Journeys at sea for the purpose of hunting whales for their meat, baleen or whalebone, and blubber. Practiced as an organized activity as early the first century CE, by the 16th century whaling voyages as part of the industry of whaling became commonplace in the Basque region of Europe, and then the world. Whaling voyages peaked in the 19th century when the needs of industrialized society demanded whale oil in vast quantities, in advance of the development of fossil fuels. Recognition of the near-extinction of certain species of whale has caused the almost complete cessation of whaling and whaling voyages, except those allowed for by indigenous peoples in some parts of the world.
