488 



ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 



whale. The following season was much less favorable, only 82 fin- 

 backs having been taken, and in 1910-11 the total captures did not 

 exceed 87. Furthermore, during these two last years some of the 

 steamers belonging to the South African companies went to Ker- 

 guelen Island. In 1910 one of these harpooned 41 whales. 



Approximately, then, in 1911 there were 3,000 whales taken in the 

 seas of Europe and North America, about 2,000 in South Africa, and 

 10,000 in the Antarctic, making a total of 15,000 whales, but this 

 estimate is much too small, since neither Japan nor South America 

 is included in the calculation. For the last season, 1911, the produc- 

 tion of oil is estimated by the Norwegian Fisheries Journal at 102,000 

 metric tons, or twice the production of 1910. Nevertheless, prices did 

 not decline. Indeed, for a certain time they were very high, vary- 

 ing at Christiania from 56 centimes to 61 centimes per kilogram. 



h((^r) 135 lio 220 loo 53 60 io 



Jj^aJfira. Gk JJO 



Fig. 3.— Map of whaling stations in the Aectic Ocean. 



The price of guano was also very firm, and the whalebone of the 

 finbacks was in much demand. That of the sulphurbottom and 

 the common finback varied from 1,893 francs, 75 centimes, to 1,767 

 francs, 50 centimes, per ton, while the whalebone of the humpbacks 

 did not bring more than 883 francs, 75 centimes. On the contrary, 

 the whalebone furnished by the right whale brought only from 

 30,000 to 35,350 francs per ton, a very low price for this article, 

 which is usuall}^ so much in demand. 



The stabilitj^ of prices gave a new impulse to the whaling industry. 

 At the end of 1911, 15 important new Norwegian companies were 

 formed and, in addition, a much larger number of smaller compa- 

 nies. Four of them intended to operate on the coasts of South Africa, 

 which would bring the number of those established in this region 

 up to 20; two intended to locate in Alaska and eight in the seas of 

 New Zealand and Australia. Finally, one company proposed to 



