The Whaling
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ScribdTranslationsThe Whaling
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ScribdTranslationsWHALING IN GALICIA
Whaling in Galicia must have begun like in the other European Atlantic coasts and of
peaceful, in prehistory but except for some cave paintings from Spain and France there is no evidence
reliable evidence of its existence. In Galicia, we do not have historical documents of this activity until the...
13th century
It is noted that for Galicia it was an important economic activity; it traded with ceteceos and
with products derived from them, luxury coats, or the whales of umbrellas and parasols, the
trade of meat or products of the species due to overexploitation that almost led to
pharmacy and cosmetics, which gave it global importance and contributed to growth
economic of fishing ports and others were born to develop this activity (Burela-
Lugo, Suevos-Punta Langosteira.
History
The first documented news of a whaling port in Galicia, that of Prioiro, on the coast
Ferrolana, dated 1288. The port of Prioiro was one of the most important that existed in the Middle Ages.
media in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, but the greatest development of fishing during this time was
XIII and XIV, mainly led by sailors from Guipúzcoa and Biscay, but it was since the
from the 16th century to the 17th century when Galicia became the most important whaling ground in the
peninsula, in the ports of the Lucense Marina (Rinlo, Foz, Nois, Burela, San Cibrao, Bares) and on the Coast
of Death (Caión, Camelle, and Malpica).
At the beginning of the 18th century, whaling almost disappeared, leading to the near extinction of the species.
but the arrival of bourgeois who invested in the fish salting industry introduced
new boats (trainieras) and new fishing techniques that were being integrated among the population and
building factories and buying others on the edge of the beach.
During the second half of the 19th century in Europe, industrial whaling began with new
techniques and the invention of the harpoon gun, the explosive harpoon, and better boats; already by the end of the century
The salting factories gave way to canning factories and then the industry revived.
whale hunter
In 1924, whaling was reestablished in Galicia with a completely industrial nature, with two
compañias balleneras,Compañía Ballenera Española, en Caneliñas (Cee) y Sociedad Anónima
Corona (Vigo), being its activity in Cangas do Morrazo, in the inlet of Barra and in the estuary of
Aldán; this activity was halted during the Spanish Civil War and World War II and
it resumed its activity in 1950, being the only place in Galicia where they were hunted
whales, in 1954 the company Balleny Industries restored the factory in Caneliñas (Cee) and in 1955
The company Ballea C.B is born in equal parts with Massó Hermanos, Barreras, and IBSA, which was active.
until 1985, the moment when the last factory, that of Caneliñas, closed due to the hunting ban
of whales in Galicia and the pressure from environmental groups that denounced overexploitation which
it was extinguishing the species.
How they hunted whales
Both in Galicia and in the Cantabrian Sea, whales were hunted near the coast and then
they were being taken to the ports for their dismemberment. It was of great importance the
surveillance from the watchtowers during the months of the fishing season. The sentinel warned of the
presence of cetaceans through large bonfires. The sailors would go out to sea at that time,
in boats from which they "fished" for whales and that were called lanchas, ships
The chalupas used to be made of oak wood, about eight meters long, two meters wide, and almost one meter deep.
of the beam. Many of them were also equipped with a mast and a ratchet to sail.
Between the 16th and 18th centuries, the crew of the boats was made up of eight sailors: the
harpooner at the bow, the steersman at the stern, and six rowers. Inside the vessel they had
of the necessary equipment to hunt whales: harpoons, bleeding instruments, and javelins or spears. In the
approaching cetaceans, silence was fundamental to avoid scaring them away, but once
herded them to the shore, scaring them with noise (especially the species more...
small ones, cauldrons, belugas, etc.). The total crew was 46 or 47 men divided among various
chalupas, armed with iron harpoons that were thrown by hand and drained it of blood until
that was dying, then it was tied up and dragged to the beach to be butchered and its fat melted down for
sell it as oil, fuel, etc.
The job of harpooner was the most prominent among the seamen. "Some Galician harpooners
they did almost unbelievable things in other places, like hunting two whales at once using two
You catch or trap a cetacean by towing another already dead alongside the boat.
The ports had to adapt to the needs of the new catches: ramps, facilities
broader for dismemberment, ovens... and from there ships were chartered to
transport the barrels with whale fat to the Basque ports and the meat was transported
fins, the beards or ambergris for their different uses.