Whaling Industry in Florida
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| Emily Jane, Nicole, and Otto outside the Thomas Macy Wharehouse, Nantuckt, MA. |
A few weeks ago Emily Jane and I, along with the Northwest region's coordinator Nicole, attended a photogrammetry workshop in Nantucket, MA. Although this is not a Conversations about Conferences, the workshop with the University of Florida's Preservation Institute Nantucket, and National Center for Preservation Technology and Training was phenomenal.
I always had a personal interest in the whaling industry after reading Moby Dick in high school and learning about the influences of whaling culture on the modern world. Starbucks whaling history is well known, but my favorite is Macy's Department Store. The red star logo is actually Mr. Macy's wrist tattoo he got after he was lost at sea on a whaling voyage.
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| 1856 Currier & Ives print of Harpooners going after a Right Whale |
Learning even more about the whaling industry lead me to question what about Florida's whaling past? We have Right Whales, strong maritime communities and industries- the perfect combination.
Right Whales were named so because they were the "right" type of whale to hunt. They are docile, need to surface to breathe, and float when killed. Right Whales migrate to the Florida Atlantic coast from December to March.
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| Tequesta Indians circa 16th century |
Although the exact details of the hunt are questioned by historians, it is at least known that the Tequesta did hunt for whales.
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| Right Whale and calf |
With no known industry during the 19th century, the remaining accounts of "whaling" are sporadic and were rare enough to make the local newspapers. In 1903 a whale was killed at Cedar Key, in 1916 fourteen whales beached themselves and were killed and processed for oil at Pablo Beach. The last account was in 1935 where a mother and calf were hunted. Only the calf was captured and towed to Fort Lauderdale.
Although Florida did not have an active whaling industry, they still required products made from whale oil. Lighthouses were historically measured using candlepower- how many candles it take to light the lighthouse. But this was not any candle, it was a specific spermaceti candle, or a candle made from a waxy substance found in Sperm Whales. So if a lighthouse has 200 candlepower, it would take 200 spermaceti candles.
Spermaceti candles were replaced by Kerosene at the turn of the century in most lighthouses, but the concept of candlepower is still used today. The items made from the product of of the whaling industry range from candles, to tennis rackets, to motor oil. Historically most people would benefit from products made by whales.
On a conservation note, it is estimated that there are 300- 350 Right Whales left in the world. Although there are protections, and no one currently hunts Right Whales, they are currently under threat from ship collisions, fishing nets, and pollution.
For further reading, check out my sources!
https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/5792/noaa_5792_DS1.pdf?
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/article1962769.html
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/whaling-history-whaling-america/
https://www.mysticseaport.org/voyage/files/2015/05/Vogel_morgan.pdf
http://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/endangered_species/cetaceans/about/right_whales/north_atlantic_right_whale/