Deplete Locally, Impact Globally: Environmental History of Shore- Whaling in Barbados, W.I.~!2009-07-26~!2010-01-01~!2010-04-06~!

Abstract

Abstract:We give a detailed history of the exploitation of marine mammals in Barbados, which focused almost exclusively on humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). We have reconstructed this history to better understand the impacts of human activities on the marine environment. Based on historical data, we demonstrate that whaling was a marginal activity financed by local elites who found it easy to transfer labor and tools from agricultural activities to shorewhaling. In spite of its marginal status, this activity not only depleted the local population of whales in a relatively short period of time, it also contributed to the species' global decline. Today, humpbacks can be considered locally absent. Barbados, like other former British colonies, exploited marine mammals through shore-whaling, unlike many Latin American nations, which pursued dolphin fisheries. Barbadian shore-whaling, like many other marine mammal exploitation practices elsewhere in the Caribbean, was heavily influenced by industrialized nations. This history provides important clues for whale management and recovery.

Slaves to Sailors: the archaeology of traditional Caribbean shore whalingc.1850-2000. A case study from Barbados and Bequia (St Vincent Grenadines)

“…Over the next few years, whalers visited a whole range of Caribbean islands reaching as far south as Trinidad and Tobago and the coast of Venezuela (Romero, 2012: fig. By the end of the 19th century, Yankee whalers had imparted knowledge of whaling techniques to Caribbean fishermen, who had often also served as replacement crew members, on Windward Islands such as St Vincent and Bequia (Adams, 1971;Kannada, 2006 passim), Grenada (Romero and Hayford, 2000), Dominica (Price, 1985) St Lucia (Reeves, 1988), and Barbados (Romero and Creswell, 2010). It was a farreaching socio-cultural maritime phenomenon that had a profound impact upon the development of the island economies.…”

“…The London Times of 24 April 1867 mentions the establishment of the whaling concern here, presumably as a direct result of contact with Yankee whalers, by an un-named individual, that was then sold on to a C. Jordan in 1869, an important local merchant family (historical sources after Brown, 1942;Creswell, 2002, passim;Romero and Creswell, 2010; and interviews with local residents Clement Armstrong, Adrian Roach and Karl Watson). The London Times of 24 April 1867 mentions the establishment of the whaling concern here, presumably as a direct result of contact with Yankee whalers, by an un-named individual, that was then sold on to a C. Jordan in 1869, an important local merchant family (historical sources after Brown, 1942;Creswell, 2002, passim;Romero and Creswell, 2010; and interviews with local residents Clement Armstrong, Adrian Roach and Karl Watson).…”

“…We have descriptions of four 25-30 foot long (7.5-9 m) open boats, powered by sail and oar, which were kept on davits on the actual jetties ready for rapid launching when the whales were spotted (Romero and Creswell, 2010). We have descriptions of four 25-30 foot long (7.5-9 m) open boats, powered by sail and oar, which were kept on davits on the actual jetties ready for rapid launching when the whales were spotted (Romero and Creswell, 2010).…”

“…It was a farreaching socio-cultural maritime phenomenon that had a profound impact upon the development of the island economies. By the end of the 19th century, Yankee whalers had imparted knowledge of whaling techniques to Caribbean fishermen, who had often also served as replacement crew members, on Windward Islands such as St Vincent and Bequia (Adams, 1971;Kannada, 2006 passim), Grenada (Romero and Hayford, 2000), Dominica (Price, 1985) St Lucia (Reeves, 1988), and Barbados (Romero and Creswell, 2010). In Trinidad and Tobago, further southwards, however, the industry developed without any obvious external influence, as there was an indigenous active shore-whaling tradition prior to the advent of Yankee whaling there in the 1830s (Romero et al, 2002).…”

“…From the 19th century, Speightstown became an important centre for shore-based whaling, largely as a result of the collapse of the plantation system and the re-focusing of mercantile interest on shipbuilding, and whaling. The London Times of 24 April 1867 mentions the establishment of the whaling concern here, presumably as a direct result of contact with Yankee whalers, by an un-named individual, that was then sold on to a C. Jordan in 1869, an important local merchant family (historical sources after Brown, 1942;Creswell, 2002, passim;Romero and Creswell, 2010; and interviews with local residents Clement Armstrong, Adrian Roach and Karl Watson). Another concern was set up next to the Jordan's operation, which passed into the ownership of A. Skinner.…”