Chapter II: Part 2

One question about whale behavior that remains somewhat unanswered is--how much rest do whales require? There have been indications that the California gray whale in the lagoons of Lower California may rest a good deal. However, the question of sleep during the long migration or on the feeding grounds, has not been answered, and as yet attempts to determine this have been hardly more than preliminary tries. In order to succeed at this venture, observers must be able to remain close enough to the whales at night to be within sound of the spouts. Limited visibility at night, and the amount and direction of the boat's drift, make it difficult to keep contact with a whale spouting only once every 4 to 15 minutes. The scientists who sail with the whalers to study whales are too busy with the daily catch to consider this problem of how much a whale sleeps. Occasionally, a whale is struck by a ship during the night, and this is considered as indirect evidence that the whale was asleep on the surface.

_Migration Groupings_

The California gray whale is not believed to be particularly gregarious. The groupings observed at the lagoons are thought to be due to the limited areas which are available for mating and calving. There is some indication that they form groups during their migrations. Russian observers say that early in autumn groups gather and start out on the migration. The Japanese have noted groups of moderate size remaining together during the crossing of the Bering Sea. As yet no one has attempted to trail a group of grays along the entire migration route. Not only would this establish the route, but might also add to our knowledge about their behavior en route.

At San Diego three categories of migrants have been observed on the southward migration. During the early and middle periods of the migration, many individual whales are seen apart from the group. These are believed to be pregnant females. They travel at about 4 knots and surface frequently, about every 3 minutes. The migrating groups of three to five are believed to be nonpregnant females accompanied by one or more males. These are already courting, and it appears that the males are jousting for the attention of the females. At any rate, the migration is less hurried, and the individuals spend a great deal of time on the surface, blowing and milling about. Such groups are seen principally during the middle part of the migration, and they are easiest to sight. They afford the spectators at Cabrillo National Monument quite a show. Not infrequently, these groups put on a display for an hour or two. It is difficult to observe all the details of courtship, but it is believed that during mating the animals lie quietly in the water. On the migration, the courting whales roll over in the water extending the flippers alternately like spars. Mating generally takes place near the lagoons and also in the lower ends of the lagoons. A few matings have been observed at Point Loma.

_Breaching_

Occasionally the gray whale will burst out of the water at about a 45 degree angle, and will turn over, falling back with a tremendous splash. This is called breaching, and its significance is not known. Although it is considered part of the courtship behavior, this is difficult to reconcile with the observation that it is more frequently displayed by solitary migrants. Whales may breach more than once, and in fact, one was observed to jump repeatedly, as many as 25 times within an hour's passing of the Point Loma area. Here one or two migrants will breach each week. Unfortunately, the act takes place so quickly that you only notice the final splash, at best obtaining only a quick glimpse of the whale's massive body. However, this sight repays many hours of patient watching.

Toward the end of the season you see that the migrants are smaller and closer to shore, frequently just beyond the surf. These are believed to be last year's young, making the trip alone for the first time. They not only swim more slowly, but they also seem to wander into the kelp and into every irregularity of the coast. Those which enter the kelp may raise the head vertically out of the water in an action called spyhopping. They are obviously trying to find a passage through the kelp. The fact that the gray whale does not spyhop regularly on its migration along the shore must mean that its orientation is based either on the sound of the surf or the depth of the water. Spyhopping is apparently employed by the whales in the lagoons, and it has been observed frequently for the other species in the ice floes of the polar seas.

Whaling

The role which whaling has played in man's conquest of the oceans has never been given full credit by historians. Initially, man was content to fish along the shore, and then gradually he pushed out on the waters in sight of land. Here he learned to be a skilled fisherman, and he began to hunt the coastal whales. Man gradually developed the boats, gear, and the know-how, called seamanship, and gained the courage to venture farther and farther from land. Even as late as the 15th century sailors were extremely superstitious and believed in sea monsters. There was, of course, a certain basis for these imaginings. Periodically, a large whale would strand or float ashore and it is easy to understand how these tremendous and misshapen remains could have kindled the imagination. Whaling was an extremely hazardous profession, calling for the utmost in nautical skill. Throughout the development of the maritime resources of some European states, whaling was one of their most profitable businesses. Even though a great deal of shipbuilding was initiated by man's speculative desire to find new lands and to conduct trade, an equal amount was for whaling vessels. From the Middle Ages to nearly the end of the 19th century, oil from whales illuminated some homes and streets. Whale meat was an important source of protein for peoples who had not yet developed extensive animal husbandry.

For over five centuries whales have been under attack by professional hunters, and long before that by the aboriginal peoples of many lands. The reason whales have withstood this hunting pressure better than land animals is due to the fact that their ocean habitat has not been invaded by man for agriculture, and in the days of sailing ships and hand harpooning, the whale was a formidable prey, far more so than in our present day of motorization and automation. The tremendous area of their habitat made it difficult and time consuming for man to find them, and his ignorance of their migration routes and the oceanographic features which cause whales to disperse and congregate gave the whales some protection. Technological advances, powerful harpoon guns and totally mechanized factory ships in the whaling industry have swung the advantage to man, and whales are now in peril of extinction as is the whaling industry itself.

_Whalers as Explorers_

History tends to stress the great explorers who discovered new worlds and the larger islands of the Pacific. However, ships cannot with full safety, ply the seven seas until every island and shoal has been found and charted, and ships cannot safely venture near any shore until the adjoining waters have been systematically charted. The principal discoverers of these danger spots have been the whalers who patiently combed so much of the oceans in their search for whales. Every island has on it the calling cards of Whalers who put ashore for water, food, fuel, or just to stretch their legs and to satisfy their curiosity. This isn't to say that they had the time to make hydrographic surveys, but at least their log books defined the areas where surveys would eventually have to be made. Whalers lived adventure, and danger was their common lot. It is not surprising that much of this adventure would find its way into the hearts of men through yarns and tales such as _Moby Dick_.

_Prehistoric Whaling_

Whaling was practiced long before historic times. The coastal Eskimos of the arctic Americas and of Greenland and Spitzenberg practiced whaling. Whales were approached in skin-covered boats and even from the edge of ice floes. These peoples are differentiated ethnically on the basis of the variations in their whaling techniques, in their whaling gear and in their religious preparations for whaling. It took great courage to whale in such frigid waters where an overturning meant death. It is not surprising that these peoples looked to supernatural deities who required a very complex ritual to insure a safe and successful hunt.

The principal method of hunting involved coming up alongside the whale so that the man in the bow, the whaling captain, could spear the chest. If he were lucky enough to drive the shaft between the ribs, the lung could be pierced and the whale would be mortally wounded. Each time the whale surfaced the boat would attempt another approach and lancing. The stone tip of the lance was detachable, and when freed, led to an inverted sealskin float by a long line of twisted sinews. These floats marked the location of the whale during submergence. Eventually the whale, weakened by loss of blood and by fright, would die and then came the chore of hand pulling the whale ashore for feasting and reprovisioning the village's storehouses. The captain of the boat and his crew were considered the most skilled and important of the hunters. Whaling was an ancestral skill which was passed on generation to generation with great care. The villages could ill afford to lose their best men, or the equipment which was difficult to make.

There are interesting variations to this method. Aleutian islanders prepared a poisonous coating for the harpoon tip which was sufficiently toxic to kill the whale. This was prepared from the deadly aconite by a secret process, depending upon the concentration of the alkaloid poison from the root. Eskimos from Greenland and Spitzenberg dried another secret coating on the harpoon tip which consisted of a bacterium which produced fatal blood poisoning in the whale. In either method the whalers waited for the bloated carcass to surface and then they hauled it ashore for eating. Apparently the spoiled meat had no ill effects on these peoples, but of course, much of their food was spoiled during the summertime.

Much of the religion of these primitive peoples centered around the need of giving the whaler and his crewmen the necessary courage and confidence to perform this job. Religious ceremonies were held weeks before, and again after, every hunt. Some of the deities were whales, and whales also figure predominantly in many of their folk tales.

The European and American whalers came in direct contact with the Eskimos competing not only for whales, but also for seals, walrus, and fur-bearing animals. Today, Eskimos use harpoon guns and sturdy wooden whale boats. However, the entire village still turns out to drag a whale ashore. Each village kills only what it requires for food and oil through the long arctic winter. They hunt the arctic bowhead whale, although the smaller white whale (beluga) is also hunted. The bowhead has never recovered from commercial whaling, even though it has been protected for years by the International Whaling Commission. The regulations however, do not apply to the aborigines, but their needs should not have prevented the whales from becoming plentiful again.

The Indians who occupy the coastal waters of south Alaska and British Columbia are excellent salmon fishermen, but do not whale, even though they possess magnificent boats suitable for this. However, at the entrance to Puget Sound and south along the Olympic Peninsula live Indians who hunted whales as recently as 50 years ago. They whaled in much the same way as did the early Eskimos, with detachable stonetipped lances and sealskin floats. It is believed that the whale they hunted was the California gray. Boats were hewn from the massive trunks of cedars. From the bark and wiry branches, a tough flexible line was woven, strong enough to withstand the terrific pull of the whale. These Indians repeatedly lanced the whale until its death. The generation of Indians who knew this skill is gone, and the present generation only remembers vaguely the tales of their grandparents. The Washington State Historical Museum in Seattle has managed to interview the old-timers and collect their gear which is now on display there.

The Kamchadal and Chuchee Eskimos whose villages looked out on the summer grounds of the California gray were not inclined to whale. They did, however, feed on any which happened to wash ashore.

_Historic Whaling_

Commercial whaling began in Spain during the Middle Ages. At that time the black right whale was plentiful along the coast of the Basque province, and it provided an ideal quarry because it could be sighted from lookout towers along the coast and it was not difficult to approach. Equally important, these whales floated at death so they could be pulled ashore. They were prized for their oil, meat, and the baleen which was sold throughout Europe. The Biscayan whalers gradually reduced the local population of whales and began to range farther in their search. They came at last upon the haunts of another right whale which frequented the ice-filled seas of the North Atlantic. Here there was not a satisfactory method to preserve the meat so this was thrown away.

There is an extensive and fascinating history of this early whaling but only the briefest outline can be mentioned here. Throughout the story there is a constant search for new whaling grounds to sustain operations and to meet the increased demand for whaling products. As the industry expanded it was forced to capture less desirable species because the other species could not hold up against the onslaught.

Other nations took up whaling and soon the English and Dutch had large fleets of ships manned by Basque whalers. These ships were based in Greenland and Spitzenberg. The irregular coastlines of these wind-swept lands provided many harbors in which shore whaling stations could be situated. The camps were well constructed, and daily during the arctic summer, the ships put out for whales in waters which were rough, cluttered with icebergs, and shrouded in fog. Naturally, under such difficult conditions, there was great loss of ships and men. The companies were not friendly with one another and periodically raided the shore camps of each other, stealing and burning supplies and buildings. Under normal circumstances such activities would have been provocative of war. However, since communications were poor and the countries concerned were preoccupied with colonizing America, the situation took care of itself, for in time the whales diminished and the whaling companies failed.

Soon after this the colonists in America wrote to relatives in Europe about the richness of the country, not the least of its resources being the whales which spouted just off shore along the entire Eastern seaboard. Whaling companies were formed and these were concentrated along the New England coast. After the separation of the colonies from England, whaling developed locally with the ships which had been engaged in commerce between the colonies and the mother country. It did not take long to exhaust the populations of whales, so the Whalers began to range afar.

This led to the discovery of the haunts of the sperm whale in the open oceans of the tropics and subtropics. Yankee ingenuity developed a new kind of whaling in which the whales were brought alongside the base ship for processing. It took a great deal of skill to strip the blanket of fat from a whale which was three-fourths submerged and pitching and rolling on the restless surface. The blubber once removed, was hauled aboard and cooked in kettles to free the oil which was then placed in barrels and stowed below. This form of whaling was called pelagic whaling. It was not uncommon for ships to be away from home port for a year or two before the casks were full. This whaling was dominated by the Americans, and it contributed much to the prosperity of New England, providing much of the capital which later financed its manufacturing developments. This was the golden era of whaling so superbly described by Herman Melville in _Moby Dick_. Here is a real yarn about whaling written by a Whaler who later became a superb author.

The discovery of petroleum in Pennsylvania brought to the fore new illuminating fuels, kerosene and natural gas which were much cheaper than whale oil, so the whaling industry declined rapidly. This happened at the same time steam ships were replacing sailing ships, so it is not surprising that the beautiful sailing vessels which had been the mainstay of whaling were brought home to every little coastal village in New England to rot away, sad memorials to better days.

_Modern Whaling_

By the 20th century whaling was again possible because of new uses for whaling products. Chemistry has succeeded in finding new uses for whale oil. Fat derivatives such as soaps, margarines and a few other products owe their abundance and low cost to the whaling industry. Packing house technology has been applied to the butchering of whales so that the entire animal has many uses. Tasty meats are finding their way into the diets of many countries and the tougher, less tasty parts are ground and used to feed cats and dogs. Farms that raise mink and other mammals for the fur trade are heavy buyers of this source of meat to feed their animals. The remaining parts, blood, bones, and meat scraps, are dried and ground into nutritious meals which are used by the poultry and livestock industries as supplementary feeds. Currently each whale produces over $5,000 worth of products.

The heart of the processing operation is the pelagic factory ship which is nearly as large as an aircraft carrier. They are supplied by huge tankers which carry off the oil and by refrigerated ships which return the meat to port. In the 20th century the United States has not seriously participated in whaling and has not a single fleet in competition with the other countries which now have billion dollar investments in ships and gear. For the past 70 years, the leader in the whaling industry has been Norway. The industry is very competitive however, and England, Japan, Netherlands, USSR, and Germany have big investments.

The Norwegian lead was due principally to Svend Foyn who invented the harpoon with an explosive head. The harpoon was fired by a deck-mounted cannon and it had sufficient range and accuracy to permit killing those whales which heretofore were too fast and wary to be handlanced. The harpoon head had a time delay bomb which insured that the explosion occur deep in the vitals, and that the whale was made fast to a manila line so that it would not be lost. The cannon is mounted in the bow of a small fast ship known as a killer boat. These little ships operate for 1 or 2 days away from the factory ship in search of whales. The gunner who is responsible for firing the cannon is the most important member of the crew and on his experience and skill depend the entire operation. If he misses or fails to kill the whale, it will alarm the other whales and a day or two of searching may have been in vain.

The whaling season is extremely short and as soon as the yearly quota has been reached, all countries must stop. Naturally every country tries to get as many whales of the total as possible. Once a whale is killed, it is hauled alongside, and the body cavity is inflated with compressed air to make the whale buoyant. It should be remembered that the whales which are now being processed are the "wrong" whales and they would otherwise sink. The whale is then flagged, lighted, and a radio transmitter secured to it, and it is cast adrift while the killer boat continues to search for more victims. At the end of the hunting period, the killer boat retraces its route, picking up the whales it has killed. These are secured to the sides of the ship and brought back to the factory ship for processing.

Naturally, the technological improvements which make whaling profitable again would have been meaningless without the discovery of new whaling grounds. About 1900 the seas around the antarctic continent were found to be teeming with whales. These were principally three species--the humpback, the finback, and the blue. The blue whale is distinguished by the fact that it is the largest mammal on earth, reaching sometimes 100 feet in length and weighing over 100 tons. It is the species preferred by whalers but it is not as plentiful as its close relative, the finback, which is the second largest species, ranging in length from 60 to 80 feet. The humpback whale has never been too abundant, but along with the rorqual, or Sei whale, it has provided an extra dividend for the business.

The extreme richness of the antarctic whaling grounds is due to the fact that the entire perimeter of the continent is open to oceanic waters, allowing whales free access to a tremendous area of fertile waters. The limited richness of the arctic whaling grounds is due to the fact that the Arctic Icecap is flanked principally by the land masses of Eurasia and North America and the whales have access only to those portions opening from the Bering Sea and to a small area in the North Atlantic. Whales cannot swim too far in along the coast of either mainland because the period of open water is brief. Even in the antarctic whales tend to work near the ice floes and occasionally get caught by the sudden closures of the ice.

It is too difficult to estimate the number of whales which were taken from the arctic during the many seasons that whalers worked there. However, it cannot compare with the numbers which are realized annually from the slaughter around Antarctica. As many as 45,000 whales have been taken in a brief whaling season of less than 2 months. Contracting governments under provision of the International Agreement For Regulation of Whaling enforce the regulations as regards the number taken and there is a penalty if a juvenile whale is killed. Nursing mothers are also protected. The regulations are made by the International Whaling Commission and the number of whales which can be taken each year is determined from the statistics of the populations and these quotas are recommended by the Commission. It is hoped that by these regulations and studies, the industry can continue to prosper. The problems and activities of the scientists, the majority of whom work for the various governments' agencies, will be considered shortly.

Example of Unregulated Whaling

_California Gray Whale_

No account of whaling would be complete without mention of the shore and lagoon whaling of the California gray whale. There were 11 shore whaling stations scattered along the coast of California from San Simeon to San Diego, which had two stations. This whaling dates back to the gold rush days of California. It was not an uncommon experience for a whaling ship to come from the east and then to lose the entire crew in San Francisco before they could get on into the North Pacific to whale.

Although the principal profit for these whalers came from the arctic bowhead, it was customary to return to San Francisco to resupply in the autumn, and then to whale the California gray during the winter migration. Of course, this was whaling made to order because there was no need to search. The shore stations were able to process more whales in a day than a vessel could in a month of routine searching. Captain Scammon followed the migrating whales to the lagoons where he found them calving. These lagoons became the headquarters for the whaling ships which found whaling even easier than they had along the migration route. One of these lagoons still bears Scammon's name.

It was possible to watch the killing of whales from Point Loma, and from this vantage point the whaling boats were directed by flag signals to their quarry. The whales, once killed, were towed, tide permitting, by the hard rowing of the whaling crews back to Ballast Point. The numerous California shore stations have long since closed and rotted away and the grounds occupied with new enterprises. Most of the details of this era are lost, forever or buried in yellowing manuscripts and newspapers.

Although the gray whale may have been easy to find and to approach, whalers noted that those which escaped had learned the implications of whaling and thereafter were difficult to take. Lagoon whaling was particularly hazardous because the mothers frequently would charge the boats. Much of the time of the ship's carpenter was used repairing the damaged boats. Of course, the exposure of the breeding and calving grounds to whaling had a catastrophic effect, for the whales soon disappeared. It is decidedly difficult to determine from the limited records which remain just how abundant the gray whale was before whaling started. One is likewise puzzled by the report that a thousand a day passed San Diego. If this estimate had been made by an experienced whaler, it might be reliable, but if it were made by a layman, it could be most inaccurate. It is doubtful that anyone would have actually counted the whales for even an hour, so that the figure is probably an exaggeration.

The decline in the abundance of the gray whale occurred during the period when whaling was nearly over because of the low price of oil. Two brief subsequent attempts to whale this species produced only a small return of individuals, leaving the species virtually extinct.

Gray Whale Protected

In 1937 the International Whaling Commission declared the gray whale a protected species and forbade its members from whaling it. The population has recovered noticeably in the past 10 years, but it is too early to predict when it will level off. In 1959 it was estimated that the total population was somewhere between 3 and 5 thousand. It is hoped that the whaling nations will be content to honor their gentlemen's agreement to protect it until recovery is complete.

Value of Gray Whale

_Esthetic_

Already the whale has been viewed by hundreds of thousands of Californians and tourists who have been thrilled to see such an animal. Currently each season excursion boats are transporting visitors on a 2-hour excursion practically out onto the backs of the whales. It is hoped that the pleasure which it offers man will transcend the brief monetary profit which might accrue to a few whalers. It would indeed be shortsighted to let commercial interests deprive man of such a unique whale which can be enjoyed so easily by so many.

_Scientific_

There is real need to protect the gray whale for scientific studies. The principal problem in the study of populations of whales is to learn how large the population is and what are the various forces which limit its size. Such knowledge would make it possible for the industry to decide how many whales could be taken each season without reducing the population. The concept of taking only those whales which would overpopulate the habitat is an attractive one, and this would be in the long run, most profitable and stabilize both the whale population and the industry. Such knowledge also would prevent the overexpansion of the industry, which would also reduce the profit and hasten the decline of the resource.

Up to now, the studies which have been made to gain this knowledge have to be made on populations which are under severe exploitation. The researcher can never be certain that his findings are normal and useful in estimating the total population. The California gray whale provides him with a control population which is not under predation by man. Furthermore, this population becomes concentrated during breeding and calving and briefly during migration so that counting the total population is feasible.

_Commercial_

There is no doubt that the whaling industry will resume the harvest of the California gray whale once it has recovered. This is indeed unfortunate as the species is neither abundant nor large enough to provide much profit. Certainly history will repeat itself and the grand spectacle of the California gray whale migration will require another thirty or more years to repeat itself. The future status of the California gray whale may not necessarily have the same fortunate outcome, as the whaling industry at the present time is much more thorough. Furthermore, competition between the various whaling nations makes adjustment of regulations slow and cumbersome--much too slow for a species so limited in numbers and so accessible to complete extermination.

Already the Russians have expressed proprietary interest because they control the summer feeding grounds. Likewise, with the same reasoning, the Mexicans control the breeding waters. It would appear that the American interests, limited to two small shore stations at San Francisco, must be content to secure those whales which will escape the efficient Russian and Japanese fleets which could, at the most opportune moment, secure the species before the beginning of the long migration. At any rate, the species can only serve as an extra species in areas where whaling is already marginal because of limited stocks. It is hoped that eventually the whaling interest will remove the gray whale from whaling, leaving it as a living memorial to whaling.

Natural Population Controls

Conservationists should remember that nature has wisely designed each species of plant and animal with a built-in margin of safety; namely, a surplus of young which will repopulate the species from periods of extreme adversity. Yet these surpluses must somehow usually be eliminated lest the species overpopulate its habitat and destroy its own sustenance. The controls which limit the population are many and the population existing from year to year is the statistical average of these many controls. Diseases, predators, and other adversities are necessary evils, which are in the final analysis blessings in disguise. Whales, too, have their checks, although we are a long way from knowing their relative importance.

Perhaps the most critical moment in the life of the whale is birth, because the newborn whale must surface immediately or suffocate. Any abnormality in the birth process or weakness on the part of the infant may cause its loss. Inasmuch as a whale calves only every other year, the loss of a baby is serious, and especially so because a whale produces but a single calf. Less than one per cent of whale births are twins which is about the same frequency as for humans. A careful examination of the shores around the breeding lagoons reveals that a few babies are lost at birth.

Current Scientific Inquiry

_Life Expectancy_

Life expectancy is another very useful statistic for population studies. The whaling industry has no easy way of finding this out because whaling never gives an individual whale the chance to attain old age. Perhaps we can eventually determine life expectancy for the gray whale if it can continue to be protected from whaling. By counting the number of babies produced each year, and knowing the life expectancy, We might indirectly obtain the number of whales which die before they have realized their life expectancy. This number should represent the surplus on which whaling could be based. A further study would be necessary to determine what percentage of the surplus could be diverted to the whaling industry.

_Age Determination_

The problem of aging whales is an important one, and one to which much thought has been given. Actually, it is desirable to know at what age sexual maturity occurs; at what age physical maturity; at what age reproduction is no longer possible, and lastly, the age at death. In addition, we need to know the gestation period and the average number of pregnancies of which the female is capable. Many of these statistics can be obtained from the examination of a freshly killed whale. Such age determinations are made on every specimen which comes aboard the factory ships and also at the shore stations. There is some doubt as to the accuracy of some of these. Physical maturity is delayed in whales for many years, and it is judged complete when the cartilaginous end plates fuse to each vertebrum (backbone). After fusion, further lineal growth is impossible and after this time whales have been noted to shrink slightly each year.

The other structures which a biologist collects for aging are the ovaries of the female whale. These are sliced across into half-inch slabs, and the number of exposed grayish masses are counted. There is one of these structures produced for each pregnancy, and they persist as scar tissue throughout the life of the whale. These structures are functional during pregnancy and nursing and are responsible for a successful pregnancy. A count of these gives the investigator the total number of offspring which have been produced. If one assumes that the whale has not missed an opportunity to produce a baby, the count of these gives the age, assuming one knows the age of sexual maturity and the maximum length of bearing.

In recent years other structures have been tried for aging, so that males might also be aged, as well as females past the reproductive period. The best structure is the cylinder of wax which fills the outer canal of the ear leading to the eardrum. This enlarges as the whale grows, and the growth is marked by banding very similar in appearance to tree rings. Slicing the plug, the rings can be exposed and counted. There are produced but two rings a year. Toothed whales can be aged by sawing the teeth in half and noting the banding. Baleen also is periodically enlarged, but this is more difficult to check.

_Distribution and Population Rise_

The whaling industry spends a few weeks before the whaling season and at the end, hunting whales with a much lighter gun which implants a numbered cylinder deep in the skin of the whale. Each whale so marked is logged as to the species and the latitude and the longitude, and lastly, the date. Should the marked whale be processed in any succeeding season, a second entry is completed giving the date and place of capture. These records are used to determine the migration routes and the degree of intermingling of adjacent populations. The ratio of marked whales to unmarked whales allows the estimation of the probable size of the whale population. The length of time elapsing until a marked whale is recovered is an indication of the intensity of whaling.

Unlike the situation in the fishing industry where the reproductive potential of the fish is more than adequate to repopulate quickly, in the whaling industry the reproductive potential is small. Only one-fourth of the population can contribute replacements each year, and then only a single baby. Of course, each offspring has a reasonable chance of reaching maturity, whereas with fish only a very small number achieve adulthood.

One might expect that whales would be less affected by the fluctuations in environmental conditions, but this is only a surmise. We do not know as yet how to ascertain whether the food of whales is ever inadequate. Certainly the fact that baleen whales do best around the polar seas suggests that climatic fluctuations of the magnitude and duration of those producing the ice ages, may have profound effects on them.

We can only hope that man will learn to exploit whales in such a way as to take only the surplus and leave the main stock, creating thereby a perpetual resource. Man can best profit esthetically and scientifically by leaving the gray whale free of whaling as a control population.

Appendix

Scientific names of all North American cetaceans with common names
most in use. Maximum size indicated.

Region: (A) Atlantic Ocean, (P) Pacific Ocean, (C) Circumpolar

_Common Name_ _Size-Region_

Order Cetacea Whales, Dolphins, and
Porpoises
Suborder Odontoceti Toothed Whales
Family Ziphiidae Beaked Whales
Genus Berardius
_Berardius bairdii_ Baird's Beaked Whale 42 ft. (P)
Genus Mesoplodon
_Mesoplodon bidens_ Sowerby's Beaked Whale 16 ft. (A)
_Mesoplodon densirostris_ Blainville's Beaked 15 ft. (A)
Whale
_Mesoplodon europaeus_ Gervais' Beaked Whale 16 ft. (A)
_Mesoplodon mirus_ True's Beaked Whale 17 ft. (A)
_Mesoplodon stejnegeri_ Stejneger's Beaked Whale 20 ft. (P)
Genus Ziphius
_Ziphius Cavirostris_ Cuvier's Beaked Whale 28 ft. (A-P)
Genus Hyperoodon
_Hyperoodon ampullatus_ Flat-headed Bottlenosed 30 ft. (A)
Whale
Family Physeteridae Sperm Whales
Genus Physeter
_Physeter catodon_ Sperm Whale 60 ft. (A-P)
Family Kogiidae Pigmy Sperm Whales
Genus Kogia
_Kogia breviceps_ Pigmy Sperm Whale 13 ft. (A-P)
Family Vonodontidae White Whale and Narwhal
Genus Delphinapterus
_Delphinapterus leucas_ White Whale (Beluga) 18 ft. (C)
Genus Monodon
_Monodon monoceros_ Narwhal 12 ft. (C)
Family Delphinidae Dolphins and Porpoises
Genus Stenella
_Stenella attenuata_ Slender-beaked Porpoise 6 ft. (P)
_Stenella frontalis_ Cuvier's Porpoise 6 ft. (A)
_Stenella graffmani_ Graffman's Porpoise 8 ft. (P)
_Stenella longirostris_ Long-beaked Porpoise 7 ft. (P)
_Stenella microps_ Small-headed Porpoise 8 ft. (P)
_Stenella plagiodon_ Spotted Porpoise 7 ft. (A)
_Stenella styx_ Gray's Porpoise 8 ft. (A-P)
Genus Steno
_Steno bredanensis_ Rough-toothed Porpoise 8 ft. (A-P)
Genus Delphinus
_Delphinus delphis_ Atlantic Dolphin 8 ft. (A)
_Delphinus bairdii_ Pacific Dolphin 7 ft. (P)
Genus Tursiops
_Tursiops truncatus_ Atlantic Bottle-nosed 12 ft. (A)
Dolphin
_Tursiops gillii_ Gill's Bottle-nosed 12 ft. (P)
Dolphin
_Tursiops nuuanu_ Pacific Bottle-nosed 7 ft. (P)
Dolphin
Genus Lissodelphis
_Lissodelphis borealis_ Right-whale Dolphin 8 ft. (P)
Genus Lagenorhynchus
_Lagenorhynchus albirostris_ White-Beaked Dolphin 10 ft. (A)
_Lagenorhynchus acutus_ Atlantic White-sided 9 ft. (A)
Dolphin
_Lagenorhynchus obliquidens_ Pacific White-sided 7 ft. (P)
Dolphin
_Lagenorhynchus thicolea_ Gray's White-sided 9 ft. (P)
Dolphin
Genus Grampus
_Grampus orca_ Atlantic Killer Whale 30 ft. (A)
_Grampus rectipinna_ Pacific Killer Whale 30 ft. (P)
Genus Grampidelphis
_Grampidelphis Griseus_ Grampus or Risso's 13 ft. (A-P)
Dolphin
Genus Pseudorca
_Pseudorca crassidens_ False Killer Whale 18 ft. (A-P)
Genus Globicephala
_Globicephala melaena_ Common Blackfish or 28 ft. (A)
(Pilot Whale)
_Globicephala macrorhyncha_ Short-finned Blackfish 20 ft. (A)
_Globicephala scammonii_ Pacific Blackfish 16 ft. (P)
Genus Feresa
_Feresa occulta_ Slender Blackfish 8 ft. (P)
Genus Phocoena
_Phocoena phocoena_ Atlantic Harbor Porpoise 6 ft. (A)
_Phocoena vomerina_ Pacific Harbor Porpoise 6 ft. (A)
Genus Phocoenoides
_Phocoenoides dalli_ Dall's Porpoise 7 ft. (P)
Suborder Mysticeti Baleen Whales
Family Eschrichtidae Gray Whale
Genus Eschrichtius
_Eschrichtius glaucus_ California Gray Whale 50 ft. (P)
Family Balaenopteridae Fin-backed Whales
Genus Balaenoptera
_Balaenoptera physalus_ Fin-backed Whale 81 ft. (A-P)
_Balaenoptera borealis_ Rorqual (Sei Whale) 60 ft. (A-P)
_Balaenoptera acutorostrata_ Little Piked Whale 33 ft. (A-P)
Genus Sibbaldus
_Sibbaldus musculus_ Blue (Sulphur-bottom) 100 ft. (A-P)
Whale
Genus Megaptera
_Megaptera novaeangliae_ Hump-backed Whale 50 ft. (A-P)
Family Balaenidae Right and Bowhead Whales
Genus Eubalaena
_Eubalaena glacialis_ Atlantic Right Whale 70 ft. (A)
_Eubalaena sieboldii_ Pacific Right Whale 65 ft. (P)
Genus Balaena
_Balaena mysticetus_ Bowhead Whale 65 ft. (C)

Transcriber's Notes

--Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook
is public-domain in the country of publication.

--Silently corrected a few palpable typos.

--In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by
_underscores_.