BAWD
British Arctic Whaling Database
Arctic Whaling Voyages
BAWD includes data on hundreds of voyages, typically from the UK between 1750 and 1850.
North Atlantic and Arctic
Large Marine Ecosystems fished included the Greenland Sea, Faroe Plateau, Baltic Sea, Canadian Eastern Arctic – West Greenland, the Hudson Bay Complex.
Taxa: Whales and Seals
The primary species taken were Bowhead whales (adults and juveniles) and Harbour Seals.
Dataset
The downloadable dataset includes 24,287 records and includes full supporting documentation; accessible images and text files of archival materials are available as well.
2026 OPI XI
About
About British Arctic Whaling
The BAW project has been an ongoing research effort headed by Dinah Molloy and the late Bernard Stonehouse.
Exploring the activities of intrepid sailors, voyages through often dangerous, icy waters, and the taking of magnificent sea creatures are all aspects of this work.
The Dataset included here is a snapshot of many of the voyages and the whaling and seal catches associated with these voyages.
Dinah Molloy
Dinah Molloy is an Associate Research Fellow with Trinity College Dublin’s Centre for Environmental Humanities.
Her work with the Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, has yielded invaluable insights into the documented voyages in quantifiable terms through data management and data analysis that are the basis of this project.
Her research into the archival materials, and her deep understanding of the complexity of the information have been paramount in developing the work.
Bernard Stonehouse
The late Bernard Stonehouse, Antarctic explorer, researcher, author, biologist and Emeritus Fellow of the Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge University, provided invaluable research materials and delivered a wealth of information that informs the overall project.
His legacy includes his role in the development of this data rich resource.
John Nicholls
John Nicholls, Data Manager and Researcher with Trinity College Dublin’s Centre for Environmental Humanities, has provided data management, programming and web development for the project. The Supporting Documentation and data analysis aspects of the Dataset are his primary contributions.
Paula Nicholls
Paula Nicholls, with an academic IT background, developed and populated the informative and accessible archive document library that forms a valuable aspect of informing the Dataset and future elements of the project.
Sources
Digital Source Materials
Where available, copies of original source docuemnts have been provided for perusal. These documents are provided in PDF format but were extracted from various formats.
Use the download table to determine which documents to access and view.
Disclaimer
The quality of the documents varies considerably. While these are some of the documents used in compiling the dataset, they are not exhaustive. The list of availalbe files will be added to over time.
