280 



ECONOMIC ZOOLOGY 



The discovery of petroleum and the diminution in the number of 

 whales almost killed the business, so' that in 1902 the whaling fleet 



of the United States con- 

 sisted of eight steamers, 

 Fig. 1 86, and 30 sailing 

 vessels; and the total out- 

 put of the world was about 

 3,000,000 gallons per year. 

 After a decade of inac- 

 tivity the whale fishery 

 experienced a considerable 

 revival, headed by the 

 Norwegian hunters so that 

 an annual catch of 20,066 

 whales was e s t i ma ted 

 about 1912. Numerous 

 companies were formed in 

 different countries with 

 stations in nearly every 

 part of the colder regions 

 of the world. Along the 

 northern coast of Norway 

 the killing of whales was 

 prohibited for a term of 

 years because of the claim 

 of the cod fishermen that 

 it injured their business. 

 The most prolific stations 

 have been those of the 

 Antarctic Seas, where 

 whales were found in great 

 numbers; in 1911, 10,000 

 finbacks and humpbacks 

 were killed in the Antarctic 

 in the region of South 

 America; in the same year 

 the total production of oil was estimated at 102,000 metric tons, and 

 large quantities of whalebone, guano and other valuable products were 

 also obtained. 



