Twentieth-Century Shore-Station Whaling in Newfoundland and Labrador : In Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador has a long history of commercial whaling, beginning in the first half of the sixteenth century when Basque whalers established seasonal stations on the Labrador coast from which to hunt bowheads and North Atlantic right whales. Anthony Dickinson and Chesley Sanger examine the region's modern shore-station industry from its beginnings in 1896 to its peak catch season in 1904 through subsequent cycles of decline and revival until its enforced closure in 1972 by the federal government. Contents Figures and Tables Illustrations Preface 1 The Setting 2 Development 3 Expansion and Consolidation, 1898–1902 4 Expansion, 1902–03 5 The Peak, 1904 6 The First Decline, 1905–17 7 Expansion and Decline at Aquaforte 8 Newfoundland and British Columbia Whaling Connections 9 Renewal and Revitalization in Newfoundland and Labrador, 1918–51 10 The Final Demise, 1952–72 Epilogue APPENDICES 1 Shore-Station Whale Catch Species Composition, Newfoundland and Labrador, 1898–1972 2 Whaling Companies, Stations, Operating Years, and Vessels in Newfoundland and Labrador, 1898–1972 3 Applications for Whaling Licences, Newfoundland and Labrador, 1902–03 4 Newfoundland and Labrador Whaling Industry, 1898–1911: Fate of Catchers 5 Wages and Occupations of Newfoundlanders Employed at the Aquaforte Whaling Station, 1902–03 6 Wages and Occupations of Norwegians Employed at the Aquaforte Whaling Station, 1902–03 7 Aquaforte Whaling Station: Buildings, Machinery, and Equipment, 1908 8 Portion of Rissmüller's Patent for Extracting Fatty Substances from Meat Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Index COMPANIES A B C D E F G H J K L M N O P R S T V W GEOGRAPHICAL A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W PERSONS A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T W SUBJECTS A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W VESSELS A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P R S T V W The advent of new hunting technologies in Norway during the second half of the nineteenth century significantly changed commercial whaling. More species could now be harvested more efficiently. Within a few decades, Norwegian entrepreneurs had depleted local stocks and embarked on a search for new whaling grounds throughout the North Atlantic and elsewhere. One such venture led to a partnership in 1896 with local investors in Newfoundland and Labrador and the beginning of modern shore-station whaling on Canada's eastern shores. Twentieth-Century Shore-Station Whaling in Newfoundland and Labrador is a significant example of regionally specific case studies that collectively illustrate the complex history of global whaling. Modern shore-station whaling on Canada's eastern shores developed with the spread of Norwegian-dominated whaling from local areas where stocks that had been depleted by new hunting technologies to more productive locations in the North Atlantic and elsewhere. Twentieth-Century Shore-Station Whaling in Newfoundland and Labrador adds to a growing number of regionally specific case studies that collectively illustrate the complex nature of the history of global whaling. Dickinson and Sanger further demonstrate how participants in the industry were instrumental in developing other whaling initiatives, including those in British Columbia.