BEST: LANDED CATCH OF KIGHT WHALE 



Present calculations are therefore close to these 

 estimates. 



Of the 127 voyages taking right whales on 

 grounds other than the North Pacific, bone yields 

 were available for only 37 (Fig. 5). For all 127 

 cruises there was a significant trend in mean 

 yield with time it = 2.40, P <0.02), so annual 

 values under assumption A were calculated from 

 the least squares estimating equation: 



y = 92.51 +3.11 (.r - 1821) 



where x = year of arrival (>1821) and 



y = average whalebone yield (lbs). 



This equation produces a yield of 96 lb per whale 

 in 1822 and a yield of 370 lb per whale in 1910: 

 yields before 1822 (for which no data exist) are 

 taken as 96 lb per whale. 



For the 37 cruises where bone production was 

 declared, there was no significant trend in aver- 

 age yields with time (6 = -0.67 ± 1.26, t = 0.53, 

 P > 0.61, so the overall mean yield of 497,840/884 

 or 563 lb (CV = 0.043) of bone per whale has been 

 used under assumption B. This agrees well with a 

 calculated mean of 629 lb and adult range of 250 

 to 330 kg (550 to 726 lb) for right whales from 

 South Africa (Best 1970) and the North Atlantic 

 (Collett 1909). respectively. Clark (1887a) stated 

 that right whales in the South Atlantic yielded on 

 average about 300 lb of bone per 100 barrels of oil 

 in the male and 400 to 600 lb per 100 barrels in 

 the female (equivalent to an actual yield of about 

 180 lb per whale in the male and 240 to 360 lb in 

 the female). Although he claimed that right 

 whales in the Indian Ocean were smaller than 

 those in the South Atlantic, average whalebone 

 yields are given as 240 lb for males and 360 lb for 

 females. It is not clear why Clark's figures are 

 somewhat lower than the others quoted here. 



(assumption B). According to Clark (1887a), the 

 yield of bone in bowhead whales from the 

 Atlantic- Arctic grounds averaged about 1,300 lb 

 to 100 barrels of oil (or about 1,560 lb per whale), 

 whereas in the Okhotsk Sea the yield was about 

 1,500 lb to 100 barrels of oil (or about 1,650 lb per 

 whale). In both areas, however, Clark commented 

 that whales found there "during recent years" 

 were much smaller than those taken at the begin- 

 ning of the fishery; the values given above re- 

 ferred essentially to the start of the fishery. Ross 

 (1974) calculated the average yield for a bowhead 

 whale from the Hudson Bay stock as 1,065 lb, 

 later revised to 916 lb (Ross 1979). For whales 

 from the Davis Strait stock, the average yield was 

 calculated as 1,392 lb (Ross 1979). Present esti- 

 mates are therefore within the range of those 

 given previously. 



Humpback Whales 



Of the 29 voyages taking humpback whales 

 that were analyzed, only 7 had associated 

 whalebone production (Fig. 7). There was no sig- 

 nificant trend in the mean yield of whalebone per 

 whale, either under assumption A ib = 

 -0.21 ± 1.20, ^=0.17, P>0.8) or B (6 = 

 1.95 ± 5.12, t = 0.38, P > 0.7), so the relevant 

 overall means have been used, i.e., 15,116/ 

 1,137 = 13 lb (CV = 0.416) under assumption A 

 and 15,116/345 = 44 lb (CV = 0.652) under 

 assumption B. Scammon (1874) stated that 

 humpback baleen was of inferior quality, but 

 could be collected at a rate of about 400 lb per 

 100 barrels of oil; this would be equivalent in 

 current calculations to a yield of 98 lb whalebone 

 per whale. Mitchell and Reeves (1983) confirmed 

 that baleen from humpback whales was generally 

 considered of poor quality, but pointed out that it 

 was occasionally marketed. 



Bowhead >XlTales 



Of the 39 voyages taking bowhead whales that 

 were analyzed, 37 included reference to landings 

 of whalebone (Fig. 6). There was no significant 

 trend in the mean yield of whalebone per whale, 

 either under assumption A (b = 0.03 ± 7.19, 

 /= 0.005, P>0.9) or B (6 = -2.87 ± 6.66, 

 / = 0.4305, P > 0.6). Overall mean yields can 

 therefore be calculated as 1,060,911/993 = 1,068 

 lb iCV = 0.098) per whale (assumption A) or 

 1,060,911/949 = 1,118 lb (CV = 0.095) per whale 



Gray VHiales 



There were no voyages available on which 10 or 

 more gray whales were taken and for which 

 whalebone production was declared. According to 

 Henderson (1972:84): 



Unlike the valuable baleen of the right and bowhead 

 whales, whalebone from the gray never became an im- 

 portant part of the catch . . . little bone wa.s recorded in 

 the cargos of the gray whaling vessels. The few recorded 

 cargos of gray whalebone to arrive in San Francisco and 



411 



