Whaling in Breheim

Whaling is one of Breheim's primary maritime industries, and involves the hunting of whales as well as other Cetacea, primarily dolphins, narwhals and beluga whales, as well as Krakes. Breheimian Whaling has a long history, with the hunting of whales through fjord-traps being recorded as early as the 9th century. Commercial whaling fleets only began operating from Breheim in the late 18th century, during the Great Fat Shortage, and has been a major industry since. Modern Breheimian Whaling is dominated by three commercial entities, Johansen Whaling and Fisheries, the Nordbreheim Whaling Cooperative and Skrog Whaling Incorporated.

Historical Whaling

While the earliest records of Breheimians hunting whales date back to the 9th century, organized and long-term whaling only dates back to the 16th century. The earliest known method of Breheimian Whaling was through 'fjord traps', where sailors would drive whales into fjords and block the exit, with men on land harassing and firing on the whale with spears and arrows until the creature perished. A few accounts exist of noteable individuals in the Breheimian Medieval Ages who personally hunted whales from their ships on the open sea, but these accounts are few and far between. One noteable figure in early Breheimian Whaling, is Sigurd Krakejeger, who by the sagas lived in the 10th century in Geringsfjord, and slew two Krakes, one blue whale and twelve 'lesser' whales through six expeditions.

Historical Breheimian whaling, was generally grouped into two categories. One was what has been dubbed Village Whaling, exclusively by Fjord-Traps, and was largely organized by fishing villages when the opportunity arose. This was never a significant source of sustenance for Breheimians, although the slaying of a whale was often accompanied by a feast to use the sudden abundance that had arrived. The second category has been dubbed Royal Whaling or Honour Whaling, and was largely organized and led by prominent regional noblemen, or members of the royal household. Hunting a whale was viewed as akin to having taken glory in battle, and especially during times of peace the Crown Prince would organize and lead a whaling expedition to prove his mettle, such as King Oskar II. While Honour Whaling often also involved Fjord-Traps, the Whale Chase was also a known tactic, where primitive harpoons would be used to latch onto the whale, and through the weight of the ship lead it to exhaustion before slaying.

Commercial Whaling

Commercial Whaling in Breheim coincided with the Republican Revolution, and was personally supported and endorsed by the first President of the Republic, Johannes Sjøfarer. While early commercial whaling enterprises largely continued to employ Fjord-Trap tactics, these ranged further into the sea to spot and chase whales into the fjords, where company towers would open fire on the animal. Prominent companies in this early period of commercial whaling were Bartolt Johansen's Honorable Leviathan Company (the predecessor to the modern JWF) and Alfby Forum-Company of the Coast, although even these would be considered minor compared to modern Breheimian whaling enterprises.

Commercial Whaling is generally attributed to the driving force in Breheimian Arctic Imperialism, with whaling expeditions establishing whaling stations in terra nullius, largely uninhabitated islands, far ranging from Breheim proper. The first whaling station was the Norraøya Station, established before Breheim's full control of the area, in 1799 by Colonel Mats Larsen. Breheim now operates hundreds of whaling and coaling stations, and per the Whaling Regulation Act of 1923, all whaling stations are state-operated and has to give equal service to all Breheim-registered whaling and fishing companies.

While until the late 19th century whale-oil was the primary goal of commercial whaling, this shifted towards the production of edible meat, formerly seen as a byproduct, during the Great Fat Shortage of 1888-1891 when the government began subsidizing the whaling industry. This resulted in a dramatic increase in Breheim's whaling operations, as well as the first large-scale whaling fleets, consisting of a factory ship and up to dozens of hunter ships.

Several great innovations have been made by Breheim in pursuit of whales, such as the invention of the explosive harpoon in 1839, the rocket-propelled harpoon in 1866 and the whaling grenade, later also changed for military purposes, in 1871. Along with mining, tunnel infrastructure, the military and the film industry, whaling has been one of the primary driver of Breheimian innovation and invention in explosives.

Scale

Breheim annually hunts more than fifteen thousand whales, largely for domestic consumption and industry. Johansen Whaling and Fisheries typically hunt more than eight thousand whales per annum, while the recently established Nordbreheim Whaling Cooperative and Skrog Whaling Incorporated showed hunts of just shy of three thousand whales per annum each. The remainder of Breheimian Whaling is done by smaller, less industrialized companies, as well as by traditional Fjord-Traps still done by villages and local communities, and even the occasional traditionalist Honour Whaling expedition.

The JWF maintains five factory ships, while the NWC maintains two and SWI one. Breheimian Whaling Fleets typically range for six to eight months, and are fiercely competitive over certain routes despite government efforts to prevent outright hostility.

Controversies and Criticism

In the past decades, criticism of Breheim's commercial whaling has grown within the Republic, but remains limited. This criticism is largely concentrated in parts of Taranger, parts of Vestøy and Alfby (the only 'Whale-Free City' in Breheim).

Johansen Whaling and Fisheries came under threat in 2021, when the CEO and majority owner, Ragnar Johansen, underwent draconization. While the inciting incident that caused it has not been revealed by JWF, and there were demands to strip him as owner by the unions, civic societies and competitors, Ragnar Johansen successfully defended his ownership per the Anti-Discrimination Act. Following Johansen's draconization, the JWF has invested heavily into three new factory ships and are aggressively expanding Breheimian Whaling operations in international waters, but has also been accused of hunting within other nations' EEZ.

International Reactions

While there is limited domestic opposition to whaling, Breheim's whaling efforts have caused some issues with foreign nations.