Brutal and Sad Facts About Whaling That More People Should Know About

26. Was Lucrative During The Olden Days But Not For Whalers

Whale oil, spermaceti, and ambergris were some of the most money-making items that were retrieved from whales. Whaling was a labor and skill-intensive job that required a big enough crew.

The problem was, it’s not easy to spot whales and much harder to catch them. Whalers were gone for months at sea and this required food, equipment, medicines, fuel, and all this cost money.

So, whalers would sell them to buyers who would then produce luxurious final goods but left the whalers with no claim to the profits. Most of what the whalers got, was usually spent.