George,
Basque whalers had fully established shore stations linked by ships in New
Foundland as early as the 16th century. Also, Dutch whalers hunted the North
Atlantic at least that early. The same kind of operations continued through the
19th century in both the Atlantic and Pacific waters. Out here in San Diego,
we have the only known surviving tryworks oven feature preserved on Ballast
Point, Naval Base San Diego. I have a research paper in process on the
Ballast Point Whaling station.
Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.