California's Whaling Coast (Images of America: California)

Yankee whaling, shore whaling, and modern whaling were sometimes occurring simultaneously. Each type of whaling went through periods of discovery, stability, and then a gradual decrease as the products lost their markets or the number of whales began to wane as some species moved toward commercial if not actual extinction due to over-fishing. Small whaling operations from California, called shore whaling, continued from the 1850s until Secretary of Commerce Maurice Stans (1969–1972) whistled down the industry in 1971. unknown Yankee whaling California shore whaling Long Beach whaling California whaling in the 1920s and 1930s ; in the 1940s ; from 1950 to 1971.