FISHERY, whale. Whales are chiefly caught in the North Sea : the largest sort are found about Greenland or Spitzber gen. At the first discovery of this coun try, whales, not being used to be disturb ed, frequently came into the very bays, and were accordingly killed almost close to the shore, so that the blubber being cut off was immediately boiled into oil on the spot. The ships, in those times, took in nothing but the pare oil and the fins, and all the business was executed in the country, by which means, a ship could bring home the product of many more whales, than she can according to the present method of conducting this trade. The fishery also was then so plentiful, that they were obliged sometimes to send other ships to fetch off the oil they had made, the quantity being more than the fishing ships could bring away. But time and change of circumstances have shift ed the situation of this trade. The ships coming in such numbers from Holland, Denmark, Hamburgh, 'and other northern countries, all intruders upon the English, who were the first discoverers of Green land, disturbed the whales, and gradually, as other fish often do, forsaking the place, were not to be killed so near the shore as before ; but are now found, and have been so ever since, in the openings and spaces among the ice, where they have deep water, and where they go sometimes a great many leagues from the shore.
The whale fishery begins in May, and continues all June and July ; but whether the ships have good or bad success, they must come away and get clear of the ice by the end of August ; so that in the month of September, at furthest, they may be expected home ; but a ship that meets with a fortunate and early fishery in May may return in June or July.
The manner of taking whales at pre sent is as follows : as soon as the fisher men hear the whale blow, they cry out fall ! Alb! and every ship gets out its long boat, in. each of which there are six or seven men : they row till they come pret ty near the whale, then the harpooner strikes it with the harpoon. This requires great dexterity, for through the bone of his head there is no striking, but near his spent there is a soft piece of flesh, into which the iron sinks with ease. As soon as he is struck, they take care to give him rope enough, otherwise, when he goes down, as he frequently does, he would inevitably sink the boat : this rope he draws with 'such violence, that, if it were not well watered, it would, by its friction against the sides of the boat, be soon set on fire. The line fastened to the harpoon is six or seven fathoms long, and is called the forerunner: it is made of the finest and softest hemp, that it may slip the easier : to this they join a heap of lines of 90 or 100 fathoms each, and when there are not enough in one long boat they borrow from another. The man at the helm observes which way the rope goes, and steers the boat accord ingly, thatIt may run exactly out before for the whale runs away with the line with so much rapidity, that he would over set the boat if It were not kept straight When the whale is struck, the other long boats row before, and observe which way the line stands, and sometimes pull it ; if they feel it stiff it is a sign the whale still pulls in strength, but if it hangs loose, and the boat lies equally high before and behind upon the water, they pull it in gently, but take care to coil it so that the whale may have it again easily, if he recovers strength : they take care, how ever, not to give him too much line, be cause he sometimes entangles it about a rock, and pulls out the harpoon. The fat whales do not sink as soon as dead, but the lean ones do, and come up some days afterwards. As as they see
whales, they lose no time in cutting up what they have taken, but keep fishing for others : when they see no more, or have taken enough, they begin with tak ing off the fat and whiskers in the fol lowing manner : the whale being lashed along side, they lay it on one side, and put two ropes, one at the head and the other in the place of the tail, which, to gether with the fins is struck off as soon as he is taken, to keep those extremities above water. On the off side of the whale are two boats, to receive the pieces of fat, utensils, and men, that might other wise fall into the water on that side. These precautions being taken, three or four men, with irons at their feet to pre vent slipping, get on the whale, and be gin to cut out pieces of about three feet thick and eight long, which are hauled up at the capstan or windlass. When the fat is all got off; they cut off the whiskers of the upper jaw with an axe. Before they cut they are all lashed, to keep them firm, which also facilitates the cutting, and prevents them from falling into the sea ; when on board, five or six of them are bundled together, and properly stow ed, and after all is got off; the carcase is turned adrift, and devoured by the bears, who are very fond of it. In proportion as . the large pieces of fat are cut off, the rest of the crew are employed in slicing them smaller, and picking out all the lean. When this is prepared they stow it under the deck, where it lies till the fat of all the whales is on board ; then cut ting it still smaller, they put it up in tubs in the hold, cramming them very full and close. Nothing now remains but to sail homewards, where the fat is to be boiled, and melted down into train oil.
It were in vain to speak in this place of the advantages that may be derived to Great Britain from the whale fishery. We shall only remark, that the legislature thinks that trade of so great importance as to grant a very considerable bounty for the encouragement of it ; for every British vessel of 200 tons or upwards, bound to the Greenland Seas on the whale fishery, if found to be duly qualifi ed according to the act, obtains a license from the commissioners of the customs to proceed on such voyage : and on the ship's return, the master and mate mak ing oath that they proceeded on such voyage and no other, and used all their endeavours to take whales, &c. and that all the whale-fins, blubber, oil,_ &c. im ported in their ship, were taken by their crew in those seas, there shall be idlowed 40s. for every ton, according to the ad measurement of the ship.
Besides these fisheries, there are seve ral others, both on the coasts of •Great Britain and in the North Seas, which, al though not much the subject of mer chandize, nevertheless employ great num bers both of ships and men ; as, 1. The oyster fishing at Colchester, Feversham, the Isle of Wight, in the Swales of the Medway, and in all the creeks between Southampton and Chichester,from whence they are carried to be fed in pits about Wevenhoe and other places. See Ors TER.
2. The lobster fishing all along the British channel, the firth of Edinburgh, on the coast of Northumberland, and on the coast of Norway, from whence great quantities are brought to London. And, lastly, the fishing of the pot-fish, fin-fish, sea-unicorn, sea-horse, and the seal, or dog-fish, all which are found in the same seas with the whales, and yield blubber in a certain degree ; besides, the horn of the unicorn is as estimable as ivory, and the skins of the seals are particularly use ful to trunk-makers.