Whaling in New Zealand
Encyclopedia
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
dates back to the late 18th century, and ended in 1964 since it was no longer economic. Nineteenth century whaling was based on the southern right whale
Southern Right Whale
The southern right whale is a baleen whale, one of three species classified as right whales belonging to the genus Eubalaena. Like other right whales, the southern right whale is readily distinguished from others by the callosities on its head, a broad back without a dorsal fin, and a long arching...
, and 20th century whaling on the humpback whale
Humpback Whale
The humpback whale is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from and weigh approximately . The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. It is an acrobatic animal, often breaching and slapping the...
. There is now an established industry for whale watching
Whale watching
Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and other cetaceans in their natural habitat. Whales are watched most commonly for recreation but the activity can also serve scientific or educational purposes. A 2009 study, prepared for IFAW, estimated that 13 million people went whale watching...
based in the South Island town of Kaikoura
Kaikoura
Kaikoura is a town on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 1 180 km north of Christchurch.Kaikoura became the first local authority to reach the Green Globe tourism certification standard....
.
History
The Māori, who were the first to settle in New Zealand, appear to have hunted whales rarely, but did eat stranded whales.The earliest record of whaling in New Zealand is from 1791, when the whaleship William and Ann called in at Doubtless Bay. In the early 18th century, Kororareka (now called Russell) was a supply port for whaling and sealing ships, and developed a reputation as the Hellhole of the Pacific.
For 18th and 19th century shore stations, see 1966 article. In the 19th century, South Island shore stations were at Preservation Inlet
Preservation Inlet
Preservation Inlet is the southernmost fjord in Fiordland National Park and lies on the southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand.-Geography:...
and Te Awaiti (the first shore stations), Stewart Island, Otago
Otago
Otago is a region of New Zealand in the south of the South Island. The region covers an area of approximately making it the country's second largest region. The population of Otago is...
, Timaru
Timaru
TimaruUrban AreaPopulation:27,200Extent:Former Timaru City CouncilTerritorial AuthorityName:Timaru District CouncilPopulation:42,867 Land area:2,736.54 km² Mayor:Janie AnnearWebsite:...
and Kaikoura
Kaikoura
Kaikoura is a town on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 1 180 km north of Christchurch.Kaikoura became the first local authority to reach the Green Globe tourism certification standard....
. North of Wellington, there were three whaling stations at Porirua
Porirua
Porirua is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand, immediately north of the city of Wellington, with their central business districts 20 km apart. A large proportion of the population commutes to Wellington, so it may be considered a satellite city. It almost completely surrounds...
, and five on Kapiti Island
Kapiti Island
-External links:* , Department of Conservation* * , Nature Coast Enterprise *...
. Further north were shore stations at New Plymouth
New Plymouth
New Plymouth is the major city of the Taranaki Region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after Plymouth, Devon, England, from where the first English settlers migrated....
and Great Barrier Island
Great Barrier Island
Great Barrier Island is a large island of New Zealand, situated to the north-east of central Auckland in the outer Hauraki Gulf. With an area of it is the fourth-largest island of New Zealand's main chain of islands, with its highest point, Mount Hobson, rising...
.
Perano's of Tory Channel, Cook Strait caught 4200 whales (mainly humpback) between 1911 and 1964, when the last whale was caught in New Zealand waters.
Conservation
Since 1978, whales within New Zealand’s 200 nautical miles (370.4 km) Exclusive Economic ZoneExclusive Economic Zone
Under the law of the sea, an exclusive economic zone is a seazone over which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources, including production of energy from water and wind. It stretches from the seaward edge of the state's territorial sea out to 200 nautical...
have been protected under the Marine Mammals Protection Act 1978
Marine Mammals Protection Act 1978
The Marine Mammals Protection Act is an Act of Parliament passed in New Zealand in 1978. It is administered by the Department of Conservation.-External links:*** - Marine Mammals Protection Act page...
. Killing a whale or other cetacean without a permit is punishable by up to six months imprisonment, or a fine of up to NZ$250,000. Efforts are now often made to save whales that have stranded or have become entangled in marine debris.
There is a vocal antiwhaling
Anti-whaling
Anti-whaling refers to actions taken by those who seek to end whaling in various forms, whether locally or globally in the pursuit of marine conservation. Such activism is often a response to specific conflicts with pro-whaling countries and organizations that practice commercial whaling and/or...
sentiment in New Zealand. The Government regularly attends the International Whaling Commission
International Whaling Commission
The International Whaling Commission is an international body set up by the terms of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling , which was signed in Washington, D.C...
meetings and supports the moratorium on whaling, as well as advocating for the creation of whale sanctuaries.
In 2010, Peter Bethune, an antiwhaling activist, was detained by Japanese whalers when he boarded a whaling ship in the southern oceans. He was convicted in Japan and deported back to New Zealand.
See also
- History of New ZealandHistory of New ZealandThe history of New Zealand dates back at least 700 years to when it was discovered and settled by Polynesians, who developed a distinct Māori culture centred on kinship links and land. The first European explorer to discover New Zealand was Abel Janszoon Tasman on 13 December 1642...
- Conservation in New ZealandConservation in New ZealandConservation in New Zealand has a history associated with both Māori and Europeans. Both groups of people caused a loss of species and both amended their behaviour after realising their effect on indigenous flora and fauna.-Protected areas:...
- Butler Point Whaling MuseumButler Point Whaling MuseumButler Point Whaling Museum is located at Hihi, near Mangonui in New Zealand’s Doubtless Bay, a centre for whaling fleets in the 1820s-1850s....
- Johnny Jones
- Weller brothersWeller brothersThe Weller brothers, Englishmen of Sydney and Otago, New Zealand, were the founders of a whaling station on Otago Harbour and New Zealand’s most substantial merchant traders in the 1830s.-Immigration:...
Further reading
- Day, Kelvin (1986) Shore Whaling Porirua Museum History Series booklet No 1 ISBN 0 9597808 0 7
- McNab, RobertRobert McNabDr Robert McNab was a New Zealand lawyer, farmer, historian, and politician of the Liberal Party.He represented the Mataura electorate from 1893 to 1896 when he was defeated by George Richardson. In 1898 Richardson was adjudged bankrupt...
(1913) The Old Whaling Days (1975; reprinted by Golden Press, Auckland) - Morton, H. (1982) The Whale's Wake The University of Otago Press, Dunedin,
- Rickard, Lawrence S (1965) The Whaling Trade in Old New Zealand (Auckland)
- Ross, J O'C Twentieth century whaling operations at Whangamumu and Campbell Island in the Turnbull Library Record, May 1977 (Volume 10 number 1)
External links
- International Whaling Commission page at the Department of Conservation
- International Whaling Commission information at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
- Harvesting the Sea - Whaling (Te Ara)
- The 1966 Encyclopedia of New Zealand - Whaling In New Zealand Waters 1791 - 1963
- New Zealand Electronic Text Centre - Whaling in New Zealand Waters — “There She Blows.”