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DISCOVERY REPORTS 



seasons. The period of each cruise was roughly two months and lay between the extreme 

 dates of 20 November and 9 February, that is, it comprised the early and middle parts of 

 the season. During the first season, when mostly Fin whales were marked, work was 

 restricted to the vicinity of the island and of the Shag Rocks, which lie about 

 140 miles westward of the northern part of South Georgia. The next season, 1935-36, 

 brought ice close to the island and it was, as periodically happens at South Georgia, 

 predominantly a "Blue whale season". Marking this season extended to a greater 

 distance and mostly lay between east and south of the island. The season's work was 

 very successful, for in addition to a good total of Blue whales many Fins were marked. 

 Following this, the season 1936-37 was remarkable for an almost complete absence of 

 Blue whales from South Georgian waters and was, overwhelmingly, a "Fin whale 

 season". Operations were very largely carried on around the Shag Rocks and only one 

 Blue whale was marked as opposed to 718 Fins. 



TABLE I 



Whales estimated to be effectively marked 



During the season 1937-38 no whale-catcher was hired for marking, but the ' William 

 Scoresby ' recommissioned a fourth time for this work. The programme of work for 

 this commission was planned to be complementary to the whale-marking already done, 

 which, as will be explained later, had shown that whales did not spend much time in 

 the neighbourhood of South Georgia, but only passed through it on passage to more 

 southerly feeding grounds. During the 1937-38 season whales were to be marked north 

 of South Georgia before or at the commencement of the whaling season and, later, farther 

 south between South Georgia and the pack-ice of the Weddell or Scotia Seas. In 

 addition, whales were to be marked between the longitudes of the South Sandwich 



