312 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1942 



3,340,330 barrels. The bulk of this oil came from finback and blue 

 whales. During 1937-38 alone, 54,664 whales were slaughtered, the 

 largest number ever killed in one year. Of these, 46,039 were taken 

 in Antarctic waters during the 97-day season extending from De- 

 cember 8 to March 15 by 256 whale-catcher boats operating with 31 

 floating factories and 2 land stations. 



In the interval between 1904 and 1939, nearly 200,000 whales have 

 been killed in the vicinity of the British Falkland Island De- 

 pendency Claim, which comprises South Georgia, South Shetlands, 

 South Orkneys, and the Palmer Peninsula. Of these there were 

 about 37,000 humpbacks, more than 75,000 finbacks, nearly 60,000 

 blue whales, about 4,000 sei whales, 590 right whales, and less than 

 1,000 sperm whales. 



More than half of the 15,000 or more whales captured by shore 

 stations and floating factories operating along the coasts of Chile, 

 Peru, and Ecuador have been sperm whales. 



The first clear indication that the stocks of whales in Antarctic 

 waters were being decimated came during the season of 1936-37. 

 For several years prior to that season, blue whales outnumbered fin- 

 backs two to one in the annual catches. The returns for the 1936-37 

 season revealed that for the first time more finbacks (14,381) than 

 blue whales (14,304) were taken. The next year, 1937-38, 14,923 

 blue whales and 28,009 finbacks were caught. The same condition 

 prevailed in 1938-39 when 14,081 blue whales and 20,784 finbacks 

 were killed. 



The blue whale has been the mainstay of the Antarctic whale 

 fishery. This whale occasionally reaches a length of 100 feet and is 

 the largest animal known to have lived on this planet. It has been 

 calculated that the oil, fertilizer, and other products obtained from 

 a 75-foot blue whale will equal that obtained from either two fin- 

 backs or two sperm whales totaling 110 linear feet, or from three 

 humpbacks totaling 120 linear feet, or from four sei whales totaling 

 200 linear feet. 



Much has been written regarding the enormous expansion of the 

 whaling industry in recent years. Warnings have been given re- 

 peatedly that the scale of operations and the methods employed 

 constituted a menace to the maintenance of the stock of whales. 

 Whalers contended for some time, however, that the Antarctic cir- 

 cumpolar waters constituted a vast reservoir of whales and that 

 those killed were replaced naturally by migration from inaccessible 

 areas. 



Nevertheless, some of the large whaling companies began to ex- 

 press openly some misgivings about the future of the industry if 

 the promiscuous killing of whales continued unchecked. Shortly 

 afterward, some of the governments, whose nationals were engaged 



