The Fishing Season, 1808.

"This is the first of a series of record years, in which the most prodigious slaughter of whales took place" (p. 181).

"The first arrival from the fishery was the Henrietta (Captain Kearsly) on June 12, after an absence of only 85 days, having left the ice on May 22. She was a very full ship with 21 whales on board, the blubber of 7 of them being uncasked."
...

"There was general rejoicing in the fishing ports when ship after ship began to arrive with a bumper cargo and brought excellent reports of the fishing. It was soon seen that the season would prove the best on record.

Not a single ship in the whole fleet had less than 10 whales. The Aurora (Captain Sadler) arrived from Greenland with 38 fish, making 700 butts or 264 tons of oil; whilst the Samuels (Captain Marshall) arrived from Davis Straits on the same day (July 29) with 20 fish, making 278 tons of oil and 10 tons of bone. The Ellison (Captain Holberry) arrived from Greenland on August 12, with 30 fish, 550 butts, and the Walker (Captain Sadler, late of the Molly) arrived from Greenland on August 5 with 27 whales, 530 butts. The Resolution (Captain Scoresby) with 27 fish was the best of the Whitby ships, the William and Ann (Captain Johnston), with 25 fish, coming next.

The Middleton (Captain Johnston) was the best fished of the Newcastle ships with 31. The Dundee of London had 28 fish; the Lively of Berwick, 25; the Hope of Peterhead (Captain Geary), 30 fish; and the Enterprise of Peterhead (Captain Volum), 27 fish.

The Grimsby ships were both full, the Birnie, with 18 whales, being the second ship to arrive from Greenland.

Of the 4 Aberdeen ships, the best fished was the Neptune which came home with 26 fish, one of them in bulk. The Hercules (Captain Gibbon) was also full.

Of the 7 Dundee ships, the Rodney was full, with 12 fish; Horn had 9 and Mary 9. Of the 7 Leith whalers, the best fished was the Thomas and Ann (Captain Newton), full up with 18 whales. The North Star had the misfortune to be burnt on the passage out on March 30. The Lion of Liverpool had 19 fish, boiling 130 tons. The Lady Jane of Newcastle brought home the crew of the British ship Adventure, which after discharging a cargo at one of the Danish Greenland Settlements, was lost on the passage home.

When entering port, whalers emptied their guns by discharging them. On August 7, whilst the Isabella was carrying out this operation, one of her crew had his arm blown off.

During the summer, in spite of the large cargoes brought in, whale oil was fetching from £26 to £27 a ton, but before the winter, owing chiefly to the great continental demand caused by the war and the lack of European whalers, the price had risen £10."
(pp. 182-183)

from The Arctic Whalers by Basil Lubbock