SHORE-WHALING: A WORLD INDUSTRY 



433 



HOISTING ON THE WHARF PARTS OF THE WHALE SHOWN IN THE PRECEDING PICTURE 



and pay not the slightest attention to the 

 ship which is hunting them. 



The distance traversed by whales when 

 beneath the surface depends entirely 

 upon circumstances. When there is little 

 feed and the animals are constantly mov- 

 ing or "traveling," they may rise to spout 

 several miles from the place of last ap- 

 pearance. If, on the contrary, feed is 

 abundant, they may blow again within a 

 short distance of the point at which they 

 disappeared, and continue for several 

 hours within two or three miles of the 

 same spot. 



There is a belief current among fisher- 

 men that whales can remain under 

 water for a very long time without com- 

 ing to the surface. This owes its origin 

 to the fact that whales will suddenly 

 appear when for hours before there had 

 been no sign of a spout, even at a dis- 

 tance. I believe this idea may be ac- 

 counted for by the hypothesis that the 

 animals frequently swim great distances 

 at considerable speed without appearing 

 to blow. The longest period of sub- 

 mergence for finbacks which I actually 

 timed by my watch was 23 minutes, but 



