New England
The commercial whaling fishery in the United States is thought to have begun in the 1650s with a series of contracts between See more

Whaling stations operated in Alaska and on the Canadian west coast. American Pacific Whaling Company, with headquarters in Victoria, British Columbia, operated ships and a plant in 1912 at Gray's Harbor, Washington with catcher ships ranging from … See more

A large number of crewmen on American, British, and other countries vessels that participated in whaling in the 19th century created scrimshaw. Scrimshaw is the practice of drawing … See more

The whaling industry was not homogenous in race, there were a multitude of vessels that consisted of majority Black and indigenous crews. … See more

Many Black and indigenous whalers did not participate in the industry by choice, many were slaves and indentured servants. The Privateer in Rhode Island held four black mariners and three were enslaved. These men were often referred to with derogatory … See more

In Alaska, bowhead whale and beluga whale hunts are regulated by the NMFS. In 2016 Alaskans caught 59 bowhead, two minke and one … See more

• Charles W. Morgan
• Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum
• Mystic Seaport
• New Bedford Whaling Museum
• New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park See more