July 30, 1924
Commercial Fisherman Harvesting
Porpoise in the Ocean
Ocean travelers are familiar with the sight of schools of
porpoise leaping and diving around their boats. Porpoise are a source of
lubrication oil for watches that meets the delicate requirements is to be
found in the jaw pans of the porpoise. To supply the demand for porpoise oil
some 3,000 porpoise have been caught annually. They weigh from 300 to 600
pounds each and sometimes reach 12 feet in length. The fisherman extracts
the crude oil from the fat in the jaw and sells it to a refining plant in
New England for $50 gallon. |
