare the annual catches, I have taken the combined number of humpbacks, finners, and blue whales for each season as representing 100, and have then made slide-rule calculations of the percentages of the whales of each species.
NUMBERS OF Humpbacks, FINNERS, AND BLUE WHALES caught at 8oUTH GEORGIA IN THE SEASONS 1909-10, 1910-11, 1911-12, 1912-13, ANd at Leith HARBOUR, IN THE PERIOD BETWEEN 15TH NOVEMBER, 1913, and 16th January, 1914:—
1939-10.
1910-11.
1911-12.
APRENDICES.
45
These figures tell their own tale. Mr. Henriksen's description of the whale fishery of South Georgia as "primarily a humpback fishery' was a true one from 1909 to 1912; in the season 1012-13 it was hardly accurate; to-day the fishery is perforce chiefly for finners-and this, in spite of the fact that the quest of the whaler at South Georgia is still the humpback. This species would appear to have become so scarce that instead of forming nine-tenths of the whole catch as in 1911, it now constitutes a bare one-fifth.
In a letter to Mr. C, E. Fagan, I.S.O., written at Leith Harbour, and dated 2nd December, 1918, Major Barrett-Hamilton said:- "This fishery is primarily for humpbacks, and the finners and blue whales are only taken in default of humpbacks. Assuming, as whalers do, that the big herds of humpbacks have not been reduced by over-killing, then they have not arrived here yet for the season. On this point, I shall, no doubt, be able to report later."
In a later letter, dated 11th January, 1814, from Leith Harbour, to Mr. Fagan, Major Barrett-Hamilton said:"A lot of whales are being killed, and the season looks like being a good one.
But the catch is of finners and blue whales chiefly,
not, as formerly, of humpbacks. Unless these latter arrive in greater numbers later on, it will be difficult to avoid the conclusion that the whalers, having killed off the humpbacks, are now doing the same thing to the other whales. But that is a conclusion that I am still trying to avoid, as long as any other explanation can be found." A similar statement is made in a letter of 12th January, 1914, from Major Barrett-Hamilton to Dr. S. F. Harmer, F.R.S.
It appears to be plain from the figures given above that there has been a deplorable reduction in the numbers of the humpbacks, and it seems to me very difficult indeed to avoid the conclusion that this reduction is connected in some way with the operations of the whalers. Mr. Henriksen* told Major Barrett- Hamilton (see Journal, 27th November, in the marginal note) that the whalers have taken no more whales compared to the herds as a whole than have fishermen of herrings, and that they saw large numbers of whales "leave South Georgia in peace in 1911 and that these whales have not come back since." Mr. Henriksen's* state- ment that the numbers killed are small in relation to the size of the herds, agrees with what the whalers of northern latitudes say of their catches.
The mischief done to the humpbacks at South Georgia may be ascribed perhaps to two causes: firstly, the slaughter in the seasons 1909-10, 1910-11, and 1911-12. appears to have been excessive; secondly, and possibly chiefly, if in these former seasons the herds arrived in the vicinity of the island in November, as appears to have been the case, then, from the considerations advanced above, their arrival may have coincided with their sexual heyday. They were thus subjected to a relentless persecution at the precise moment when repose was essential to their welfare; this persecution must have seriously hindered the pairing and by the time the survivors of the herds left South Georgia the sexual season had probably passed and propor- tionally large numbers of the females were in all likelihood barren instead of pregnant. †
The migration of the humpbacks each year to and from South Georgia is a well ascertained fact: the first comers appear there in October, the largest herds used to arrive in November and were present during November, December, and January; subsequently, they begin to leave, and by the middle of May all have vanished. As shown above, females are nearly twice as numerous as males ut South Georgia between the middle of November and the middle of January; at the South Shetlands, on the other hand, Mörch found that bulls were in a decided majority and that the individuals observed in February and March were mostly young (Proceedings of the Zoological Society, 1911, 663).
In the paper cited, Möroh said:-"During the months May to October especially, the humpback whales have been observed in great numbers and mostly off the coast of Portuguese West Africa. I think the question may reasonably be raised whether we have not here the great bulk of the humpbacks from the South Georgia region on their annual migratory route? In this locality, which is interesting in more than one respect, observations might probably be made upon foetuses of humpback whales in the later stages of their development."
1912-13.
1913-14, Leith Harbour.
(8 months.)
Humpback.
8,891
5,299
5,100
2,251
67
Finners
68
97
299
1,724
184
Blue whales
26
76
208
819
190
Total
8,476
5,472
5,807
4,187
091
100
100
100
100
100
Hampbacks
Finnera
Bine whales
97.5
98-9
91
58-8
19-6
1-67
1-77
5.88
41:9
68.2
075
1.89
8-71
6-07
17.2
[? Hendriksen.]
† See note of 22nd March, 1915, at end.
No. 1 in Miscellaneous No. 278.
• See footnote to page 6.
+ [? Hendriksen.]
Nos. 18 and 38 in Miscellaneous No. 278.
Total
8
In a letter from the British Museum (Natural History) to the Colonial Office, dated 27th October, 1911,‡ it is said that: "It is by no means improbable that
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