88 REPORT OP COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 
versa. Nothing is more uncertain, and it is impossible at the begin- 
ning of a season for the most experienced to tell how it will turn out. 
There is also the utmost diversity in the fortunes of individual vessels. 
One ship may return “ clean,” without a gallon of oil or pound of bone, 
while another will arrive heavily laden with a cargo worth tens of 
thousands of dollars. 
The season of 1885 was one of the most successful of recent years. 
Many vessels did well, and som e made very large stocks. The season of 
1887 was also remarkable for a bigcatch and some extraordinary voyages, 
notwithstanding the early reports were unfavorable. On November 15 
the San Francisco Examiner made the following statement: 
An official report of the whaling vessels for the season shows that a total of 300 
whales have been taken. The catch of the 39 now in port shows a result of 32,334 
barrels of oil, 544,352 pounds of bone, and 550 pounds of ivory. The Ocean brought 
450 barrels of oil and about 11,000 pounds of bone. This will bring the value of the 
total catch to nearly $2,000,000. * 
Among the fortunate vessels was the steam-whaler Orca , which ar- 
rived at San Francisco October 25, 1887. It had the bone and oil of 
28 whales, and might have caught others if there had been any more 
room on board. As each whal e is worth $5,000, it will be seen that the 
Orca made a gross return to its owners of $140,000 this season. The 
next best catch to that of the Orca was made in 1880 by the Mary 
and Helen , of New Bedford, which caught 27 whales. The steam-whaler 
Thrasher was reported to have taken 25 whales by October 22, 1887. 
In 1888 the whale fleet consisted of 58 vessels, including tenders, of 
which 5 vessels cruised in the Japan and Okhotsk Seas, 3 in the South 
Pacific Ocean, and 50 in Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean (of which 11 
were steam-whalers), the catch being 16,371 barrels of oil and 325,050 
pounds of whalebone. The number of whales taken by the entire fleet 
reached 202, against 360 the previous year. 
The catch for the season of 1889 was very light compared with pre- 
vious years, and several vessels came home u clean,” while others had 
only a small amount aboard. The details are shown in the tables. It 
is sufficient to say here that the fleet numbered 28 vessels from San 
Francisco and 23 from New Bedford, a total of 51, carrying 1,765 officers 
and seamen ; 40 of these cruised in Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean, 
while the others fished exclusively in the Okhotsk Sea and on the Japan 
ground. Only 71 whales were taken by the Arctic fleet, while 76 were 
captured on the Okhotsk and Japan grounds. 
From the foregoing it will be seen that the financial results of the 
San Francisco whale fishery are important factors in the business of 
the city and make this industry one of the most important maritime 
enterprises of the port. 
* This includes, of course (as for 1885), the catch of the New Bedford fleet, which, 
together with the San Francisco fleet, made the 39 vessels alluded to. 
