THE FUTURE OF WHALES AND WHALING 4I5 



clearly particularly by Davis's experiments with brown rats. Other 

 factors, too, play a role in this process, but to a far lesser extent. In the case 

 of Rorquals, however, intervention by man may have had the additional 

 effect of increasing the Fin Whale population, since from igio onwards 

 the hunt was primarily directed at Blue Whales, thus increasing the space 

 (and the food) available to other species. Hence it is not impossible that 

 the Fin Whale population may have gone up appreciably since 1910, 

 though we have no idea to what extent. In any case, as we saw on p. 398, 

 the data on which estimates of population are at present based are still 

 doubtful. 



During the last few years all sorts of publications, and Norwegian papers 

 in particular, have urged a strong reduction of the annual Antarctic 

 catch, if the whale population is to be kept at its present level. In support 

 of their claim, the authors cite a number of authorities, some of which we 

 have just quoted, from whom they infer that the number of Antarctic 

 Fin Whales is significantly decreasing. Naturally, this question is constantly 

 in the minds of all members of the International Whaling Commission 

 and its various sub-committees, and in 1953 it was decided to restrict the 

 catch from 16,000 to 15,500 B.W.U. In 1956 the catch was reduced 

 further to 14,500 B.W.U., but it has been raised to 15,000 B.W.U. since. 

 Some scientists feel strongly that this figure is far too high, and that 

 1 1,000 B.W.U. ought to be the maximum annual catch. 



However, we have seen that all the arguments are still based on very 

 little evidence, and that whalers can and will restrict their activities only 

 on the most incontrovertible of arguments. According to the latest reports, 

 the Norwegian w^haling industry is already in serious financial straits 

 which call for drastic limitations of the number of expeditions and 

 particularly of the number of catchers. In view of these difficulties, it 

 seems most odd that countries like Japan and Russia are so busy extending 

 their whaling fleets, that Japan has increased the number of annual 

 expeditions from two to seven since the war, and that Russia has launched 

 two new factory ships, in 1959 and i960, and is said to be going to build 

 further ships in the near future. Clearly, some whaling circles do not share 

 the pessimism of others. 



While biologists would do well to suspend definite judgement on this 

 contentious question, it seems clear that the final answer must await 

 further investigations of the structure and the ecology of the animals 

 concerned. Only biological research can provide the answer, and whaling 

 circles have everything to gain from it. It is my earnest hope that this 

 book may have awakened wider interest in the objects of this research. 



