liv 



Thirtieth Annual Report 



one in Shetland waters, where they have not been seen since 1907. 

 All were males, which goes to confirm the opinion^ commonly held, 

 that sperm whales occurring in Northern seas are almost invariably of 

 that sex. Indeed, since whaling was begun in Scottish waters, only 

 one female sperm whale is known to have been captured, this having 

 occurred in 1905. The great falling off in blue whales was due to 

 the almost complete absence of this species off the Hebrides, where, in 

 1910, 19 were taken, and in 1909, 32. That more blue whales should 

 have been taken in Shetland than in Hebridean waters is a complete 

 reversal of the usual order of things, as this species, like the sperm 

 whale, usually keeps well out to the west of the Hebrides, its advent 

 in Shetland waters being held to be quite accidental. Then again, 

 not a single specimen of the valuable Northcaper, or Atlantic right 

 whale, was taken during the year under review, although 9 were 

 captured in the preceding year, and 21 in 1909. Sei whales, which 

 for some reason almost deserted the western seas in 1910, were 

 again fairly plentiful in those waters last year. 



Although the returns furnished to the Board date only from 1908, 

 they have been able to obtain from private sources complete statistics 

 of the number of whales captured in Scottish waters prior to that 

 year. These figures, there is every reason to believe, are quite 

 accurate, and it is accordingly possible for the first time to present a 

 table showing the progress of whaling since its inception in 1903. 



Table showing the Number and Species of the Whales landed in 

 Scotland, the Number of Steamers employed, and the Average 

 Yearly Catch per Steamer, from 1903 to 1911 inclusive. 



Species. 



1903. 



1904. 



1905. 



1906. 



1907. 



1908. 



1909. 



1910. 



1911. 



Pinner 





263 



450 



317 



396 



379 



432 



381 



344 



Sei 





7 



34 



326 



151 



232 



223 



190 



130 



Blue 





42 



37 



54 



12 



17 



33 



21 



5 



Sperm 





5 



5 



1 



10 



1 



7 



1 



18 



Northcaper 









6 



24 



20 



21 



9 





Humpback 





10 



6 



5 



5 



2 



12 



12 



4 



Bottlenose . . 







1 



1 



2 





2 



1 



2 





127* 



327 



533 



710 



600 



651 



730 



615 



503 



No. of Steamers 





















Employed. 



2 



10 



13 



13 



12 



11 



11 



11 



11 



Average Catch 





















per Steamer. 



63-5 



32-7 



41 



54-6 



50 



59-2 



66-4 



55-9 



457 



* Total only available for 1903. 



In view of the great development of the whaling industry which 

 has taken place in recent years (it is now carried on all over the 

 globe), fears have been expressed in certain quarters that if the 

 present rate of destruction is maintained, the whale is in danger of 

 being exterminated. Unless the decline shown since 1909 be held as 

 proof, there is nothing in the above table to support this view, as the 

 figures for every species are obviously too fluctuating, for any reliable 

 deduction to be drawn from them, and while there is certainly a 



