Whales are full of treasures and have important economic value. Its huge body provides people with a large amount of whale meat, whale oil and other products. A blue whale of about 100 tons is worth US$10,000. Whale meat accounts for about 1/2 of the whale's weight. In addition to being ground into coarse powder for feed or fertilizer, it can also be eaten by humans after processing. It is rich in protein and has high nutritional value. Food stores in countries such as Norway and Japan offer fresh and canned whale meat. Japanese gourmet researchers believe that whale meat tastes better than beef and is one of the most delicious foods in the world. Japan also uses whale meat as raw material and processes it into artificial fibers.
Blubber is an animal oil that is very rich in fat. It not only contains a large amount of glycerin, which can be used for nitroglycerin in synthetic explosives and cigarette processing, but also can be used to make soap and refine high-grade lubricants. The lowest fatty acid content in whale blubber is less than 2%, and the highest is about 30%. The lighter the blubber, the higher its mass. More than 40 tons of oil can be obtained from the body of a 120-ton blue whale. This amount of fat is equivalent to the lard taken from thousands of fattened pigs. After hydrogenation, whale blubber can be obtained into a hard lump that is tasteless and tasteless, and can also be processed into edible margarine.
Blubber has many other uses. It can make candles and oil paints. It is also used in the steelmaking and tanning industries. Because the viscosity of whale oil does not change at high temperatures, it is used as a lubricant for some precision instruments. For example, sperm whale oil can be used to refine industrial oil and spermaceti oil. Spermacetic oil is obtained from the brains of sperm whales. It has a high melting point and can be used to make cosmetics and be processed into candles.
Since ancient times, ambergris has been used as a high-grade spice. The origin of this high-end spice has been kept secret in the past. In fact, it is just a waste product accumulated in the intestines of sperm whales after suffering from indigestion. Ambergris is originally a waxy substance with a grayish-yellow, dark gray or slightly brown appearance. It smells bad when it first comes out of the body. It turns amber in color after drying. It can ignite fire, has a blue flame and is fragrant. It overflows and tastes like musk. This natural spice comes in different sizes and shapes, ranging from tens of grams to 400 kilograms. Because of its wide range of uses and peculiar smell, it is called "floating gold". Its specific gravity is only 0.9, its melting point is around 60°C, and it can be dissolved in alcohol. Ambergris has been used as a high-grade raw material in the manufacture of fragrances and stimulants in the past. Later, it was gradually used to make popular cosmetics such as creams and lipsticks.
In addition, whale leather is soft in texture, has velvet on the surface, and has patterns on the leather, making it suitable for making clothes or bags. Whale fins can be used as umbrellas, bras, bow ties and cigarette cases. The ovaries of whales are also the raw material for progesterone (especially progesterone), a special medicine called "Progestine". Whale guano and bone meal are fertilizers rich in ammonia and phosphorus. Bone glue can also be extracted from whale bones and used as a raw material for processing photographic film. Whale liver is very rich in vitamins A and D. The liver of a sperm whale often weighs 400 kilograms, and its vitamin A content is equivalent to that of 100 tons of high-quality butter or 5 million eggs. Baleen and teeth can be processed into medical equipment or handicrafts.
In short, whales are full of treasures and have extensive economic value to humans.