Historical exploitation of marine mammals in the argentinian patagonia

AGUILAR, A.; BORRELL, A.; CRESPO, E.A.

Congreso; 26rd. ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE EUROPEAN CETACEAN SOCIETY; 2012

Current status of populations cannot be properly understood unless knowledge on the history of removals is available. We have worked on historical documentation to ascertain when and where exploitation occurred, what species were targeted and what was the magnitude of the catches. Exploitation of marine mammals in the area developed through three well-differentiated operations: The first one started in 1790 with the activities of the Spanish Real Compañía Marítima which initially targeted whales but soon shifted to sea lions and fur seals. Their pioneering expeditions were followed by a period of sparse exploitation by both Spaniards and locals that continued up to the end of the 19th century; information on these activities is mostly preserved in Spain?s historical archives and, although references are abundant, they contain insufficient detail to allow proper quantification of removals. A second operation was undertaken by non-Spanish expeditions, mostly British and American, that sailed along the coast taking both whales and pinnipeds. They started soon after the Spanish operations and peaked between 1820 and 1870. The fact that they did not have a base on land favoured the existence and preservation of vessel logbooks recording details of catches. Documentation on these expeditions is mostly available in American and British archives. Finally, a third operation developed approximately during 1920-1950 and mostly targeted fur seals and elephant seals; it consisted in well-organized land-based operations whose documentation, of varying quality, is preserved in Argentinian or international archives. Research funded by Fundación BBVA