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The History of Whaling & Sealing for School Projects

Whaling is the capture and killing of whales for their meat and byproducts. The most common method used is to fire a harpoon containing a grenade into the whale. Excessive whaling activity over the centuries seriously depleted whale populations. European settlers began hunting seals off the Newfoundland coast in the 17th century. Sealing depleted the harp seal population by 60 percent during the period from 1950 to 1970. Large vessels are banned from hunting seals, but hunting with the use of small vessels continues at the time of publication.

Early Whaling History
- The hunting of whales began in prehistoric times around 6,000 B.C. People in South Korea at this time hunted whales from row boats, using hand wielded spears. Spain, Norway and France began whaling in the 9th century. Denmark and England began whaling in the 10th century, principally for right whales. These cetaceans swam close to shore and floated once harpooned, which made the species popular for hunting. Organized whaling fleets began to appear in the 17th century. Competitive national whaling industries emerged in the 18th and 19th centuries.The exploding harpoon, which was fired from a cannon, was developed in 1848 and whalers began using it to hunt minke and rorqual whales.
More Recent Whaling History
- The first factory ships were used in 1925. This allowed the whale carcass to be completely processed at sea. Whaling ships could travel further from shore in search of whales. It was estimated that 80 percent of the great whale species were facing extinction in 1930. The International Whaling Commission (IWC) was initiated to monitor whale populations in 1946. The United Kingdom ceased whaling by 1963. Only the Soviet Union and Japan were whaling in the Antarctic by 1964. The IWC issue a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1982 to take effect in 1986. A loophole in this moratorium allowed Iceland, Norway and Japan to continue whaling. Both Norway and Japan announced increases in their whaling quotas in 2005. Iceland announced in 2007 that it would not increase quotas for 2008.
Early Sealing History
- Migratory fisherman hunted harp seal during the 16th century. Early European settlers began using nets in the 17th century to ensnare migrating seals off the east coast of Newfoundland. Boats and guns were employed in the hunt by the early 18th century. Schooners were used for the first time in 1794. Seal hunting had become the second largest industry in Newfoundland by this point. Recorded catches were as high as 744,000 animals in one year during the period 1825 to 1860. Steam ships were introduced for seal hunting by 1863.
More Recent Sealing History
- Improved steam ships with reinforced hulls were introduced into the industry by 1906. Foreign vessels from the Soviet Union, Canada, United States, Norway, France and Denmark became involved in the Newfoundland seal hunt by 1947. Newfoundland began replacing its large commercial vessels with smaller inshore vessels during the 1970s after the implementation of numerous regulations. The International Foundation for Animal Welfare (IFAW) launched seal watching eco-tours as an economic alternative to hunting the animals in the late 1980s. Hunting quotas had dropped to 275,000 seals per year by 2000.

Animals & Science