page_title: History of Basque whaling
section_title: Decay
hierarchical_section_title: History of Basque whaling / Bay of Biscay / Decay
caption_attribution_description: Euskara: Orioko balea Donostiako Aquariumen
context_page_description: The Basques were among the first to catch whales commercially, as opposed to aboriginal whaling, and dominated the trade for five centuries, spreading to the far corners of the North Atlantic and even reaching the South Atlantic. The French explorer Samuel de Champlain, when writing about Basque whaling in Terranova, described them as "the cleverest men at this fishing". By the early 17th century, other nations entered the trade in earnest, seeking the Basques as tutors, "for [they] were then the only people who understand whaling", lamented the English explorer Jonas Poole.
  Having learned the trade themselves, other nations adopted their techniques and soon dominated the burgeoning industry – often to the exclusion of their former instructors. Basque whaling peaked in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, but was in decline by the late 17th and early 18th centuries. By the 19th century, it was moribund as the right whale was nearly extinct and the bowhead whale was decimated.
context_section_description: Only four whales were reportedly caught in the Bay of Biscay in the 19th century, and at least one more was struck but lost and another chased unsuccessfully. The first was caught off Hondarribia in 1805, the second off San Sebastian in 1854, the third off Getaria-Zarautz in 1878, and the last off San Sebastian in 1893. In January 1854, three whales (said to be a mother and her two calves) entered the bay of San Sebastian. Only one of the calves was caught. The whale caught off Getaria-Zarautz was taken on 11 February. Several boats were sent out of both ports, along with one from Orio. The whale was struck with a harpoon from Getaria, but the line belonged to Zarautz. This resulted in a lawsuit, which led to the whale being left to rot ashore. The unpleasant smell of the decomposing carcass led to it being blown up. In 1844, a whale was struck off Zarautz, but, after being towed for six hours, the line was broken, and the whale was lost with two harpoons and three lances in its body. Another whale was seen off Getaria early in the morning on 25 July 1850, but the harpooner missed his mark, and the whale swam away to the northwest. On 14 May 1901, a 12 m (39 ft) right whale was killed by fishermen using dynamite off the town of Orio, an event reflected in a folk poem popularized by singer-songwriter Benito Lertxundi. A local festival representing this catch have been held on 5 year intervals. Only a few more sightings of right whales were made in the area, the last in 1977, when the crew of a Spanish whale catcher sighted one at about 43° N and 10° 30' W.
caption: Skull of the Orio whale
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