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April 10, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Whaling

The war for independence against the British on the American continent (1775-1783) closed the colonial trade routes within the British empire.

The merchantmen and whalers of New England swarmed around South America’s Cape Horn, in search of new markets and sources of supply. A market was established in China.

China took nothing that the US produced; hence Boston traders, in order to obtain the wherewithal to purchase teas and silks at Canton, spent 18-months or more of each China voyage collecting a cargo of sea-otter and other skins out of the northwest side of the American continent, highly esteemed by the Chinese.

Years before the westward land movement gathered momentum, the energies of seafaring New Englanders found their natural outlet, along their traditional pathway, in the Pacific Ocean.

Practically every vessel that visited the North Pacific in the closing years of the 18th century stopped at Hawai‘i for provisions and recreation; then, the opening years of the 19th century saw the sandalwood business became a recognized branch of trade.

Sandalwood, geography and fresh provisions made the Islands a vital link in a closely articulated trade route between Boston, the Northwest Coast and Canton, China.

The central location of the Hawaiian Islands between America and Orient brought many ships to the Islands. They needed food and water, and the islands supplied this need from its fertile lands.

Hawai‘i’s whaling era began in 1819 when two New England ships became the first whaling ships to arrive in the Hawaiian Islands.

At that time, whale products were in high demand; whale oil was used for heating, lamps and in industrial machinery; whale bone was used in corsets, skirt hoops, umbrellas and buggy whips.

Rich whaling waters were discovered near Japan and soon hundreds of ships headed for the area.

Whalers’ aversion to the traditional Hawaiian diet of fish and poi spurred new trends in farming and ranching. The sailors wanted fresh vegetables and the native Hawaiians turned the temperate uplands into vast truck farms.

There was a demand for fresh fruit, cattle, white potatoes and sugar. Hawaiians began growing a wider variety of crops to supply the ships.

In Hawaiʻi, several hundred whaling ships might call in season, each with 20 to 30 men aboard and each desiring to resupply with enough food for another tour “on Japan,” “on the Northwest,” or into the Arctic.

The whaling industry was the mainstay of the island economy for about 40 years. For Hawaiian ports, the whaling fleet was the crux of the economy. More than 100 ships stopped in Hawaiian ports in 1824.

“At present the whale ships visit the Sandwich Islands in the months of March and April and then proceed to the coast of Japan, the return again in October and November remain here about six weeks, and then proceed in different directions …”

“… some to the Coast of California, others cruise about the Equator when they return thither again in March and April and proceed a second time to the Coast of Japan; it usually occupies two seasons on that coast to fill a ship that will carry Three Hundred Tons.” (Jones report to Henry Clay, Secretary of State, 1827)

“The number of hands generally comprising the Company of a whale ship will average Twenty Five; and owing to the want of discipline, the length and the ardourous duties of the voyage, these people generally become dissatisfied and are willing at any moment to join a rebellion or desert the first opportu(nity) that may offer …”

“… this has been fully exemplified in the whale ships that have visited these islands, constant disertions have taken place and many serious mutinies both contributing to protract and frequently ruin the voyage.” (Jones report to Henry Clay, Secretary of State, 1827)

The effect on Hawaiʻi’s economy, particularly in areas in reach of Honolulu, Lāhainā and Hilo, the main whaling ports, was dramatic and of considerable importance in the islands’ history.

Over the next two decades, the Pacific whaling fleet nearly quadrupled in size and in the record year of 1846, 736-whaling ships arrived in Hawai‘i.

Then, whaling came swiftly to an end.

In 1859, an oil well was discovered and developed in Titusville, Pennsylvania; within a few years this new type of oil replaced whale oil for lamps and many other uses – spelling the end of the whaling industry.

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Port-of-Lahaina-Maui-1848
Port-of-Lahaina-Maui-1848
Lahaina as seen from Lahainaluna-(portion_Lahainaluna_engraving)-1838
Lahaina as seen from Lahainaluna-(portion_Lahainaluna_engraving)-1838
Koloa_Landing-Kauai-(KauaiMuseumCollection)
Koloa_Landing-Kauai-(KauaiMuseumCollection)
Rotch fleet in the midst of a school of sperm whales off the coast of Hawaii-LOC-1833
Rotch fleet in the midst of a school of sperm whales off the coast of Hawaii-LOC-1833
Whaling-Honolulu_Harbor-1850s
Whaling-Honolulu_Harbor-1850s
A view of whale fishery, from A Collection of Voyages round the World...Captain Cook’s First, Second, Third and Last Voyages, 1790 (NOAA)
A view of whale fishery, from A Collection of Voyages round the World…Captain Cook’s First, Second, Third and Last Voyages, 1790 (NOAA)
Cutting up the 'junk' - central section of the head of sperm whales
Cutting up the ‘junk’ – central section of the head of sperm whales
head oil from sperm whales could be bailed directly into casks
head oil from sperm whales could be bailed directly into casks
Hoisting the blanket strip
Hoisting the blanket strip
Trying the horse pieces - the minced 'horse piece' to the 'try-pot'
Trying the horse pieces – the minced ‘horse piece’ to the ‘try-pot’
'The wharf-gauging oil', by David H. Strother, a New Bedford whaling wharf covered with casks of whale oil. (Harper's New Monthly Magazine, June 1860)
‘The wharf-gauging oil’, by David H. Strother, a New Bedford whaling wharf covered with casks of whale oil. (Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, June 1860)
Stripping the ivory for scrimshaw
Stripping the ivory for scrimshaw
Drake_Well-Park-sign
Drake_Well-Park-sign
EarlyOilField-Titusville-WC
EarlyOilField-Titusville-WC

Filed Under: Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks, Economy Tagged With: Hawaii, Whaling, Lahainaluna, Economy, Hawaiian Economy, Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, Lahaina

March 7, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary

In the Kumulipo chant – the Hawaiian creation chant – the Second Era speaks of the birth of the whale: “Hanau ka palaoa noho I kai” – born is the whale living in the ocean. The Koholā (humpback whale) was well known to the early Hawaiians. (Maxwell)

The presence of the koholā in Hawaiian waters is evidenced in Hawai‘i’s oral and written history through petroglyphs, legends, legendary place names and artifacts.

Kapoukahi, a powerful kahuna from Kaua‘i, prophesized that war would end if Kamehameha I constructed a heiau dedicated to the war god Ku at Pu‘ukoholā.

In 1791, Keoua, Kamehameha’s cousin, was slain at Pu‘ukoholā, an event that according to prophesy, led to the conquest and consolidation of the islands under the rule of Kamehameha I.

The warm waters surrounding the main Hawaiian Islands are breeding, calving and nursing areas for humpback whales and is one of the world’s most important habitats for them.

At the start of the 20th century, the global population of humpbacks was depleted by the commercial whaling industry.

In 1973, the United States government made it illegal to hunt, harm or disturb humpback whales. When the Endangered Species Act was passed in 1973, the humpback whale was listed as endangered.

Protection of this important ecological habitat was necessary for the long-term recovery of the North Pacific humpback whale population.

In 1993 it was estimated that there were 6,000 whales in the North Pacific Ocean, and that 4,000 of those came to Hawaiʻi.

Most of the North Pacific stock of humpback whales winter in three nearshore lower latitude mating and calving areas: Hawai‘i, western Mexico and the islands of southern Japan.

During the spring and summer they migrate as far as 3,000 miles. The Hawaii population breeds in the main Hawaiian Islands and feeds in most of the known feeding grounds in the North Pacific, particularly Southeast Alaska and northern British Columbia.

Humpbacks continuously travel at approximately three to seven miles per hour with very few stops. The main Hawaiian Islands may contain the largest seasonal population of North Pacific humpbacks in the world. (NOAA)

Through an international ban on commercial whaling and protections under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the North Pacific humpback whale population now numbers more than 21,000.

Whales in Hawaii were delisted and are now noted as ‘Not at Risk’. (NPR) The whales will continue to be protected under other federal laws, including the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

The population of humpback whales that uses Hawaiʻi’s waters as their principal wintering ground is likely more than 10,000 animals. (NOAA)

Congress enacted the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, recognizing the important role that the Hawaiian Islands play in the preservation and long-term vitality of the humpback whale.

The Sanctuary is jointly managed in an equal partnership in the oversight of sanctuary operations by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the State of Hawai‘i.

The cooperative agreement, signed in 1998, states that NOAA and the State of Hawai’i “shall manage the sanctuary through a cooperative partnership and consult on all management activities throughout the sanctuary.”

The State duties in the agreement are the responsibility of the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR;) we had a great working relationship with NOAA.

NOAA and the State of Hawai’i determined that co-managing a sanctuary would provide additional beneficial resources and expertise to enhance the protection of humpback whales and their habitat, rather than do things on our own.

The sanctuary conducts and supports humpback whale research to increase scientific knowledge about the North Pacific humpback whale population and its habitat. Research efforts include photo identification, population, birth and mortality rates and whale behavior.

Like our fingerprints, whale flukes (tail fins) are unique with distinctive patches and markings for each whale. Researchers use the irregularities and differences of a whale’s fluke to distinguish between individual whales.

A Sanctuary advisory council assists the Sanctuary staff by providing advice and recommendations to the Sanctuary personnel.

In the summer, humpbacks are found in high latitude feeding grounds in Gulf of Alaska in the Pacific where they spend the majority of the time feeding and building up blubber that they live off of in the winter.

From December to late-May, the humpback whales migrate to calving grounds in Hawaiian waters. This time of year is one of the best viewing periods.

In 2016 the humpback whales were delisted and noted as ‘Recovered;’ the moratorium on whaling remains in effect.

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© 2019 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Humpback_Whale-Maui-(Stan_Butler-NOAA)-WC
Humpback_Whale-Maui-(Stan_Butler-NOAA)-WC
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whales
Whales from McGregor Point-(cphamrah)
Whales from McGregor Point-(cphamrah)
Humpback Whale-Hopkins
Humpback Whale-Hopkins
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale Fluke
Humpback Whale Fluke
hawaii-humpback-logo
hawaii-humpback-logo
Hawaiian-Islands-Humpback-Whale-National-Marine-Sanctuary-Map

Filed Under: General Tagged With: Hawaii, DLNR, Kohola, Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, NOAA

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