Insights on Marine Mammals of the Wider Caribbean Sea Region (Including the Gulf of Mexico)

UNITED

NATIONS

Regional Workshop of Experts on the Development of the Marine Mammal Action Plan for the Wider Caribbean Region

Bridgetown, Barbados, 18-21 July 2005

INSIGHTS ON MARINE MAMMALS OF THE WIDER CARIBBEAN SEA REGION (INCLUDING THE GULF OF MEXICO).
DERIVED FROM WHALING HISTORY DOCUMENTS

Insights on Marine Mammals of the Wider Caribbean Sea Region (including the Gulf of Mexico) Derived from Whaling History Documents

Randall R. Reeves, Okapi Wildlife Associates, 27 Chandler Lane, Hudson, Quebec J0P 1H0, Canada

Abstract: The Wider Caribbean Sea region, defined as including the Gulf of Mexico and the Bahamas Islands, was among the places visited by American commercial whalers beginning in about 1760. For nearly a century and a half they hunted humpback whales around the West Indies and along the Spanish Main, and sperm whales and blackfish (pilot whales) in these and many other parts of the region. Voyage logbooks and other period documents provide a unique window into historical animal distribution and relative abundance. These types of records have been intensively examined previously for data on humpback whales, but not for insights on other marine mammal species in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. In the present paper, I summarize some aspects of the history of humpback and sperm whaling and suggest ways of improving baseline knowledge of the region’s marine mammal fauna through logbook studies. Insights gained could be relevant to: (1) the ongoing present-day fisheries for toothed whales in St. Vincent, St. Lucia and other islands, which are direct outgrowths of the early American open-boat fishery; (2) impact studies that are underway, particularly in the northern Gulf of Mexico, out of concern about the potential environmental effects of offshore oil and gas development; and (3) the possibilities of ‘scientific whaling’ (e.g. for resident Bryde’s whales) hinted at in documents recently circulated in the region by Japan. In addition to information on humpback, sperm, and pilot whales, logbooks can provide data on distribution and relative abundance of non-target species including ‘finback’ whales (as the Bryde’s whale and other Balaenoptera spp. were called by the early whalemen) and “cowfish” (as bottlenose dolphins were called).

Introduction

In their comprehensive summary of information on cetacean distribution (excluding bottlenose dolphins) in the Gulf of Mexico, Jefferson and Schiro (1997) cited Townsend’s (1935) classic whale charts, which show where American open-boat (pre-modern) whalers took sperm, humpback, right, and bowhead whales. After noting that Townsend’s data came from a large sample of whaling voyage logbooks, they concluded:

“… there are probably many more logbooks that have not been examined, and there is likely to be much other information in those that were examined by Townsend (1935). For instance, other large whales that were too quick to be primary targets of Yankee whalers (rorquals) and other species of small cetaceans were often mentioned in old whalers’ logbooks. Although species identification would be very difficult to verify for many of these records, there may be a number of records of highly distinctive species (such as Killer Whales) that could be extracted. Thus, these whaling logbooks represent a potentially valuable untapped source of data for analyses such as this.”

Indeed, a number of published studies have demonstrated the value of such documents, exactly as Jefferson and Schiro proposed. A series of investigations of humpback whale distribution and relative abundance in the Wider Caribbean Region (WCR) were based on logbooks and various types of colonial records, such as Blue Books (Mitchell and Reeves 1983; Reeves et al. 2001a, 2001b). The concept of using logbooks to gain insights on historical distribution and movements of non-target species (e.g. blue and killer whales) has also been developed, albeit to a very limited extent (Reeves and Mitchell 1988; Reeves et al. 2004). The purpose of the present paper is to review some aspects of historical whaling in the WCR and to identify opportunities for further examinations of historical whaling documents to obtain insights on marine mammals in the region.

Period and Extent of Whaling

Establishing exactly when American whalers began whaling in the WCR is difficult, but some vessels were whaling there by at least the 1760s. For example, a Nantucket whaling sloop was seized by a privateer from the French West Indies while cruising near the Leeward Islands in 1762 (Starbuck 1878:41); a decade later, three Dartmouth (Massachusetts) whaling vessels and another from Martha’s Vineyard were taken by the Spanish coast guard off the south side of Hispaniola (Ibid.:53). As for when American open-boat whaling ended, some effort continued until well into the 20th century. Although they no longer hunted humpbacks, New Bedford vessels were still going to the West Indies and Gulf of Mexico in pursuit of sperm whales and blackfish in the early 1920s. Thus, the entire period of American whaling in the WCR spanned nearly 160 years.

Commander Wilkes of the U.S. Exploring Expedition (in Clark 1887a:14) described the world’s sperm whaling grounds in 1840 as including: north of the Bahamas Banks, in the Gulf of Mexico, in the Caribbean Sea, and to the eastward of the Windward Islands. He described (Ibid.:15) a typical itinerary as follows: After cruising clockwise round the North Atlantic and sometimes also the South Atlantic, and passing northward along the South American coast to the Windward Islands, the American whalers “frequent[ed] the Caribbean Sea in the months of January and February, and farther to the westward off the peninsula of Yucatan and Cuba in April; after which time they proceed[ed] through the Gulf of Mexico to cruise off the Bahama Banks and Cape Hatteras in May.” Townsend (1935) stated, “Sperm whaling in the Gulf of Mexico and West Indies regions was practiced to a very limited extent during the season from February to May only.” Wilkes further noted that the southwesterly part of the Charleston Ground (28º-33ºN, 67º-78ºW) was sometimes called The Bahamas. Although Clark (1887a:15-16) claimed that right whales were found in winter months on the Hatteras Ground and in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, it seems doubtful in retrospect that the latter two areas were major areas for right whaling. The main targets of the American whalers in the WCR were limited, according to my reading of logbooks as well as information from the literature, to sperm whales, humpback whales, and “blackfish” (the last referring mainly if not entirely to short-finned pilot whales).

The Provincetown (Massachusetts) fleet, consisting mainly of schooners, confined its activities to the Atlantic Ocean. The Provincetown whalers visited the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico regularly throughout much of the 19th century (Atwood in Clark 1887a:144-145; Mitchell and Reeves 1983). American whalers, most of them from Provincetown and other Massachusetts ports (e.g., New Bedford, Boston, Edgartown, Westport, Dartmouth, Rochester), killed at least several thousand “West Indies” humpback whales between the 1830s and 1880s, the vast majority in the eastern and southern Caribbean (Reeves et al. 2001b; Smith and Reeves 2003a). These whales were in addition to the humpbacks killed from shore stations in Trinidad and the Windward Islands, which probably would have totaled an additional several thousand from the 1820s to early 1900s (Reeves and Smith 2002).

Sperm Whale Catch History

The catch history of sperm whales in the Atlantic Ocean and its adjacent seas has not been examined on a basin-wide scale, although a strategy for such a study is being developed (see Smith and Reeves 2003b). A large database of whaling voyage data, with good spatial and temporal resolution, has been assembled under the direction of T.D. Smith at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

Townsend’s charts (1935) show relatively small clusters of sperm whale catch positions in various parts of the WCR, including the northern end of the Bahamas chain (April to October), along the Greater and Lesser Antilles (March to May), in the north-central and southeastern Gulf of Mexico (March to July), and in the south-central Caribbean (April to May). These may point to “hotspots” of occurrence for the species, but further logbook sampling is needed before reaching any conclusions in that regard.

I have examined many logbooks systematically for data on North Atlantic right whales and humpback whales. Some of them contained data on sperm whales in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, but due to time constraints there was no opportunity to extract and analyze such data. The casual notations on my worksheets are nevertheless sufficient to demonstrate the potential value of doing so (Table 1).

Blackfish Catch History

Caldwell and Caldwell (1971) considered that there was a direct historical connection between the activities of the American open-boat whalers of the 18th and 19th centuries, and the ongoing, shore-based blackfish hunting in the southern Caribbean. They noted, citing Clark (1887b), that Yankee whalers took blackfish (and other small cetaceans) “for fresh meat and oil to be utilized aboard ship.” While this may be true, some voyages were sent out of Provincetown explicitly to obtain blackfish oil, returning with 50-200 barrels of this commercially valuable product (Ibid.). In fact, blackfishing was a widespread ancillary activity of the entire American whaling fleet, and blackfish oil was frequently either landed and sold alongside the regular cargo, or used to pay for provisions during the voyage. Chasing and killing blackfish on an opportunistic basis was a typical feature of whaling for humpbacks and sperm whales in the WCR (Table 1). There is ample scope and opportunity for informative logbook studies of short-finned pilot whale occurrence in much of the WCR.

“Finbacks”

To my knowledge, no focused, systematic study of historical whaling logooks for information on “finback” whales has been attempted. This is despite the fact that many logbooks contain references to observations, and occasionally strikes or kills, of these whales (Table 1). Of course, a significant problem is that the 19th century American whalemen made no distinction among the large Balaenoptera species, apart from their designation of the blue whale as “sulphurbottom.” Therefore, I have long assumed that the term “finback” in a logbook refers to a fin, sei, or Bryde’s whale. For a region like the WCR, where modern whaling results and sightings surveys are generally lacking, and therefore very little is known about the occurrence, distribution, and relative abundance of these species (Mead 1977), insights on where seasonal or year-round concentrations of “finback” whales were encountered may prove useful, even if most of the records prove unassignable to species. Materials recently circulated to Caribbean officials by Japanese whaling interests hint at the future possibility of “scientific” whaling in the region (cf. Gales et al. 2005). The Bryde’s whale, as the only baleen species present in significant numbers and likely present year-round in the WCR, and known to be piscivorous in parts of its range (sampling fish-eating whales has been used as one rationale for “scientific” whaling in the North Pacific), seems a candidate target for such initiatives. In this context, an updated review of “finback” occurrence in the WCR, incorporating both published and unpublished (e.g., logbook) data, would seem timely and proactive.

Other Small and Medium-sized Toothed Whales

There is some possibility of gaining useful insights on the occurrence of small and medium-sized toothed whales from whaling logbooks. However, the problem of nomenclature is even more serious for them than it is for “finbacks.” As an example, Charles M. Scammon (1874), the most literate of all American 19th century whalemen, provided a glossary of whaler names for “dolphins” of the North Pacific that only partially coheres with modern taxonomy and nomenclature. He attributed the names blackfish, killer, white-headed or mottled grampus, and bay porpoise to the same genera that a modern biologist would – namely, Globicephala, Orcinus, Grampus, and Phocoena, respectively. In addition, however, he assigned cowfish to Tursiops, and referred to such things as “bottle-nosed grampus,” “square-headed grampus,” and “brown-sided dolphin” without giving any guidance on what their modern names might be. (The French zoologist Gervais added to the confusion by associating the name cowfish with the genus Mesoplodon.)

Conclusions

Just as extensive historical research on humpback whaling has improved understanding of that species’ distribution, pre-exploitation abundance, and present status, opportunities exist for using logbooks to learn more about other cetacean species in the WCR, notably the sperm whale, Bryde’s whale, and short-finned pilot whale. Improved knowledge about the history of whaling in the region can be expected to inform the management issues that apply, or soon may apply, to these three species – potential disturbance from oil and gas development, “scientific” whaling, and ongoing artisanal hunting, respectively. It might also provide guidance to scientists and managers designing research programs, and enrich the experiences of people who come to the region to watch and enjoy live whales and dolphins in the present day.

Literature Cited

Caldwell, D.K. and Caldwell, M.C. 1971. Porpoise fisheries in the southern Caribbean – present utilizations and future potentials. Proceedings of the 23rd Annual Session of the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute:195-206.

Clark, A.H. 1887a. The whale-fishery. In G.B. Goode (ed.), The fisheries and fishery industries of the United States. Section V. History and methods of the fisheries. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. Part XV:3-293.

Clark, A.H. 1887b. The blackfish and porpoise fisheries. In G.B. Goode (ed.), The fisheries and fishery industries of the United States. Section V. History and methods of the fisheries. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. Part XVI:295-310.

Gales, N.J., T. Kasuya, P.J. Clapham, and R.L. Brownell Jr. 2005. Japan’s whaling plan under scrutiny. Nature 435:883-884.

Jefferson, T.A. and Schiro, A.J. 1997. Distribution of cetaceans in the offshore Gulf of Mexico. Mammal Review 27:27-50.

Mead, J.G. 1977. Records of sei and Bryde’s whales from the Atlantic coast of the United States, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean. Report of the International Whaling Commission (Species Issue) 1:113-116.

Mitchell, E. and Reeves, R.R. 1983. Catch history, abundance, and present status of northwest Atlantic humpback whales. Report of the International Whaling Commission (Special Issue) 5:153-212.

Reeves, R.R., Kahn, J.A., Olsen, R.R., Swartz, S.L. and Smith, T.D. 2001a. History of whaling in Trinidad and Tobago. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 3:45-54.

Reeves, R.R. and Mitchell, E. 1988. Killer whale sightings and takes by American pelagic whalers in the North Atlantic. Rit Fiskideildar 11:7-23.

Reeves, R.R. and Smith, T.D. 2002. Historical catches of humpback whales in the North Atlantic Ocean: an overview of sources. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 4:219-234.

Reeves, R.R., Smith, T.D., Josephson, E.A., Clapham, P.J. and Woolmer, G. 2004. Historical observations of humpback and blue whales in the North Atlantic Ocean: clues to migratory routes and possibly additional feedings grounds. Marine Mammal Science 20:774-786.

Reeves, R.R., Swartz, S.L., Wetmore, S.E. and Clapham, P.J. 2001b. Historical occurrence and distribution of humpback whales in the eastern and southern Caribbean Sea, based on data from American whaling logbooks. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 3:117-129.

Scammon, C.M. 1874. The marine mammals of the north-western coast of North America, … together with an account of the American whale-fishery. John H. Carmany and Co., New York.

Smith, T.D. and Reeves, R.R. 2003a. Estimating American 19th century catches of humpback whales in the West Indies and Cape Verde Islands. Caribbean Journal of Science 39:286-297.

Smith, T.D. and Reeves, R.R. (eds.) 2003b. Design of a program of research on sperm whale catch history: results of a workshop. Available from the History of Maine Animal Populations, Census of Marine Life, Southern Denmark University:

Starbuck, A. 1878. History of the American Whale Fishery from its Earliest Inception to the Year 1876. Report of the U.S. Fish Commission 4, 1875-6, Appendix A.

Townsend, C.H. 1935. The distribution of certain whales as shown by logbook records of American whaleships. Zoologica 19:1-50, 4 charts.

Table 1. Illustrative features of some American whaling logbooks.

Ship, port, year sailed / Period in WCS / Area(s) / Activities / Catches or observations
Annawan, Rochester, 1836 / Jan-Apr 37 / Windwards, Trinidad, Venezuela, Greater Antilles, Samana Bay, SE Gulf of Mexico / Humpbacking, sperming, blackfishing / Struck several humpbacks (incl. cow/calf pairs), saw finbacks between Antigua and Montserrat, took at least 13 blackfish, several sperms, 1 cowfish, saw grampus
Two Sisters, Rochester, 1839 / Feb 1840 / St. Lucia, Greater Antilles / Sperming, blackfishing / (RRR did not record)
Theophilus Chase, Westport, 1842 / March-? 43 / Greater Antilles, Gulf of Mexico / Sperming / (RRR did not record)
President, Westport, 1843 / Apr 44 / Puerto Rico / Spent a short period sperming, blackfishing en route home from S Atlantic / (RRR did not record)
Esquimaux, Provtn, 1843 / Apr 43 / Greater Antilles, Virgin Islands / Sperming, blackfishing / (RRR did not record)
Wm A. Grozier, Provtn, 1866 / Feb-Aug 66 / Lesser and Greater Antilles, Trinidad, S Bahamas, Gulf of Mexico / Humpbacking, sperm whaling, blackfishing / Many humpbacks (incl. cow/calf pairs), 9 blackfish in Mona Passage,
" / Apr-June 65 / St Eustatia, Cuba, Greater Antilles / Humpbacking (desultory), sperming, blackfishing / (RRR did not record)
Star Castle, Fairhaven, 1867 / Jan-May 68 / Mainly Venezuela / Humpbacking / Took many humpbacks, saw finbacks once
E.B. Conwell, Provtn, 1869 / Feb-May 69 / Venezuela, Samana Bay, Gulf of Mexico / Humpbacking, sperming, blackfishing / Many humpbacks (others not recorded by RRR)
Alleghania, Provtn, 1870 / Mar-May 70 / Windwards, Blanquilla, Venezuela, Panama, Jamaica / Humpbacking, sperming, blackfishing / Struck a humpback, took at least 7 blackfish
F.H. Moore, Boston, 1873 / May 73-Apr 74 / Greater Antilles, Florida Keys, Bahamas / Sperming, blackfishing / (RRR did not record)
Rising Sun, Provtn, 1875 / Apr-May 75 / Mariegalante / Mainly humpbacking / Took several humpbacks, 1 or 2 sperms
Union, NB, 1875 / Mar-May 76 / Barbados, Jamaica, Gulf of Mexico / Sperming, blackfishing / (RRR did not record)
E.H. Hatfield, Provtn, 1876 / Feb-July 76 / Greater Antilles, S Bahamas, Gulf of Mexico, Key West / Sperming, blackfishing, humpbacking (desultory) / Took at least 14 blackfish and 10 sperms (in Gulf)
Rising Sun, Provtn, 1879 / Apr 79 / Barbuda, St. Martens, St. Barts, Sombrero / Humpbacking / Saw school of “sharp nose blackfish”
C.L. Sparks, Provtn, 1879 / Mar-May 80 / Windwards, Greater Antilles / Humpbacking / Saw several finbacks between St. Vincent and Barbados
Union, NB, 1882 / Feb-May 82 / St. Lucia, Dominica / Humpbacking, blackfishing / Struck and took many humpbacks and at least 4 blackfish
Union, NB, 1882 / Feb-May 83 / St. Lucia, Dominica / Humpbacking, blackfishing / Took at least 3 humpbacks and 9 blackfish
Franklin, NB, 1883 / Mar-Jun 84 / St Lucia / Humpacking, blackfishing / Several humpbacks (incl. cow/calf pairs), 7 blackfish, 1 killer whale
" / Mar-Apr 85 / St Lucia / Humpbacking / (RRR did not record)
E.B. Conwell, Provtn, 1885 / Jan-Mar 86 / Greater Antilles, Bahamas / Mainly blackfishing / Took 27 blackfish
" / May 87 / Greater Antilles / Sperming, blackfishing / (RRR did not record)
E.B. Conwell, Provtn, 1889 / Feb-Apr 90 / Puerto Rico Trench (Sombrero Is.) / Humpbacking / Saw finbacks twice
E.B. Conwell, Provtn, 1890 / Jan-Feb 91 / Greater Antilles, Cuba, Gulf of Mexico / Sperming, blackfishing / (RRR did not record)

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