Le Nord : revue internationale des Pays de Nord - 01.06.1938, Blaðsíða 126

118
LE NORD
In the five seasons in which this voluntary restriction of the
catch took place the total whale oil production was as follows:
1932/33 2,456,462 barrels
1933/34 2,395,544 »
1934/35 2,453,999
1935/36 2,436,338
1936/37 2,658,108
As will be seen, the production in the first four seasons of
the said period were surprisingly constant. In the last season, when
the capacity of the international whaling fleet was considerably
increased, the production rose by 222,000 barrels.
In the same period the number of whales killed increased
greatly:
1932/33 24,327 whales
1933/34 26,087 »
1934/35 31,808 »
1935/36 30,991 »
1936/37 34,579 »
It will thus be seen that even in the years in which the whale
oil production was fairly constant, the number of whales killed
increased enormously. This is due to the fact that the number of
Blue whales killed has greatly declined, whilst the number of Fin
whales and Humpbacks has risen:
Blue whales: Fin whales: Humpbacks
1932/33 18,891 5,168 159
1933/34 17,349 7,200 872
1934/35 16,500 12,500 1,965
1935/36 17,731 9,697 3,162
1936/37 14,304 14,381 4,477
A Blue whale gives the same oil quantity as 2 Fin whales or
2V2 Humpbacks, and it is easy to understand that, in order to
keep up the total catch of about 2V2 million barrels, the smaller
species of whales must be utilized in a constantly increasing
degree.
From the season 1932/33 to the season 1936/37 the number
of immature Blue whales in the catch rose considerably. From
a hunting and biological standpoint this is a very serious matter.
In 1932/33 there were 8.14 per cent. of immature Blue whales in