HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION 47 



controversial issue is the overall limit of the annual Antarctic catch from 

 factory ships. In 1946 this limit was fixed at 16,000 B.W.U., but this figure 

 was subsequently reduced to 14,500 B.W.U. and raised again to 15,000 

 in 1959. During the 1955-6 season, the quota was caught by 19 factory 

 ships operating with 257 catcher boats, and in 1957 by 20 factory ships 

 with 237 catchers. In future this yield will have to be shared with the 

 U.S.S.R. which is extending her whaling fleet considerably. The Inter- 

 national Bureau for Whaling Statistics (Sandefjord, Norway) receives 

 weekly reports about how many units have been caught by every ship, 

 and on the basis of these the Bureau decides when the season is to be 

 declared closed. During recent years, this happened on about the i8th 

 March, but during 1955-6 the quota was exhausted by 4th March. That 

 season was the shortest ever recorded. 



The general season usually opens on 7th January, but Blue Whales, 

 which need special protection, may not be hunted before ist February. 

 Humpbacks may be hunted for no more than four days every year. 



Thus the season lasts for two and a half months, and the fixing of the 

 opening date is a point of the utmost importance. It might be argued that 

 the later that date the better the results, since whales grow fatter during 

 the season. However, the weather in the Antarctic deteriorates and 

 storms, fogs, snow and hailstorms can hold up the work for days, so that 

 it is essential to get the catch in before the bad weather sets in. 



The reader might wonder why there is a sanction against killing females 

 accompanied by their calves and no protection for cows in calf or even 

 for cows in general, when the females of, for example, some types of deer, 

 are completely protected. As things are, when a cow in calf is killed a 

 future whale and all the oil it could yield are completely lost. 



Unfortunately, it is impossible to tell what sex a whale is before it is 

 taken out of the water, let alone whether a female is in calf or not. The 

 only exception is the Sperm Whale, for here the males have an average 

 length of over 50 feet, while the females are always less than 40 feet long. 

 Hence the size limit below which it is prohibited to kill Sperm W^hales 

 has been fixed at 38 and 35 feet for pelagic catchers and land stations 

 respectively. In practice, this means that nearly all cows are spared, and 

 that the species is kept up to strength. The South American Convention 

 has fixed this limit at 30 feet, since Chile uses Sperm Whale meat for 

 animal consumption, and can therefore not afford to be very fussy. 



The reader might also wonder how the size limit is assessed. After all, 

 it is impossible to take a tape measure to a whale before it is killed. In 

 fact, this question is settled by the harpoon-gunners, who have generally 

 served on whaling ships since their earliest youth and for whom whaling- 

 is a family tradition. Their experience is such that they can estimate the 



