Bowhead whaling in Davis Strait and Baffin Bay during the 18th and 19th Centuries

ABSTRACT Histories of individual whale fisheries mainly undertaken by Europeans have yet to be written. This article provides an outline history of whaling in the Davis Strait area during the 18th and 19th centuries. Current knowledge is reviewed of whaling west of Greenland by ships from Danish, Du...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar Record
Main Author: Vaughan, Richard
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1986
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247400007117
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247400007117
Description
Summary:ABSTRACT Histories of individual whale fisheries mainly undertaken by Europeans have yet to be written. This article provides an outline history of whaling in the Davis Strait area during the 18th and 19th centuries. Current knowledge is reviewed of whaling west of Greenland by ships from Danish, Dutch and German ports, and from English, American and Scottish ports. The land-based West Greenland whale fishery is also mentioned, and the activities of whalers from France and Spain. In spite of recent national whaling histories of the English, Dutch and Danish industries, quantitative data for the Davis Strait fishery are still virtually non-existent.