The following tabular view will present to the reader the number and class of vessels engaged in the whale fishery, belonging to their respective places in the United States, as reported in the "Whaleman's Shipping List and Merchant's Transcript" for October, 1856:—
| Places. | Ships. | Barks. | Brigs. | Sch'rs. | Total. | Tonn. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Bedford | 209[*] | 128[*] | 337 | 122,000 | ||
| Dartmouth | 4 | 6 | 10 | 2,698 | ||
| Sippican | 3 | 3 | 319 | |||
| Westport | 17 | 17 | 3,989 | |||
| Wareham | 1 | 1 | 347 | |||
| Sandwich | 1 | 1 | 2 | 292 | ||
| Fairhaven | 36 | 12 | 1 | 49 | 15,927 | |
| Mattapoisett | 1 | 10 | 1 | 12 | 3,281 | |
| Nantucket | 32 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 39 | 12,860 |
| Edgartown | 10 | 4 | 3 | 17 | 4,986 | |
| Holmes's Hole | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1,349 |
| Falmouth | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1,111 | ||
| Provincetown | 1 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 22 | 2,792 |
| Orleans | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 638 | |
| Beverly | 3 | 3 | 616 | |||
| Salem | 1 | 1 | 323 | |||
| Lynn | 1 | 1 | 216 | |||
| Fall River | 3 | 3 | 814 | |||
| Warren, R.I. | 5 | 10 | 15 | 5,025 | ||
| Newport | 4 | 4 | 1,206 | |||
| Providence | 1 | 1 | 298 | |||
| New London | 32 | 14 | 5 | 12 | 63 | 19,176 |
| Stonington | 3 | 3 | 6 | 1,949 | ||
| Greenport | 3 | 7 | 10 | 2,958 | ||
| Mystic | 4 | 2 | 6 | 1,840 | ||
| Sag Harbor | 5 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 5,252 |
| Cold Spring | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2,129 | ||
| San Francisco | 4 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 2,500 |
| [*]Ships reckoned at 400 tons, and barks at 300. | ||||||
| The whole number of vessels employed in the whale fishery in this country, as before reported, is | 670 |
| Number of ships, | 358 |
| Number of barks, | 259 |
| Number of brigs | 17 |
| Number of schooners | 46 |
| The tonnage may be put down at 220,000. | |
| Value of property, at $100 per ton, $20,000,000. |
The number of seamen engaged in this business, allowing 30 for each ship, 24 for a bark, 20 for a brig, and 18 for a schooner, would be more than 20,000.
Importations of sperm and whale oil and whalebone into the United States in 1856 are as follows:—
| Sperm oil, | 80,941 bbls. |
| Right whale oil, | 197,890 bbls. |
| Whalebone, | 2,592,700 lbs. |