THE LAST PHASE OF WHALING 299 



Georgia the Humpbacks were not to be hunted 

 during the whaling season of 1918-9, and though 

 the F inner and the Blue Whale do not yet require 

 such protection, the statistics need careful study so 

 that Government action may be taken before it is 

 too late. 



A close season would also appear to be desirable. 

 From the detailed statistics it is seen that the 

 whaling seasons slackens off considerably during 

 the Antarctic winter, and no hardship would be 

 involved if the period from the i5th May to the 3Oth 

 September were declared a close season. That the 

 dangers to the continued existence of the whale and 

 ipso facto of the whaling industry are not imaginary 

 a reference to the first chapter of this book will 

 prove. 



The policy of the Government of the Falkland 

 Island Dependencies is also directed to the preven- 

 tion of unnecessary waste, since the uneconomical 

 use of material may involve the slaughter of three 

 whales where two would have sufficed to obtain the 

 same results. An extreme instance of the reckless 

 exploitation of a valuable natural asset is given 

 above in the description of the practice of the 

 American whalers off the Arctic coasts of America. 



Evidence is forthcoming that the economy effected 

 is in inverse proportion to the number of whales 

 captured. 



In seasons when whales are plentiful, the average 

 number of barrels of oil per whale of a given species 

 is conspicuously lower than in seasons when the 



