THE ZOOLOGIST. 



THIRD SERIES. 



Vol. XV. j APBIL, 1891. [No. J 72. 



NOTES ON THE SEAL AND WHALE FISHERY of 1890. 

 By Thomas Southwell, F.Z.S. 



Although not equal to the returns of the previous two 

 years, the take of Seals at the Newfoundland Fishery in the 

 season of 1890 was fairly successful, the total catch by the same 

 nineteen vessels which were present in 1889 having been 209,000, 

 against 303,287 in the previous season. Of these, six vessels 

 returned with fewer than 8000 ; seven with over 8000 but less 

 than 15,000, and the remaining six from 15,000 upwards. The 



I Neptune' took the lead with 22,000 ; followed by the ' Falcon,' 

 19,000; * Terra Nova,' 18,100; 'Rasager,' 17,000; * Wolf, '16,000; 

 and ' Greenland,' 15,000 — an average of 17,833 ; the total average 

 of the nineteen vessels being 11,000, against 15,963 in the season 

 of 1889. None of the vessels were " clean," and only one, the 

 ' Kite,' made a second trip, for 800 Seals. Four Dundee vessels 

 were present — the * Terra Nova,' which took 18,100; * Aurora,' 

 12,500; 'Esquimaux,' 10,100; and the ' Polynia,' 7400 : these 

 48,100 Seals are included in the previous total. Capt. Milne, of 

 the 'Esquimaux,' arrived at Dundee on April 16th for repairs, 

 and reports that after leaving St. John's, on March 10th, he 



II encountered very heavy ice, so that progress was slow. After 

 taking advantage of all the available lanes in the ice, the 'Esqui- 

 maux' got within twelve miles of a body of Seals to the north-east 

 of Funk Islands. Pushing onwards, the main body of the Seals 

 was struck on March 26th, and during two days nearly 10,000 

 " harps " were taken on board. The Seals were in prime condition, 



ZOOLOGIST. — APRIL, 1891, L 



