ABSTRACT
Sperm whaling – hunting the largest of the toothed whales, the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) – occurred historically in two major phases. Both phases used essentially the same technology as other whaling on the large baleen whales, such as right, blue, fin and humpback. The first phase, ‘primitive’ or ‘open-boat’ whaling, employing hand-held harpoons and lances, was only possible on the relatively slow swimming right, humpback and sperm whales. The second phase, ‘modern whaling’, using explosive-tipped harpoons mounted on fast catcher boats, allowed the additional pursuit of the faster swimming species, such as blue and fin whales.
