Through the 19th century and into the mid-20th, whaling was among the most important maritime activities in the Azores. Men from São Jorge, like those from other islands in the central triangle, shipped on whalers that pursued sperm whales across the North Atlantic.
Hunting the sperm whale
Azorean whalers chiefly hunted the sperm whale (*Physeter macrocephalus*), valued for the oil in its flesh (*spermaceti*) used in lamps, soap and lubricants. Hunts were carried out in oar-and-sail boats, with harpoons thrown by hand — a trade of great danger demanding strength, courage and knowledge of animal behaviour.
When a sperm whale was taken, the body was towed ashore or processed aboard. Oil was extracted in shore-side tryworks; meat and bone had other uses. On São Jorge, as on neighbouring islands, whole communities depended on this seasonal economy.
Life at sea and ashore
Voyages lasted weeks or months. Whalers left families on the fajãs and in the towns, praying for a safe return. Money from oil paid debts, married daughters and invested in small rural holdings — but each season carried the risk of not coming home.
From whale oil to canned tuna
As the whaling industry declined — whale oil replaced by petroleum products and international protection of species — men of the sea sought new livelihoods. Tuna fishing and the canning industry absorbed many of those families in the 20th century, in a transition that shaped Azorean maritime economy.
Memory
Whaling museums on neighbouring islands preserve boats, harpoons and photographs of that era. On São Jorge, memory of the whalers lives in family stories and in the continuing bond with the sea told in Fishing and the Sea.