Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
seals was indiscriminate - everything was targeted regardless of age and size. Initially, the
sealers killed the seals on the beaches, but subsequently chased them at sea using guns
rather than clubs. By the early 1820s, over one million Fur Seal skins were processed, and
over 90 vessels were based at South Georgia with as many as 3,000 men working onshore.
Later, sealers travelled further south to the South Shetlands to continue their work and
virtually eliminated the Fur Seal from this part of the Antarctic. Further afield, sealers were
reported to be operating in a range of sub-Antarctic islands, including Prince Edward,
Macquarie, and Crozet.
Elephant Seals were hunted, in contrast to the Fur Seal, for their oil, which was rendered
from their blubber. The oil was used for lighting, lubricant, and for leather preparation.
Islands such as South Georgia, Macquarie, and Heard were important killing grounds. Both
types of seals, fortunately for sealers, were easy to target because they formed discrete
colonies along the beaches. The breeding grounds were well established, easily locatable,
and, once the bull seals were killed, the rest of the colony was easily exploited. Between
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While hundreds of thousands of seals were killed, especially Fur and Elephant varieties,
the impact on the Antarctic ecosystem per se is harder to judge. Clearly, the extraction of a
major predator had implications for other species including krill, penguins, and fish. Seal
stocks did recover after 1910, in large part because of conservation measures and licensing
introduced in the British-controlled Falkland Islands Dependencies. Restrictions were
introduced in South Georgia, which meant that no more than 9,000 Elephant Seal bulls
could be killed in any one year within designated sealing areas. Closed seasons were
introduced and sealing colonies protected. Between the 1940s and the early 1960s, 250,000
seals were harvested, producing about 75,000 tons of oil. Studies conducted at the time
suggested that this level of extraction was sustainable. After 1964, sealing ceased at South
Georgia. Some exploratory sealing was carried out elsewhere, but nowhere near the
previous levels of exploitation witnessed in the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries.
Scientists monitoring seal populations in the Antarctic believe that the populations have
largely recovered, especially since the entry into force of the 1978 Convention for the
Conservation of Antarctic Seals, which introduced protective measures for a variety of seals
including the Elephant and Fur. Such has been the recovery of the Fur Seal population
around South Georgia that there is now concern about the destruction of tussock grass
inhabited by penguins and burrowing birds. Part of the difficult judgement to be made about
recovering species populations is understanding what kinds of environments islands such as
South Georgia enjoyed prior to the onset of sealing. Understanding ecosystem change in
places like South Georgia and the South Shetlands needs to take into account another major
commercial activity, whaling.
