THE AMERICAN WHALE FISHERIES 237 



363 5; 219; 115-2; loss; about 10; loss. Of course 

 it must be remembered that the voyages lasted 

 several years, but even so, in the case of the seventh 

 voyage, which lasted forty-four months, the average 

 monthly profit was eight and a quarter per cent. 



Some idea of the relative importance of the 

 various fishing grounds may be obtained from a 

 consideration of the statistics for 1847. About sixty 

 small barques, brigs, and schooners fished in the 

 Atlantic for Sperm Whales, and there was one ship 

 at Davis Strait. Thirty- two barques cruised in 

 the Indian Ocean for Sperm Whales, and there was 

 one schooner similarly employed in the Pacific. A 

 dozen whalers were engaged in the merchant service 

 or as tenders to the fleet. 



The remaining six hundred vessels were on the 

 various grounds of the North and South Pacific, a 

 fifth engaged in Sperm whaling, the rest in both 

 Sperm and Right whaling. Within fifty years of 

 the discovery of the Pacific whaling grounds over 

 six-sevenths of the American whaling fleet were 

 engaged there. 



At this time a large number of American ports 

 were engaged in whaling. In 1847 there were 

 thirty-four American ports at which whalers were 

 registered. The total number of vessels was seven 

 hundred and twenty-seven with a tonnage of 

 230,218. The chief ports were New Bedford, two 

 hundred and fifty-four; Nan tucket, seventy-five; 

 New London, Conn., seventy; Sag Harbour, N.Y., 

 sixty-two; Fairhaven, forty-eight; Stonington, 



