84 



DISCOVERY REPORTS 



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very large numbers were taken, are not available. Fig. 84 represents catches made after 

 the great destruction of Humpbacks in the early days of the fishery ;.in these figures the 

 catches of Fin and Blue whales are also shown for 

 comparison, and the rise of the one fishery with the 

 decline of the other is very evident. 



It is of interest to note that the whaling companies 

 which carried on operations off the coast of Western 

 Australia in the years 1913-16 repeated the course 

 of events that had occurred in other fields, and 

 stopped working after only four seasons' hunting. 

 The catches were: for 191 3, 654 whales; for 1914, 

 1900 whales; for 191 5, less than 900; for 1916, less 

 than 200 ; and it was obvious that the whales were 

 taken on their way to and from their breeding 

 grounds a little to the north (cf. Wheeler, 1934). 

 The result of the inroads made on the numbers of 

 breeding whales, together with other considerations, 

 such as the fact that other species were not numerous 

 on these grounds, and that ships could be more 

 profitably engaged in the freight market than in 

 whaling during the latter part of the Great War, 

 led to the abandonment of Western Australian 

 whaling. 



The reason for the great decrease in numbers of Humpback whales, off the South 

 African coast at any rate, is not far to seek. Reference to Figs. 81 and 82 shows that 

 most of the catch at the South African whaling stations consists of immature whales, 

 and in addition it has been shown above that whaling in these localities is conducted 

 during the breeding migration, so that it is small wonder that a species so harassed is 

 becoming scarcer. 



In southern seas the catch consists predominantly of mature animals on their feeding 

 migration, and the decrease in numbers there is probably due not only to excessive 

 slaughter on the southern grounds but also to the killing of large numbers of breeding 

 and pregnant whales in temperate and tropical latitudes. 



The second peak in Fig. 83 shows the burst of intensive whaling carried on during the 

 Great War, and for the rest the steady decline in numbers can only be attributed to the 

 whalers killing off the easily captured species before turning their attention to the larger 

 and more active ones. Mr G. Rayner informs me that during recent whaling-marking 

 voyages of the R.R.S. 'William Scoresby' large schools of Humpback whales were seen 

 in the far south, in the regions where pelagic whaling is pursued. When larger species 

 are not available the whalers take these Humpbacks, and with their modern equipment 

 they are able to deal with very large numbers of them in a short space of time. The 

 probability of a serious decrease in the numbers of Blue whales in the near future makes 



Humpback Whales 



Blue and Fin Whales 



Fig. 84. Natal. Catches of Humpback, 

 Blue and Fin whales. 



