The Washington herald., 1913-10-18
MUCH WHALING
OFF CHILEC0AST
The Industry Shows Indica-
lions Of Increasing
Importance.
HIGH PRICES ARE RULING
Season Just Closed Has Been Good
0ne-Ten Companies Have
Been Operating.
HIGH PRICES ARE RULING

An industry OF Southern Chile which
shows Indications OF increasing fmpor-
tsnce Is that of whaling. according TO a
report from Consul Charles L. Latham at
Punta Arenas The season recently closed
has been auslicious both in yield locally
and in the high prices for whale pro-
ducts ruling In the world markets The
pursuit of the whale in neighboring and
more Southern Seas appears to have been
abandoned by American companies. al
though In former times vessels Of that
nationality were the most numerous en-
gagged in the industry.
Whaling of today in the extreme
southern waters Is centered to a great
extent in the Falkland Islands due to the
fact that a license is required by the
British authorities Of those islands for
the privilege of operating in the South
Sea Current. with the South Shetland
Islands and Grahamland as bases. The
charge for the license is si0o (4S66O for
operating a station and two whaling
boats, and an additional s1oo for operat-
Ing an extra, or third. whaling boat A
station and three whaling boats is the
maximum equipment permitted any single
company, and the whaling privileges
granted by the Falkland Islands authori-
ties are limited to ten companies The
udNO ORCAaNCN e--S
past season, being comprised Of eight
Norwegian, British. and Chilean COM
pany.
Owns Five Rig Boats.
The Chilean company, which Is the only
whaling company domiciled in this terri
tory, is the Compania Ballenera de
Magallanes. This company. organized in
1905, operates administrative Offices In
Punta Arenas, a trying-out station on
the island of San Isidro in the Straits
of Magellan, and n base of operations
in the South Sea Current, licensed from
the authorities of the Falkland Islands.
The equipment operated under this
license comprises three steam whaling
boats and a steamer of 5000 tons. used
during the season as a floating station
and thereafter for the transportation oi
the oil and bone products to Europe
The whaling boats. Of which the company
owns five, range from 90 to III feet
In length. average thirty or forty tons
develop 500 TO 80 steam horsepower, have
two short masts, and are each equipped
with a machine which fires an explosive
harpoon.
The company opens its annual whaling
season In the Straits OF Magellan In Octo-
Der, with base at San Isidro, where II
operates until December, in which month
1IS uOaIlnR tIduOu auu lhAOo N1A4e
boats steam to the South Sea Current. 10
remain until the season closes In March
or April. The catch for the past year In
the Southern Seas was some 400 whales.
the production recently shipped being
some 1000 tons of oil. valued at about
sz15. 900, to England and twenty tons OF
whaiebone to France Sixty right whales
were caught In the straits before transfer
Of the neet to the South
Few Right and Sperm whales.
Only occasional right and sperm whales
are caught in the extreme Southern wa
tiers, the usual classes taken being blue
humpback, I'm, and sey whales The
whales when killed are brought alongside
the floating station and there cut up and
the sections tried out into oil However
one of the Norwegian companies (Sol-
yesen's) is erecting a base on Deception
Island adequate for trying out the whole
fish. This island is said to be volcanic
in structure TO the extent that steam
rises from the beach throughout the win
ter, and the snow and ice are kept melted