23< S WHALES AND DOLPHINS 



throughout the year. When Larsen commenced operations, 

 in addition to Rorquals, Humpback Whales abounded close 

 inshore, and he noticed too that in the waters round the island, 

 krill, the food of whales, was present in conspicuous abundance. 

 Still another factor favouring South Georgia is that for whaling 

 within the cold waters of the Antarctic it is the place closest 

 to northern ports ; for here the circumpolar currents bend 

 northward, so that although it is roughly in the same latitude 

 as the Falkland Islands and the southern end of South America 

 it has an entirely different climate, and the waters surrounding 

 it abound in the whale food which is scarce in warmer regions. 



The shore stations of five whaling companies were soon 

 built on South Georgia, and every year 1500 to 2000 men, 

 chiefly Norwegians, were employed, hunting whales and 

 extracting oil from the carcases in this previously uninhabited 

 little dependency of the Falkland Islands. In the meantime 

 a modification of this shore station fishery had made its 

 appearance, and floating factories, chiefly old cargo vessels 

 adapted for the purpose of dealing with whales, commenced 

 to operate, with their attendant catchers, from harbours in the 

 South Shetlands and South Orkneys. Essential features in 

 the working of thesfe floating factories were that they remained 

 in their chosen harbour throughout the season, they were 

 dependent on a supply of water from the shore, and were 

 subject to the regulations under which licences were granted 

 by the Government. By these regulations the number of 

 companies and catchers was limited ; the companies operating 

 had to make the fullest use of the carcases so as to avoid waste, 

 and they were forbidden to take whale calves or parent animals 

 accompanied by calves. At first the whalers at South Georgia 

 and in the other dependencies of the Falkland Islands concen- 

 trated on HumpbacKS, but in time, partly on account of the 

 modification of their vessels to take Finner and Blue Whales, 

 and partly because of the reduction in the number of Hump- 

 backs, the larger Rorquals became the main constituents of 

 the catch. 



In the season 1925-26 Antarctic whaling was responsible foi 

 over 60% of the total world production of whale oil, and the 

 number of whales slaughtered, consisting of Finner, B'ue: 

 Humpback, Sperm and Sei, in this order of importance, \va; 



