Whaling: A Business In America

In the nineteenth century, commercial whalers began using whole fleets to hunt whales, with each ship given a specific role. The largest ship, found at the center of the fleet, was the factory ship. At the heart of these ships are many tanks. Christopher Ash worked as chief chemist on the factory ship Balaena, and in his book Whaler’s Eye, comments on the massive tanks found in these ships. “Balaena really is a tanker, and almost all of her hull…is subdivided into thirty-six tanks. It is rather like an egg crate with nine rows, each of four tanks extending across the ship, and each tank able to take some five hundred tons of fuel or Diesel oil, which will be replaced—after cleaning—by whale or sperm oil, or perhaps meat meal; sometimes they must be filled with sea water as ballast. These tanks are impressively large, being well over thirty feet deep; so that when standing on the bottom and looking up to the one small square of light far above, it is difficult to believe that we can produce enough oil to fill the whole of that volume in twenty hours (Ash, 1962, p.19).” Underneath the tanks is the bottom of the boat. Above the tanks is the tank deck. This holds the centrifuges used to separate oil and glue water, as well as driers and bagging machines

Killer whales are one of the most fascinating displays of ocean life. The killer whale has characteristics that are important to its survival in the ocean. It is interesting to know that killer whales have a plentiful diet. It is astounding to see how killer whales behave in the ocean. I plan to tell you about the killer whale, its characteristics, its diet, and its behavior in the ocean as well as the predation of the orca.

The debate surrounding Makah whaling is a heated one to say the least. There are valid points on both sides of the argument, but there is one side I find to be more valid once the facts have been looked at. I will examine and present my findings regarding past and current laws and regulations related to whaling, types of whaling, other countries that take an active part in whaling (and why), as well as the Makah culture – both past and present. In this paper I will argue why the Makah should not be allowed to resume whaling, as it is unnecessary and could potentially put the grey whale species back on the endangered list.

Everyone loves going to marine parks such as SeaWorld and Marineland. They offer many spectacular shows with dolphins, sea lions and birds. However, the main attractions they offer are orcas, or as they are better known as killer whales. Highly intelligent and with acute senses of sight and hearing, they are apex predators. Recently, the possession of orcas has been a big topic of controversy. Many people believe that the animals are being mistreated in captivity. Their captivity limits their freedom and enjoyment. Many orcas suffer from poor physical and mental effects in captivity. Killer whales will usually travel between 50 and 100 miles per day in the wild, but in captivity all they can do is swim in circles or float for no reason. In the wild, killer whales live in pods of

The whaling industry was Hawaii’s main source of income during the early 1800s. Due to the Confederate retaliation and increase of sugar production, whaling was almost non-existent. The Hawaiian sugar exports rose from 722 tons in 1860, to 8,864.5 tons in 1866. This was in direct response to the American Civil War (Vance & Manning, 2012).

Whaling was very physical and economic business and the primary products were spermaceti, whale bones, sperm, and whale oil. The Native Americans used whaling for tribal purposes. The colonist in NEw ENgland hunted whales for baleen and oil. Whaling also gave them better burning candles. This is how the number of hales began to decrease as time went on.

On the island of Nantucket, every infant is raised to become a sailor. Sailing is the pride of Nantucket, and sailors are very well respected. Non-sailors of Nantucket were typically outcast, and more than often were never married during their lifetimes. Nantucket viewed whaling as art and took it very seriously. Whaling, harvesting the resources of whales, was how this small town made its living. The Essex was part of a group of more than seventy whaling ships originating from the town of Nantucket. The role of whaling ships Because the price of whale oil was steadily increasing, there were very high expectations set for the Essex and the remaining ships of the fleet. The town of Nantucket was depending on the ships to be successful on their

I found many interesting topics while scrolling the through “The Debate Room.” These are a few that particularly interested me. First, I found an article about whaling Titles “Did We Save the Whales?” It stated that while whaling itself is dying out, the threats to whales and other marine creatures is still very real.

Killer whales were not considered a threat to humans until one day in February 1991. Keltie Byrne, a marine biology and former killer whale trainer was killed by Tilikum. According to the reports, she slipped from the tank, where Tilikum was located, prevented her from surfacing and killed her. Sadly, another tragedy of a trainer who was killed by someone she knows

Whaling was a very successful way to make a living if you were able to work well together and catch whales often. If you did catch

The whaling industry came to America in the early 1700s with shore whaling. Settlers whaled near shore, then sold the whale’s oil, ambergris, and spermaceti for considerable profit. The success of these sales prompted wealthy Quakers from New Bedford and Nantucket Island to invest in whaling ports stocked with efficient ships, equipment, and crews. These ports accumulated much money for the Massachusetts towns. Aided by the inventions of the tryworks and toggling harpoon, America fast became a prominent name in the whaling industry. By 1846, America owned almost 82% of the world’s total whaling ships (Barcott, “In the Shadow of Moby-Dick”). Unfortunate the American whaling industry declined 13 years later as the rising petroleum market and

James H. Cox in his article ""All This Water Imagery Must Mean Something": Thomas King's Revisions of Narratives of Domination and Conquest in "Green Grass, Running Water"" states that the dam in Green Grass, Running Water is the ""Grand Baleen,"… the name originates with "the Great Whale project in northern Quebec, which was to have been the second phase of the James Bay project" (238).

Imagine that you are the captain of a whaling ship in 18th century. The financial benefits of successful trips generated significant wealth, but the downside was leaving your family and property for months on end. You need a reliable, trustworthy person to manage your wealth in your absence. Imagine also farmers who left their property to someone else when they traveled for weeks or months to market. Since traveling was slower back then, people of wealth needed reliable financial management during their absence.

Commercial whaling is a serious world issue that has always been difficult for those who are in support and those who are against it. Each group defends their side with convincing arguments. Morally, whaling is wrong, but do the reasons for whaling outweigh the reasons to cease the primitive hunts? By studying the effects of whaling,realizing how culture has changed over time, and taking note of the money that would be saved, it can clearly be seen that there is no longer a current need for whaling to continue. Efforts have been made to try to stop whaling, but with no help from any authoritative figure,nothing has been done to regulate the whaling. The famous sea shepherd, known for its strikes against whaling, can even be seen on

Before moratorium of whaling, there was a high demand of whale oil from blubber. In 1946, International