Madeira Whale Museum

The Whale Museum is situated in the small fishing village of Caniçal, on the East Coast of Madeira island. The museum looks back at the whaling activities that formed a central part of many fishermen's lives for many decades. Whaling has been prohibited in Madeiran waters since 1982. Instead, those sailors who once harpooned whales for a living are now working hard to help preserve these gentle giants of the ocean. In an effort to promote this ecological issue many fishermen surrendered their hunting instruments to the museum. Some have even created crafts and pieces of artwork from parts of old whale bones or teeth.

On display there are many photographs, depicting many of the processes involved in the trapping of whales by Madeiran fishermen along the coast. The visual exhibit ranges in pictures of the preparation of boats, whale spotting on the high sea, hunting methods, and images of festivities after a successful hunt. There are other pictures showing the processing and transport of processed whale material, including oil extraction and meat preparation.