The Gulf of Maine Oil Business – a Century Ago

Gooden Grant and the Giant Right Whale

I was poking around my library this weekend and among the treasures I took home was the June, 1974 edition of now defunct “Oceans”, one of my favorite magazines – good content and good design that holds up to today’s computer driven slicks. There, tucked away in an article about 98 year old Gooden Grant, the last old time fishermen from Head Harbor, Isle au Haut, was a description of a right whale that had drifted into the Harbor. The whole article gives a brilliant portrait of life one hundred years ago, but the whale tale was particularly revealing as it spoke to the continued pressure right whales have suffered along our Gulf of Maine coast for hundred of years.

Towed a whale in here to blubber him. Big whale, right whale, eighty-ninety feet long. Big as a mountain that fellow. Always thirty or forty fellas in here waiting for the weather. Happened to be an old whaler in here on a vessel, a mackerel catcher. He’d been around the Horn a good many times on whaling ships you know. They looked that big whale over and couldn’t see what killed him.

The old fellow come ashore and ‘Well,’ he said. ‘That whale right there’s got a bomb lance in him. That’s one of the best whales there is in the ocean. That’s one they pride themselves on. What they call a right whale,’ he says.

There was some laughed at him so he called for a ladder. Just to see the fun they fetched it for him. Had to be a long ladder and they put it up on the whale.

He went off and put his oil clothes on and came back with his own box of knives and sharp lances. He climbed aboard the head and started cutting in right around the blowhole.

He ripped up about a fifteen-foot-long piece of blubber and then he carved himself right in out of sight. We couldn’t see him unless we climbed up too. He cut himself right in along the backbone, said he was following the wound of the lance.

By and by he held a ten-foot harpoon in his hand. The old man climbed down and handed the harpoon to me. He took off his oilskins and nobody laughed at him again. My father had the lance on exhibition for years.

You can hear a song about Gooden here and access an interview about Gooden and his neighbours here.

Quote and photo from Gooden Grant Isle au Haut, Oceans, Vol. 7, No. 3, May-June, 1974. Copyright Lynn Franklin, 1972. Currier & Ives print of “A New England Whaler” from Wikipedia.com. Creative Commons License.

Ooops! Sorry Sierra Club Newbies!

A couple of nights ago, the Quoddy Group of the Atlantic Chapter of the Sierra Club of Canada was formed at the new Quoddy Learning Centre building near St. Stephen, NB.

The Quoddy Region includes both Canada and the United States and forms the border between Maine and New Brunswick. Consequently, this new group will represent the interests of this whole area; a truly international coalition.

Proven to have the highest biodiversity on Canada’s east coast and supporting nearly 3,000 documented marine species, the Quoddy Region is a critical “engine” for the northern Gulf of Maine and Bay of Fundy and supports many listed species.

In the process of discussing likely issues of interest, Right Whales came up of course since this is the summer home for many of these endangered whales. While trying to convince the folks to include other listed cetaceans like Fin Whales and Porpoise, I alluded to the Right Whale as being the somewhat ugly and not-so-bright poster child of cetacean protection efforts; the species that gets all of the attention. As someone who has worked with marine mammals and other marine species in the Bay of Fundy for many years, I know that Right Whales have no common sense whatsoever when dealing with human in boats. Also once you have seen the crawling masses of parasitic copepods on their calluosities, beauty moves to the background. Nevertheless, they MUST have our protection to survive as a species. It’s a given. However, other sleeker and brighter species that seem to be able to take care of themselves do not, for some reason, attract the same attention as their ugly, dumb cousin.

We need to protect all of these fabulous creatures … ugly or beautiful!

That’s the way I see it,

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Check out the Action

If you are interested in whales and what’s happening in the Quoddy Region this summer, there is no better place that Daniell Dion’s Blog

Also Joyce Morrell from Campobello has some great photos of people, boats, and whales at Head Harbour (East Quoddy) Lighthouse. Check out “Whale Magic” and some great fog shots at www.bayoffundy.ca

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