San Pablo Whaling Station (Richmond, California) | meat processing plant, historic ruins

 meat processing plant, historic ruins

Remains of the Del Monte Fishing Company, the last operating whaling station in the United States. It operated from 1956 to 1971. Workers here could render a humpback whale into oil, poultry meal, and pet food (under the Moby Dick brand) in less than two hours. Other whales hunted included the gray, blue, and finback. The oil was used in cattle feed, industrial hydraulics, and steel tempering.

With the passing of the Pelly Amendment in 1971 and 1972's Marine Mammal Protection Act, harvesting and processing operations ceased at the station. The building was vacant and eventually burned in 1989. The blackened timbers remained for many years until they were all removed in 2016. The original wooden building, located on the eastern end of a string of small sardine processing plants along the shoreline, dated back to the 1930s.

pspyh.com/whaling/
www.baycrossings.com/archives/2003/05_June/the_last_wha...
www.nytimes.com/1971/03/07/archives/ban-on-whaling-stun...
www.flickr.com/photos/kqedquest/sets/72157594564059217/...