The Azores are located in the centre of the vast Atlantic Ocean. It is in this island space, composed by nine volcanic islands, that several species of cetaceans pass, among them the majestic whale. There are 81 species of cetaceans in the world and 28 of these are identified in the Azores.
The whaling industry was introduced, in the Azores, through American roots. Whale hunting, more specifically sperm whales, started in the 18th century. The North Americans, from New England, with sailboats called Yankees, were the first to hunt whales in Azorean waters. After hunting, all the animal’s material was transformed and used.
The choice of the species to be hunted, in this case, the sperm whale, was due a lot to the fact that the sperm whale, after harpooned and killed, remained floating in the waters of the sea. This allowed the animal to be towed to the coast of the island where, in an easier and more effective way, it would then proceed to its proper processing.
The fat was transformed into oil and this was exported abroad to be used as fuel and lubricant. It was also used in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry, in the manufacture of soaps and in the manufacture of perfumes. As for bones, they were transformed into flour, which served as fertilizer or cattle feed. If amber was found inside the sperm whale, hunting was even more valuable, as this is a product of some rarity and its commercial value is high.
The whalers were farmers all year round and only during the months when sperm whales were passing by were they engaged in whale hunting.
When the sperm whales were spotted by a lookout – a person who stayed at a lookout to see the sea – he would blow a conch or launch a rocket and the men would run to the port to prepare the whaling boats and start the hunt. The Azorean whaling boat, of American inspiration, is a unique and beautiful boat due to its aerodynamic construction.
The whale hunt sees its end in the ’80s of 1900. In 1989, through the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitat, was created the regulation that prohibited the capture of mammal species in Portugal. Thus was born Whale Watching. In this way, whale watching was allowed to keep alive the whale culture in the Azores. This is one of the activities that has grown the most and has already become one of the symbols of Azorean culture. Whaling boats have been recovered, factories transformed into museums and whale watching areas are still used for the same purpose.
