Floyd L. Davidson <floyd@barrow.com> wrote:
 
>  There are about 3500 Inupiat people living
> here in Barrow.  They are allocated 22 Bowhead whales per year.
> They like to catch young whales about 40-45 feet in length,
> which is about 80,000 pounds per whale.
> 
> If that is only 50% food (I don't know what the actual
> percentage is, and am trying to be conservative), that would be
> 40,000 pounds of food per whale.

I think 50% meat content is overstating it. Most of the carcass is
blubber. Industrial whaling was done  more for the fat content  than for
the meat.
Here in Norway large chemical factories, produced paint, margarine, lamp
oil and other stuff  based on whale fat. Large commercial fortunes were
amassed this way.