MIGRATIONS AND DISTRIBUTION 



253 



less definite results. Without intimate knowledge and experience of whaling methods it 

 is difficult to say how far this is a valid indication of the real distribution of Blue and 

 Fin whales. For instance, the very high rate of Fin whales per day in 120-130 E is 

 derived from a small catch in the 1937-8 season only, which, however, was taken in a 

 relatively very small number of days, and its significance is rather doubtful. However, 

 the ' Blue whales per day ' show the same maxima, though less pronounced, as in the 

 total catches. The ' Fin whales per day ' are more difficult to interpret. There is clearly a 

 concentration in area II, but in areas III and IV the catch per day does not fluctuate in 



AREAH 



DEGREES WEST 

 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 



AREA IE 



AREAXF 



DEGREES EAST 

 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 9.0 100 110 120 130 



30 



25- 



20 - 



15- 



10 - 



■ BLUE DFIN □BLUE+FIN + HUMPBACK 



Fig. 6. Blue and Fin whales shot at per day during the William Scoresby's whale-marking cruises in 1934-8. 



From Table 12. 



the same way as the total catches. It must be remembered that the Blue whale is the 

 more valuable species, and it is difficult to say how far the Fin whale catches are affected 

 by the abundance or scarcity of Blue whales. This factor does not apply to the ' William 

 Scoresby ' data. Fig. 6 confirms the inference that Blue whales, though scarce in area II, 

 tend to segregate in area III between 20 and 40 E, and in area IV between 80 and ioo° E. 

 The Fin-whale curve is in some ways similar to that of Fin whales caught per day in 

 Fig. 5, especially in the peak at 40-50 W and the scarcity in 80-90 E, but there is 

 evidently no great scarcity of Fin whales anywhere between 8o° W and 6o° E. A signi- 

 ficant feature of Fig. 6 is that in 70-80 W (in the Bellingshausen Sea) there is not only 



