At the beginning of the 20th century, the cetaceans of the Strait of Gibraltar] They were not used as a tourist attraction as they are currently. Instead, they were persecuted and hunted for their commercial and industrial use.
Whale meat was sold, and the amount of meat obtained was so great that, sometimes, It was distributed free of charge in the Campo de Gibraltar. Fat was melted to obtain oil for fuel and lighting, It was also used to make margarine., soaps, candles and paintings; with viscera and bones, feed and fertilizers were manufactured; and with beards, umbrella ribs, corsets or canes; Even their excrement was used to dye the sails of ancient ships.. Sperm whales were very valuable for having a whitish wax., spermaceti, which was used for various cosmetic and pharmaceutical products.
This entire whaling industry developed in the area in two periods, the first since the year of its foundation 1920 until the 1927 and the other in the fifties until the 1963, year in which it was closed. The whaling facilities were located in the Getares cove and today, still, we can see his remains.
Currently, commercial whaling is prohibited; hence, the only catches of cetaceans that occur in [in the Strait] are made with the cameras of tourists, in the sighting boats that operate in the area.
