308 FOLLOW THE WHALE 



sailed in 1910. By 191 2 the Norwegians had 157 chasers, 11 trans- 

 ports, and no fewer than 37 floating factories at sea. Nothing could 

 better indicate the revolutionary impact of this new device. 



At the same time, shore stations began to close down at an in- 

 creasing rate. By the end of the decade (191 2) the northern fishery 

 was completely given up and this was not by any means entirely 

 due to the ban on all whaling out of Scotland issued by the British 

 Government. Meanwhile, the southern activities continued to rise, 

 reaching a secondary peak during the First World War when the 

 demand for oil, fertilizer, and other whale products — notably glyc- 

 erin for explosives — reached a new high. Whales killed in the com- 

 bined northern and southern industries by Norwegian firms alone — 

 and there were some others operating by then — amounted to the 

 following totals for the seasons from i9i3-i9i4to 191 8-19 19: 10,659, 

 8514, 961 1, 11,792, 6474, and 4305. The dip from 1914 to 1916 was 

 occasioned by shipping losses consequent upon the outbreak of hos- 

 tilities, blockades, and so forth; that subsequent to the 1917-1918 

 season to the sudden decrease in demand at the cessation of hostilities 

 in the latter year. 



After World War I, the industry floundered in an organizational 

 and financial morass for five years. This was due partly to normal 

 postwar confusion, partly to the collapse of the northern fishery, 

 partly to lack of equipment, and, to some extent, to a distinct dim- 

 inution in the number of whales in the more accessible parts of the 

 southern oceans, which had been exploited so drastically during the 

 war years. Despite the formation of an over-all authority to control 

 the industry by the Norwegians in 19 15— known as Den Norske 

 Hvalf angerf orening — the British had managed by the end of the 

 war to insinuate themselves into the whole business through astute 

 financial manipulations. In point of fact, by then they held a con- 

 trolling interest through capital investment and they forthwith pro- 

 ceeded to block all efforts to conserve the whales — something the 

 Norwegians had at long last come to realize through practical ex- 

 perience was absolutely necessary to preserve the industry. There 

 were numerous international conferences on this, and grandiose 

 proposals were drawn up. Everybody agreed on the principles; every- 

 body signed and ratified the agreements, except the British. Mean- 

 while, the stock of whales continued to be depleted, and this pro- 



