B5
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2021
Whaling: Crowds came to
watch whales be processed
TOP: A crowd watches a whale be processed.
LEFT: Mark Dozier processes a humpback whale.
Continued from Page B1
The Tom & Al was out-
fi tted with a harpoon gun
that BioProducts purchased
from Norway. The cannon
was equipped with a 200
pound bomb-headed har-
poon, which was designed
to detonate after hitting its
target to expedite a whale’s
death. Frank Parker and
Eben Parker’s goal was to
run a more effi cient vessel
than the larger whaling oper-
ations that had shut down
after being unable to support
their crews.
From 1960 to 1965, Bio-
Products processed 13
whales from a range of spe-
cies living in the Pacifi c.
Chief chemist Lyle Anderson
reported that they harvested,
“three sperm whales and two
humpback whales in 1961,
one fi nback whale in 1962,
fi ve fi nback whales in 1963,
one sperm whale in 1964 and
one fi nback whale in 1965.”
The company strived to
use as many parts of a whale
as they could to minimize
waste. The meat was used
to fuel the mink farms and
a few pet food companies in
Oregon. Whale bones were
also ground up and used for
fertilizer. Whale oil was sent
to the Mt Hood Soap Co.,
which used it for various
types of laundry soap.
Crowds of locals came
to watch the whales be pro-
cessed, including an esti-
mated 1,000 people when
the fi rst whale (a 43-foot
sperm) was brought to the
plant. Mark Dozier, the com-
Fre
e
Est Fast
ima
tes
Call me
ti
Any
Jeff Hale Painting
•
•
•
•
Residential
Commercial
Cedar Roof Treatments
Exterior Repaint Specialist
Over 25 years local experience
503-440-2169
IT WAS ALSO DIFFICULT TO
TRANSPORT THE WHALES
AFTER THEY HAD BEEN HUNTED
HUNDREDS OF MILES AWAY FROM
THE MOUTH OF THE RIVER.
pany’s chief fl enser, became
a coastal celebrity because
of his ability to fl ense — or
strip the whales of their blub-
ber — so effi ciently.
BioProducts’
whaling
fi shery shut down in 1965
for a few diff erent reasons.
First and foremost, the busi-
ness was getting underway
toward the end of commer-
cial whaling in the U.S. The
market wasn’t profi table
anymore as synthetic alter-
natives to whale oil became
more common.
It was also diffi cult to
transport the whales after
they had been hunted hun-
dreds of miles away from
the mouth of the river. In the
time that it would take for the
Tom & Al to tow the whales
back to BioProducts for pro-
cessing, gases inside their
bodies sometimes putrefi ed
the meat to the point that it
was unusable.
Today, Bio-Oregon Pro-
tein is a subsidiary of Pacifi c
Seafood and continues to
transform fi sh and shellfi sh
(but not whales) into a vari-
ety of products. While the
history of commercial whal-
ing on the North Coast was
short-lived, it is yet another
window into what makes this
area unique.
Julia Triezenberg is an
educator at the Columbia
River Maritime Museum.
Jeff Hale,
Contractor
2021
GRADUATION
To honor and congratulate the Class of 2021
The Astorian is creating a graduation publication for our local high schools
that will publish on Tuesday, June 1st. This full-color publication will include
biographies and pictures of each valedictorian
Graduating high schools:
and salutatorian, name and photo of each 2019
JEWELL
graduate and special congratulation ads from
Saturday, June 12
local businesses, family and friends.
WARRENTON
To participate in this publication, contact
your sales representative today
503-325-3211
DEADLINE: THURSDAY, MAY 13
Friday, June 11
ASTORIA
Saturday, June 5
KNAPPA
Saturday, June 12
SEASIDE
Thursday, June 10
Our weekly ad in the Coast
Weekend is working well! We
have had customers come into
the shop saying they haven’t
been in to see us for a while,
and saw our ad in the paper, so
decided to stop in!
Kelly Mauer, owner
Gain Exposure.
Drive More Business.
Find New Customers.
Marketing assistance from the print & digital experts.
Talk to our customer success team today.
503.325.3211
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