Chimney Sweep

A quick historical past of Pacific whaling | Coastal Life

The Yankee whalers had a devastating impact on the Pacific's marine mammals, cleaning out one whale, seal and otter nose after another. According to Walter Sheldon Tower's “A History of the American Whale Fishery” (1907), the impact multiplied after the discovery of the major whaling areas on the northwest coast in 1838.

When the highly lucrative Arctic whaling began in 1848, whalers began settling on this side of the continent, primarily from California. With the advent of railroads after the Civil War, San Francisco effectively became the whaling capital of the country, as whale oil from the far north could be landed there and then quickly shipped east by rail.

Aside from that, the presence of northern whaling ships led to the Pacific Coast's only nautical involvement in the Civil War, when the CSS Shenandoah sailed into high Arctic waters and captured many whalers. Unbeknownst to Lee's surrender on April 9, 1865, the Shenandoah fired the final shots of the war in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska between June 22 and 28, 1865.

Smaller operations continued into the 20th century, including the American Pacific Whaling Co., which wintered in Meydenbauer Bay on Lake Washington, now part of Bellevue.

Locally, Bioproducts Inc. of Oregon moved out of Warrenton and killed about 13 whales between 1960 and 1965 – including two humpbacks. The meat was sold to feed chickens and fur farm minks. For reasons no longer readily apparent, NASA used lubricating oil as part of the Mercury space program, but most of it was sold to the Mt. Hood Soap Co.

One participant's son recalled that minced whale meat tasted just like hamburger.

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