Annual report on the Falkland Islands and Dependencies / Colonial Office.

  • Great Britain. Colonial Office.
Date:
[1948]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report on the Falkland Islands and Dependencies / Colonial Office. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    37/46 (page 31)
    WHALING There are three land whaling stations, all in South Georgia. The price of first quality whale oil in 1948 was £90 per ton. The latest available report is for the season 1947/48 and the following is extracted from it : “ The season’s catch and production can be considered satisfactory but there is no doubt that it would have been more successful if fishing had not been hampered by the continuous bad weather experienced.” The catch amounted to 2,949 whales, namely 46 Blue, 2,142 Fin, 24 Humpback, 128 Sperm and 609 Sei. One hundred and sixty-three thousand, six hundred and fifty-one barrels of oil and 137,173 bags of guano were produced, including 3,014 bags of dehydrated whale meal and 28 tons of baleen. In addition about 6 tons of meat extract were produced. The following table shows the catch and production for the last five seasons : Season Number of Oil Guano, etc Whales (Barrels) (Bags) 1943-44 . 962 50,001 48,103 1944-45 . 1,269 75,540 72,294 1945-46 . 1,913 78,880 92,186 1946-47 . 2,550 144,386 129,151 1947-48 . 2,949 SEALING 163,651 137,173 This is confined to the surplus males of the immense herd of Elephant Seals which, with the hearty co-operation of the whalers, has been assiduously nursed by the Administration and for many years has increased continuously. Sealing is carried on under a system of annual licences and the coasts of the island are divided into four divisions of which only three are worked annually so that each division is rested one year in four. The yield for the season under review was one of the best for many years, despite unfavourable weather conditions which necessitated an extension of the season for a period of 15 days from 1st to 15th November. The catches for the last five seasons were : /* Seals Oil (Barrels) Average per (Barrels) 1944 6,000 11,940 1-990 1945 5,382 10,382 1-929 1946 4,449 8,075 1-815 1947 6,000 11,994 1-999 1948 7,500 15,093 2-012 Chapter 7 : Social Services EDUCATION There are only two children in South Georgia and none in the other Dependencies. There is no state education. When there are children in South Georgia, they are invariably educated by the parents.