222 EEPOKT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [2] 



averaged eleven fish each; whereas in the thirteen years, 1870 to 1882, 

 with all the advantages derived from the use of steam, one hundred 

 and ninety-six voyages produced only 13,670 tons of oil, or an aver- 

 age of 69J tons from seven and one-quarter fish per voyage. In 1880 

 the average was about eight whales per ship ; in 1881, five whales ; in 

 1882, it rose to nearly nine, and in 1883 it was not quite three fish per 

 vessel. 



The consequence of this falling off in the productiveness of the Eight- 

 Whale fishery is that the whalemen give their attention to much smaller 

 game than formerly and do not disdain to capture White Whales to 

 help to fill up ; during the past season (1883) the Dundee vessels have 

 brought home no less than 2,736 of these creatures, which are by no 

 means to be despised as, in addition to their oil, the recent demand for 

 " porpoise" hide makes these skins a valuable cargo. 



Of late, however, quite a new feature has sprung up in the whale- 

 fishery. I allude tothe i)ursuitof the Bottle-nose Whale {Hyperoodon 

 rostratus). The whalers have long been in the habit of taking an oc- 

 casional Bottle-nose, and many years ago the Chieftain, of Kirkcaldy, 

 caught 28 of them off Frobisher Strait, but it was not till the year 1877> 

 when the Jan Mayem, then of Peterhead, having missed the seals, suc- 

 ceeded in taking 10 Bottle-noses, that their pursuit attracted much at- 

 tention. Since that time, however, they have been more sought for, and 

 most of the smaller vessels now hunt them every season, whilst some 

 of the largest ships, in the interval between the finish of the seal-fish- 

 ery and the commencement of the whaling, go south to the northeast 

 coast of Iceland for the same purpose. In 1878 there were 9 killed ; in 

 1879, 8; in 1880, Capt. D. Gray, of the Eclipse, commenced to give his 

 attention to the^)ursuit and killed 32 ; in 1881, 111 were killed, of which 

 39 fell to Captain Gray, and but that his crew were new to the work he 

 might have obtained a still larger number. This was proven in 1882^ 

 when out of 403 Bottle-noses killed by the Scotch fleet, Captain Gray 

 secured 203. In the past season (1883), 535 have been killed by eleven 

 vessels. Captain Gray again taking the lead with 157 fish. 



Soon after leaving the Shetland Isles, early in the month of March^ 

 northward bound sealers meet with the first Bottle-nose Whales, and 

 as the season advances they extend their range northward to the coast 

 of Greenland, ascending in a westerly direction Davis Straits as far 

 as 70 north latitude where.ver there is open water, and to the eastward 

 of Greenland from Cape Farewell round Iceland and Jan Mayen north- 

 ward to 77° and eastward to Bear Island, and probably to Novaya 

 Zemlya. They appear, however, most to abound between the 68th and 

 71st parallels of north latitude (gradually approaching the higher lati- 

 tude as the season advances) and from 15 degrees west to 5 degrees east 

 longitude. 



Here they frequent the open water near the margin of the ice, swimming, 

 in small " schools" of from 4 to 10, numerous schools often swimming 

 m close proximity, but apparently never mingling. The females and 



