496 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 
From 1848 the North Pacific fishery was the most important, the 
Americans and Hawaiians practically monopolizing it. The following 
table shows the number of vessels (including only those which returned 
to the islands) engaged in this fishery, together with the oil and bone 
secured, from 1839 to 1869: 
Table showing the number of vessels in the North Pacific whale fishery, and the oil and bone 
taken by same, from 1839 to 1869, including only the vessels that have returned to the 
islands. 

Wears! No. of | Sperm | Whale Total | Whale- 







vessels.| oil. | oil. oil. | bone. 
| Barrels. | Barrels. | Barrels. | Lbs. 
TCE ie te ighiet ste BEE CORR ee or Be Cor DEe else see Dial aD cierto ae enter 2.800) ls ee eae 
Salk aes. an Aetes ce oaoe L760 |5-scesen see 
QO fil ecoe areca ellie ite rerciate 28;:200! lo -eeee cere 
Dyn eae eteseecl heer enisee ATE 200 Seeeeeeeeee 
LOS} Pee meen secemenee 1469800) }asickeceecee 
dln eee cess mo osecee oe I} (2598570) asacaecerese 
PAGS eet ae otal eceicis aorsee 2507600) e2eeereeee 
DOD oe ercerataAal lta eee ZO KSOOM |) Sacer eters 
Ufa peor alc, cate Sortie: 187443) (Ee ee 
115) eeerserts ol Gano tcae 185, 256 | 
16 ha han satqens|-ascaserce 206, 850 
1A eS Se eo eee 243, 648 
WAS al OSS Oe eectalee cares cee 96,177 
275 | (t) 337, 124 337, 124 5, 307, 137 
252 (1) 280, 360 280, 860 3, 448, 300 
245 4, 276 191, 843 196, 119 2, 698, 180 
250 6, 242 225, 626 231,868 | 2,443, 250 
177 3,337 | 135,708 189,045 | 1,628,650 
165 3,079 124, 460 127,539) | 1, 591,43 
218 1,555 | 129,240 | 180,795 | 1,667,700 
197 2,950 102, 980 105, 930 | 1,512, 700 
132 2,099 63,965 | 66, 064 | 838, 50 
68 2,013 50,575 52,588 659, QOD 
34 1, 685 28, 315 380, 000 | 387,20!) 
43 288 | 36,120 36, 408 503, 000 
55 390 |} 29,425 29, 815 428, 300 
67 1, 080 45, 000 46, O80 671, 100 
76 2,643 49, 056 51, 699 $28, 991 
75 1, 940 52, 050 53, 990 778, 800 
57 2,693 | 38,765 41, 458 | 539, 700 
46 2,500} 42,114] 44,614 | 196, 793 


*The vessels and oil reported up to 1852 are exclusively American; since 1852 they include whale- 
men of all nations that have recruited after the season at the Hawaiian Islands. The coast whaling 
of California of late years is not included. 
+A hard season, owing to the heavy ice and terrific gales; seven vessels were lost. 
t No report is obtainable for these years. 
THE SEAL FISHERY. 
The Hawaiians early took up the seal fishery. It is not known when 
the first voyage was made, but the following is an interesting summary 
of several made early in the last century: 
March 2, 1824, by order of Kalaimoku, sanctioned by the King, he [William 
Summer] was given charge of the brig Ainoa for a sealing voyage, returning in October 
with 5,845 fur skins, a quantity of elephant oil, and fish. On thisand a similar voyage 
in the brig Tamoralana (Kamahalolanai) in 1826, in which he obtained 3,160seal skins, 
he reported that much better success would have resulted had they been properly 
provisioned. * 
On September 14, 1838, the schooner /libberty Gibbet, 25 tons, 
Rogers, commander, owned at Oahu, returned from a twenty-one days’ 
cruise to the island of Ceres, with a cargo of sealskins. 
There are occasional notices of sealers in the maritime notes of the 
newspapers of the islands after this date, as in 1859, when the bark 
Gambia, 249 tons, is reportedas having been sealing. She left Hono- 
* Hawaiian Maritime History. Hawaiian Almanac and Annual for 1890, pp. 67, 68. 

