Muscovy Company
The first hunting expedition, to Bjørnøya, was organized by the Muscovy Company led by Steven Bennet in 1604. Although they found thousands of walrus, they were only able to kill a few because of their lack of experience. The following year he was more successful and returned annually until they in a few years had achieved local extinction. After Jonas Poole reported seeing a "great store of whales" off Spitsbergen in 1610, the Muscovy Company sent a whaling expedition to the island under command of Poole and Thomas Edge in 1611. They hired Basque experts to hunt the bowhead whale, but both ships were wrecked and the crews rescued by English interlope. The following year, the Muscovy Company sent a new expedition, but was met by both Dutch and Spanish whalers. The company claimed exclusive rights to the area and sent away the contenders. In 1613, seven armed English ships were sent on the expedition which expelled a few dozen Dutch, Spanish and French vessels.