Knowra Whaling Whaling Whaling is the hunting and killing of whales for products such as oil, meat, and baleen. It ranges from small-scale hunts to industrial operations that can severely deplete whale populations.
Harpoon : A spear-like weapon designed to pierce and secure a target, often with a line attached. Whalers used harpoons to strike whales and hold them while they were killed.
Basque whaling : A medieval and early modern European whaling tradition centered on Basque coastal communities. Basque crews helped establish organized commercial whaling in the North Atlantic.
Whaling moratorium : The International Whaling Commission's 1982 decision to pause commercial whaling, effective from 1986. It sharply restricted commercial catches after industrial hunting depleted many populations.
Aboriginal subsistence whaling : Whaling by Indigenous communities for food, materials, and cultural purposes, often under specific legal quotas. Its subsistence and cultural aims differ from large-scale commercial exploitation.
Whaling ship : A vessel equipped for locating, killing, processing, or transporting whales. Ship design determined how far crews could travel and how many whales they could process.
Dutch whaling : The large-scale Dutch commercial whale hunt that flourished in the Arctic during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Dutch fleets expanded Arctic hunting into a major maritime industry.
International Whaling Commission : An intergovernmental body established in 1946 to regulate whaling and conserve whale stocks. It became the central forum for negotiating catch limits and the commercial moratorium.
Japanese whaling : Whaling conducted by Japan, including commercial operations that resumed after its 2019 withdrawal from the International Whaling Commission. Japan's current hunt illustrates disputes over the scope and legitimacy of commercial whaling.
Factory ship : A ship that processes catches aboard rather than delivering them to shore facilities. Factory ships let industrial whaling operate far from coastal stations.
Yankee whaling : The American commercial whaling industry centered in New England, especially during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Its long voyages connected whale products to global markets.
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