boats. They made possible the targeting of large and fast-swimming whale species that were taken to shore-based stations for processing. Breech-loading cannons were introduced in 1925; pistons were introduced in 1947 to reduce recoil. These highly efficient devices reduced whale populations to the point where large-scale commercial whaling became unsustainable. Finnmark In February 1864, Svend Foyn began his first whale-hunting trip to Finnmark in the schooner-rigged, steam-driven whale catcher Spes et Fides (Hope & Faith). The ship had seven guns on her forecastle, each firing a harpoon and grenade separately. Several whales were seen, but only four were captured. After two unsuccessful trips in 1866 and 1867, he invented a harpoon gun that fired a grenade and harpoon at the same time and was able to catch thirty whales in 1868. He patented his grenade-tipped harpoon gun two years later. Foyn was given a virtual monopoly on the trade in Finnmark in 1873, which lasted until 1882. Despite this, local citizens established a whaling company in 1876, and soon others defied his monopoly and formed companies. Unrestricted hunting began in 1883, triggering a large increase in the number of whale catchers. At the peak, in 1896–1898, between 1,000 and 1,200 whales were caught each year. The last station closed down in 1904. Spitsbergen In 1903, the wooden steamship Telegraf (737 gross tons) embarked on a whale catching trip to Spitsbergen. She returned with 1,960 barrels of oil produced from a catch of 57 whales, of which 42 were blue whales. By 1905, there were eight companies operating around Spitsbergen and Bear Island, and 559 whales (337 blue) were caught to produce 18,660 barrels. Operations were suspended in 1912. Faroe Islands During the early 1900s the whaling stations in the Faroe Islands included: Gjánoyri on Streymoy, situated in the sound between the islands of Streymoy and Eysturoy, established in 1894; Norðdepil on Borðoy in the Northern Islands (Norðoyar), established in 1898 and closed down in 1920; Lopra on the island of Suðuroy, established in 1901 and closed down in 1953; Funningsfjørður on Eysturoy, established in 1901; Við Áir whaling station, established in 1905 and closed down in 1984. Peak catching was reached in 1909, when 773 whales were caught to produce 13,850 barrels of oil. In 1917, with the war and poor catches, whaling was suspended. The islanders' main interest in whaling was cheap meat, while 90% of the proceeds from