8 HISTORY AND MBTBODS OF THE FISHERIES. 



among which are the Japan, Northwest, and Okhotsk grounds, now well nigh abandoned. The 

 Arctic grounds north of Bering Strait were first visited in 1848 by the Superior, under Captain 

 Roys, and these grounds have since been by far the most important for the production of whale- 

 bone and a superior quality of whale oil. 



RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF VARIOUS GROUNDS. The relative importance of the various 

 oceans to the whale-fishery during recent years is shown by the following facts : Of the sperm 

 oil taken by the American whaling fleet from 1870 to 1880, 55 per cent, was from the North and 

 South Atlantic grounds ; 33 per cent, from the Pacific ; and 12 per cent, from the Indian Ocean. 

 Of the whale oil taken during the same period, 58 per cent, was by the North Pacific fleet from the 

 region north of the fiftieth parallel, including the Arctic, Okhotsk, and Bering Seas; 24 per cent, 

 by vessels cruising in the North and South Atlantic ; 10 per cent, from the Pacific grounds ; 5 per 

 cent, from the Indian Ocean ; and 3 per cent, from Hudson Bay, Cumberland Inlet, and Davis Strait. 

 Of the whalebone secured in the same time 88 per cent, was by the North Pacific fleet ; 5 per cent, 

 by the Hudson Bay and Cumberland Inlet fleet ; 4 per cent, from the North and South Atlantic 

 grounds ; and 3 per cent, about equally divided between the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The num- 

 ber of voyages commenced by United States vessels from 1870 to 1880 was 810, which includes 

 the Arctic whalers annually refitting at San Francisco and other ports. Of these voyages, 382 

 were to the North and South Atlantic, 254 to the Arctic, Okhotsk, and adjacent grounds, 98 to the 

 Pacific, 45 to the Indian Ocean, and 31 to Hudson Bay and Cumberland Inlet. 



(a) SPERM-WHALE GROUNDS. 



GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF SPERM WHALES. The sperm whale is very widely distrib- 

 uted in the oceans of the temperate and the tropical zones. They have been taken as tar south as 

 56 south latitude in the Atlantic and in the Pacific, and as far north as 56 12' in the North 

 Pacific. Early authors mention them as numerous on the coast of Greenland, but Beale* says 

 that they are seldom or never seen there by recent navigators. They are generally taken off 

 soundings, though they are sometimes abundant in comparatively shallow water, especially along 

 the edge of the ocean banks. Within the limits included between 30 north and 30 south latitude 

 they are generally of smaller size than in higher latitudes. There are certain cruising-grounds 

 especially frequented by vessels in search of sperm whales, and these will be described in order 

 beginning with those in the Atlantic Ocean, proceeding then to the Pacific and Indian Ocean 

 grounds. 



The Atlantic grounds, from which more than half the entire production of sperm oil is taken, 

 are visited by both large and small vessels, the latter cruising chiefly north of the equator and 

 remaining out about nine months, while the former make voyages lasting one, two, or even three 

 years, cruising over various parts of the North and South Atlantic and sending oil home from the 

 Azores, St. Helena, and other convenient ports. Vessels visiting the Pacific and Indian Oceans 

 are usually barks and ships, and fit out for long voyages. 



NORTH ATLANTIC GROUNDS. Profitable sperm whaling has been found in the Caribbean 

 Sea, off Chagres, Blanquilla, and in other parts of the sea ; in the Gulf of Mexico, particularly in 

 latitude 28 to 29 north, longitude 89 to 90 west; in various parts of the West India seas, 

 especially in the Mona Passage and off' the coasts of Cuba, Porto Rico, and St. Domingo, north of 

 the Bahama Islands, in latitude 28 to 29 north, longitude 79 west; on the " Charleston Ground," 

 in latitude 29 to 32 north, longitude 74 to 77 west, and on the " Hatteras Grounds," extend- 



* BEALE, THOMAS : Natural History of the Sperm Whale, London, 1836, p. 88. He says that sperm whales are 

 found from 60 north to 60 south latitude. 



