On July 23rd, 1982 the International Whaling Commission voted to establish a moratorium on commercial whaling for the coastal and pelagic seasons during 1985-86. The moratorium remained in effect thereafter until further research was conducted. Biologists realized that whales reproduce slowly, so a halt on some whaling activities was to allow stocks to replenish. The moratorium did not halt the taking of whales under “scientific” or aboriginal sustenance permits.
James Iredell Waddell Born
On July 3rd, 1824 James Iredell Waddell was born in Pittsboro in Chatham County. Waddell served 20 years in the United States Navy prior to joining Confederate forces. He is best remembered as the captain of the commerce raider CSS Shenandoah. which among other accomplishments destroyed the New England based whaling fleet off Alaska in the summer of 1865.
Nancy Bound for Baltimore
On May 22nd, 1787 the schooner Nancy left the port of Beaufort under Captain Solomon Fuller with a cargo of whale oil destined for Baltimore, Maryland.
Right Whale Taken at Cape Lookout
On May 17th, 1876 the Beaufort Eagle newspaper reported that a large right whale was taken at Cape Lookout. The whale was reported to be 72 ft long. It’s bone and oil sold for $1664. This may have been a whale caught by the Cornell crew of Harkers Island.
Right Whale Taken at Cape Lookout
On May 17th, 1876 the Beaufort Eagle newspaper reported that a large right whale was taken at Cape Lookout. The whale was reported to be 72 ft long. It’s bone and oil sold for $1664. This may have been a whale caught by the Cornell crew of Harkers Island.
Mayflower Whale Killed off Shackleford Banks
On May 4th, 1876 whaling crews from Shackleford Banks attacked a pod of whales passing off Cape Lookout, .killing at least three–“Mayflower,” “Lady Hayes,” and “Haint Been Named Yet.” “Mayflower” became one of the state’s most famous cetaceans thanks to the fact that the whale’s skeleton spent more than a century on exhibit in the NC Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh.
Polly Departs Beaufort
On April 25th, 1789 the schooner Polly left the port of Beaufort under command of Captain Turner with several barrels of whale oil destined for the West Indies
Right Whale at Cape Lookout
On April 3rd,1898 a large female right whale was taken at Cape Lookout. This whale was accompanied by a calf which was not taken. The oil and baleen was valued at $1,000.
Right Whale Taken off Shackleford Banks
On March 20th, 1894 a 53-foot right whale was taken off Shackleford Banks in the vicinity of Wades Shore, approximately four miles east of Beaufort Inlet. There were three whales spotted that day, but only one was harvested. The crew captained by Joe Lewis was first to row aside the female right whale, allowing harpooner Mart Guthrie a clear shot. As the whale swam faster and farther from shore, another crew from Morehead City, this one captained by Mart Willis, joined in the chase to subdue the great animal. The whale produced 39 barrels of oil and 864 lbs of baleen valued at $1,900.
Right Whale Taken near Portsmouth
On March 19th, 1839 The Republican, a newspaper published in Washington, North Carolina, reported that a right whale was taken a few miles south of Portsmouth village. It produced 60 barrels of oil.
Today in North Carolina Marine Mammal and Whaling History 