Whaling on Bequia
William
Thomas Wallace Jr came from
Today
only one small whale fishery exists. A crew of six sails out
on a 26-foot traditional double-ended whale boat. The design is based on
that of the small boats carried aboard the large whaling ships that sailed the
http://www.bequiatourism.com/history.htm
http://www.geocities.com/baerhans_2000/whaling.htm
http://www.whalingmuseum.org/kendall/heros/bequia/flens.html
http://www.doyleguides.com/bequia.html
http://www.caribbeancompass.com/whalefini.htm
http://www.fishingnj.org/artwhaler.htm
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The
The
history of Bequia's whaling heritage, many maritime
artifacts Tel: (784) 458-3322
SC/54/Prog.
Rpt. St.Vincent
ST. VINCENT AND THE
AND RESEARCH, MAY 2001 TO APRIL
2002
Compiled by R. Ryan and F. Hester
Fisheries Division, Ministry of Agriculture
and
1.0 Species and stocks studied
Common name Scientific Name
Humpback
Whale
Megaptera novaenglia
Various small cetacean species - see below
The Cetacean fishery has a long tradition
of social and economic importance in
oil
ranked fourth in the value of exports from
arrowroot
starch. A number of cetacean species are currently harvested in the coastal
waters, among
them
are humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae),
bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus),
pilot
whale
(Globicephala macrorhynchus),
orca (Orcinus orcus),
Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella
frontalis)
and others.
There is a small but active fishery for
cetacean centered around Barrouallie on the West
Coast of St.
Vincent. While the fishery targets
primarily pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins, other small
cetaceans
are captured as well. All species of small cetaceans are targeted. The primary
purpose of the
fishery
is the production of meat and oil. Harvesting is conducted from small open
wooden boats
termed
whalers, which are powered by outboard engines and oars. The cetaceans are
taken both by
hand
harpoons and small harpoon guns deployed from a tripod stand fixed on the bow
of the boat.
The Bequia whale
fishery targets humpback whales. Harvesting is conducted from small open wooden
whaling
boats as in Barrouallie, but the whaleboats of Bequia do not use motors. The hand thrust
harpoon
designed for taking large whales are used to strike the whale. Hand hand lances and darting
guns
are employed to kill the whales. The skill of the harpooners is such that the
darting gun is seldom
necessary
to accomplish a rapid kill. The Aboriginal Whalers in Bequia
were limited to a quota of two
whales
per annum through the 2001/2002 season, during which the quota of two humpback
whales
was
taken before the end of March.
2.0 Sightings data
Survey in St.
Vincent & the Grenadines and
1) Date of surveys conducted:
a) Survey in St. Vincent & the
Grenadines and
b) Survey off west coast of
2) Research vessel: “Black Jack” of
Fisheries Division, St. Vincent & the
longline
fishing vessel.
3) Participants: Raymond Ryan, a captain
and 4 crew (Fisheries Division of St. Vincent the
Paul Phillip and
Crafton Isaac (Fisheries Division of
Hideyoshi
Yoshida (The
4) Summary of results.
a) Survey in St. Vincent & the
Grenadines and
2
Track lines were placed in coastal waters
shallower than 100 m in depth, surrounding the
and
the
distance
was 63.4 n.m.) were
searched, in which only a school of bottlenose dolphins were sighted.
b) Survey in off west coast of
Searching was conducted for track lines
placed within 6 n.m. off the west coast of
Sea condition was not so bad. However, we
could obtain no sightings of cetaceans during the 51.7
n.m.
searching (primary searching distance was 41.1 n.m.).
3.0 Marking data
Photographs were obtained of the two whales
landed at the shore station on Petit Nevis. The
photographs
of the fluke of the lager of the two whales along with fluke photographs from
whales
taken
2000 and 2001 are being forwarded to the NAH Photo ID database at College of
the
comparison
with the database for the
4.0 Tissues and biological samples
collected
Tissue samples are routinely obtained from
all whales taken. These are sent to the laboratory of Dr.
Goto
in
for
comparison with DNA profiles from other NAH. Difficulty issuing CITES permits
for the transfer
of
the samples to
should
have been analyzed and compared before the next meeting of the Scientific
Committee.
5.0 Pollution studies
None.
6.0 Statistics for large whales
On March 27th,
2002, two humpback whales (Megaptera novaenglia)
were taken some 3 - 3.5 miles
south
southwest of Mustique by the local aboriginal
whalers. These whalers were led by Orson
Ollivierre. One small and one large whale were struck
at approximately 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.,
respectively.
They were towed to the landing station in Petit Nevis, where they were secured
at
approximately
12:30 - 1:30 p.m. on the said day. Processing (flensing) of the small animal
commenced
at 2:00 p.m. on March 27, 2002 while processing of the large animal began at
6:00 am on
the
28th March 2002. The whole operation was
conducted very efficiently and all useable meat was
recovered
without spoilage. Harvesting and biological information (including tissue
samples for DNA
analysis)
were collected by the Fisheries Division. This information is provided in Table
1 below.
Table
1. Information
collected by the Fisheries Division are as follows:
ADULT ANIMAL
Parameter
Time taken 11:00
a.m.
Length* 55ft
Girth at Flipper 27ft
Diameter/Tail span 15 ft
Sex Female
Lactating No
Vessel type Whaler
Landing station Petit Nevis
Location of harvest 3.5 miles SSW of Mustique
Method of killing Hand-thrown harpoon
*The lengths of the whales were taken from
the upper jaw to the tail, straight line
measurement.
SMALL ANIMAL
Parameter
Time taken 10:00
a.m.
3
Length* 28ft
Girth of flipper 12.2ft
Sex Male
Vessel type Whaler
Location of harvest 3 miles SSW of Mustique
Landing station Petit Nevis
Method of killing Hand-thrown harpoon
Stomach content No milk present
7.0 Statistics for small cetaceans
Records are maintained at the Fisheries
Division offices and laboratory in
the
Grenadines,
8.0 Strandings
and other studies
None reported for large whales.
9.0 Publications
Dr. Hisashi Hamaguchi published the results of his studies of the Bequian whale fishery. See:
Hamaguchi,
H. 2001. Bequia Whaling Revisited. Sonoda
Journal. 36: 41-57
10.0 Literature cited
N/A