50 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES 



peared there, though it is still fairly abundant to the 

 north of Siberia. 



In no case has it reappeared in the bays from 

 which it has been driven by excessive hunting. 

 The Rorquals and the Humpback, owing to their 

 greater activity and smaller commercial value as 

 individuals, were not hunted by the older whalers, 

 though on rare occasions an individual is recorded 

 as being killed with the old hand harpoon. 



The extension of whaling to these whales was 

 rendered possible by the invention of the gun 

 harpoon. The decline of this fishery in all places, 

 where it has been tried for even a few years, is 

 remarkable. 



In Newfoundland the first whaling station in 

 which modern methods were adopted was established 

 in 1897. I n tne fi rst ten years, 1898-1907, the 

 annual average slaughter of Rorquals was four 

 hundred; but while in 1903 three steamers took an 

 average of two hundred and eighty-six each, in 

 1905 fifteen steamers only averaged fifty-nine each. 

 The smaller companies were ruined, and the fishery 

 has steadily declined. Reference is made below to 

 the hunting of the Rorquals in the waters of 

 Finmark, and to the restrictive legislation enforced 

 by the Norwegian Government, partly, it must be 

 added, as a measure of protection for the herring 

 fisheries. 



The last and most striking instance is the rapid 

 decline in the abundance of the Humpback in the 

 waters of the Falkland Island Dependencies. 



