In the seventeenth and eighteenth century, on journeys within the framework of the "Greenland expeditions" - whaling in the northernmost area of the North Atlantic - a wide range of written records were kept. Apart from the actual whaling events themselves, they described meteorological and oceanographic observations. In combination with natural history compendia, this data provides good insights and an initial basis for understanding complex interrelationships in an educational manner. Within the framework of this article, meteorological and oceanographic observations from four works originating in the context of Hamburg whaling activities around 1700 will be discussed.
In Hamburg erschienen 1746 die "Nachrichten von Island, Grönland und der Straße Da-vis" (Nachrichten) von Johann Anderson (1674 bis 1743). Der Autor, Sohn eines Walfang-reeders war als Jurist Mitglied des Hamburger Rates und 20 Jahre Bürgermeister gewesen. Zeit seines Lebens sammelte Anderson Wissen zu Island, Grönland und den Fisch- und Walfanggebieten im Nordatlantik, weil er als gläubiger Pietist Gottes Fürsorge für den Men-schen insbesondere in diesen rauhen Gegenden zu erkennen glaubte. Er verarbeitete seine Er-kenntnisse vorwiegend im letzten Lebensjahrzehnt zu den Nachrichten, einer wissenschaftli-chen Zusammenstellung des damals Bekannten zu dieser Region. Ohne eigene Anschauung des Nordens nutzte der Autor kritisch Literatur, authentische Berichte von See- und Kaufleu-ten sowie Sammlungsstücke aus dem Bereich. Er diskutierte und zitierte die Quellen. So lässt sich die genutzte Literatur der damals potentiell zur Verfügung stehenden gegenüberstellen. Seinerzeit wechselnde wirtschaftliche und politische Verhältnisse in Hamburg sowie massive außenpolitische Forderungen an die Stadt belegen, dass Anderson als "Patriot" Auf-klärungsideen folgte, die ihn geradezu trieben, seine Materialsammlung zum nordatlantischen Raum zu veröffentlichen zum Nutzen der Wissenschaft und Handlung, so der Untertitel des Buches. Demgemäß versuchte er, neben der wissenschaftlichen Kenntnismehrung durch Wis-sen um die regionalen Handelsgüter, vor allem Fisch- und Walprodukte, die eingebrochenen Hamburger "Commercien" Salzheringshandel und Walfang zu beleben und einen eventuellen neuen Hamburger Handel mit den nordatlantischen Inseln zu untermauern. Selbst postum herausgegeben, erschienen die bei Andersons Tod druckfertigen Nach-richten aus wissenschaftlicher Sicht zur rechten Zeit. Sie beantworteten u.a. alle damals aktu-ellen Fragen zum Auftreten und Fang des Herings durch eine von Anderson weiterentwickelte Einstammtheorie. Er differenzierte die Wale in Zahn- und Bartenwale sowie nach den Rü-ckenformen, die den Walfängern als erstes sichtbar waren. Seine Einteilung glich der heutigen Walsystematik. Die Angaben zu den Tranerträgen der Walarten und die genannten Güter des Handels mit den nordatlantischen Inseln dienten direkt der Handlung. Während die Wirkung der Nachrichten auf die Handlung nicht aktenkundig wurde, reichten die wissenschaftlichen Tradierungen der Heringstheorie sowie seiner Pottwal- und Narwalbeschreibungen und -abbildungen bis ins 20. Jh. Unerkannt blieb allerdings Andersons Erstbeschreibung des Eissturmvogels. Die Karte des Nordatlantiks in den Nachrichten war die erste gedruckte Darstellung Grönlands, in der die aus Navigationsungenauigkeiten und Fehl-interpretationen entstandenen vermeintlichen Wasserstraßen durch Südgrönland nicht darge-stellt wurden, mit Begründung im Buchtext. Die Karte sowie weitere Abbildungen und Text-passagen der Nachrichten gingen in nachfolgende Grönlandbeschreibungen ein. Der Herausgeber und der Drucker konzipierten aus dem Nachlassmanuskript ein anspre-chendes und gut beworbenes Buch. Mehrere Auflagen und Übersetzungen verbreiteten die Nachrichten sehr weit. Durch so geschärfte Beobachtungen entstand schnell Kritik an der He-ringstheorie, die endgültig allerdings erst durch Friedrich Heinckes Arbeiten in der zweiten Hälfte des 19. Jhs. widerlegt wurde. Aber binnen kurzem riefen die Nachrichten durch ihre unsachliche Beschreibung der Isländer auch eine dänische "Gegen"-Beschreibung Islands hervor. Diese "verläßlichen Nachrichten" widersprachen Andersons Darstellungen, abgesehen von Angaben zu den Isländern, jedoch größtenteils nur in Nuancen oder gar nicht. In der Rezeptionsgeschichte entwickelten sich "Andersonsche Märchen" (besser "Mär-chen um Anderson und seine Nachrichten") durch Versehen, wie die nicht existente "Dodd-Andersonsche Heringstheorie", oder durch Mischen von Tatsachen und Erinnerung, wie Carl von Linnés angebliche Flucht vor dem Bürgermeister Anderson. Sie werden klargestellt. Da die Strukturen und Inhalte der Nachrichten-Kapitel über marine Nutztiere denen der heutigen fischereibiologischen Lehrbücher gleichen, lässt sich Johann Anderson als ein Vor-vater der heutigen Hamburger Fischereiwissenschaften betrachten. ; In 1746, the book Nachrichten von Island, Groenland und der Strasse Davis (An account on Iceland, Greenland, and the Davis Strait) was published in Hamburg. Its author Johann Anderson was the son of a whaling ship owner in Hamburg, became lawyer and member of Hamburg Senate. About 20 years he acted as burgomaster of his home town. All his life, the scholar Johann Anderson collected information about Iceland, Greenland and the adjacent fishing and whaling areas. As pietistic Christian, he was convinced that the Lord's blessing to mankind was to be recognized especially in those areas. With his exceptional knowledge he prepared the Nachrichten mainly during the 1730s. The manuscript was a scientific selection from the contemporary knowledge of the northern areas. Never having travelled that far north himself, Anderson based his compilation on a critical analysis of the available literature, first hand reports of sailors and merchants, as well as objects from the northern areas in curiosity collections of his time. As Anderson reveals his sources in citations, the literature he actually used can be opposed to the quite large literature potentially available at his time. The variable commercial and political situation of Hamburg during Anderson's time and tremendous financial claims from the town by surrounding countries show Anderson acting as a "patriot". Driven by the contemporary ideas of Enlightenment, he aimed his manuscript for "the use of science and commerce", as it was subtitled. Thus, he specifically tried to stabilize the decreased trade of salted herring and the reduced whaling enterprise of his town by increasing scientific knowledge and perhaps to initiate a new trade towards the North-Atlantic islands. When Anderson died in 1743, his manuscript was ready for print. Although edited 1746 posthumously, the book was published just in time from the scientific point of view. The contemporary questions concerning the local and seasonal appearance, the fishing and the processing of herring were answered by the single stock herring theory further developed by Anderson. Further on, he classified the separated teeth and baleen whales in accordance with the shapes of their backs, the first parts visible to the whalers. His classification is comparable to that presently used. Anderson's information on the oil volumes of the different whale species was addressed straight to the whalers and merchants. Whilst the commercial influence of the Nachrichten was not documented, the scientific utilisation of parts of Anderson's herring theory as well as his descriptions of the sperm whale and narwhale lasted into the 20th century. The first systematic description of fulmar glacialis he gave in this book was not recognized by the ornithologists. The North Atlantic chart in the book was one of the first printed presentations of an undivided Southern Greenland. The reason for omitting the traditional ice covered straits through it is given in the text. This chart as well as further figures and parts of the text were used in Greenland descriptions further on. In 1746, the editor and the printer in Hamburg created an attractive and well advertised book from the manuscript left by Anderson. At least three German editions (1746, 1747) and very soon Danish (1748), Dutch (1750, 1756), and French (1750) translations made the Nachrichten a widely spread book. By the thus sharpened attention critical statements opposed the single stock herring theory immediately, although the final refutation was not published until the second half of the 19th century by Friedrich Heincke. However, the improper description of the Icelandic people very soon led to a Danish counter description (1753). Besides the parts concerning the people's behaviour, this Danish "true account on Iceland" in the last analysis showed the Nachrichten to be wrong only in very few points. During the centuries, dealing with the Nachrichten led to some "Andersonsche fairy-tales" . These rumours originated in errors, e.g. the not existing "Dodd-Anderson herring theory", or in mixing of facts and personal imaginations, e. g. Carl von Linné and his story of run away off an angry burgomaster Anderson in Hamburg, and can be traced backwards. The structures and contents of the Nachrichten-chapters on commercial marine stocks are comparable to those in textbooks on fisheries biology of today. Thus, Johann Anderson has to be addressed as one of the forefathers of actually fisheries sciences in Hamburg.
In Part 1 of these observations on German exploration ships, some 170 vessels which have sailed under German flag on rivers, estuaries and the high seas since 1862 were introduced in list form. In this second part, the names of the ships listed will be explained and classified according to four categories: "superordinate idea" (Group I), "reference to region / branch of research" (Group II), "adopted with the vessel" (Group III) and "tradition" (Group IV). Insight is provided into the circumstances surrounding the respective naming, to the extent known. These background contexts range from obeisance to the emperor and lofty scientific goals and working methods to the nicknames of institute directors. A table shows the number of ships in each name group in relationship to the periods of German research navigation explained in Part 1. In the period before World War II, names adopted with the vessel were in the majority, whereas since the war names bearing reference to regions or research branches have made up the largest share. The custom of naming explorations vessels after superordinate ideas played a role for a short time but never gained general acceptance.
Since the 1860s a variety of ship types and sizes have been made available by the navy and commercial shipping companies for the systematic exploration of the global waters under the respective German flag, usually - in the earlier decades - for isolated research tasks and expeditions. At the same time, a fleet of specially built vessels has developed for longer-term exploration projects. Data on the vessels which have contributed to Germany's role in the exploration of the oceans from 1862 to the present can be found in a wide spectrum of literature including the annual reports of research institutes, descriptions of the respective research situations and applications for financial assistance, oceanographic and nautical textbooks, expedition reports and the information brochures and monographs of individual ships. On the basis of information gathered from the above-mentioned sources, a list has been drawn up of some 170 research vessels, including the approximately 40 widely different vessels in operation today. The list contains information on the ship types, periods of operation, users, scientific and geographical areas of use. Despite the exclusion of entire vessel groups theoretically classifiable as "research vessels" according to the given definition, the list makes no claim to completeness. The often annual variations in the numbers of exploration ships under German flag can be attributed to political, technical, scientific and discipline-related developments. The names of the vessels, divisible into four categories, and various background factors connected with the name choices will be the subject of a later article.
The Deutsche Wissenschaftliche Kommission für Meeresforschung - DWK (German Oceanography Board) in Hamburg is a group of leading German oceanographers serving as advisors to the Bundesministerium für Landwirtschaft, Ernährung und Forsten - BML (Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry). In addition, it coordinates the cooperation between German oceanographers and the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea - ICES - in Copenhagen. Its members work on an honorary basis and represent a broad spectrum of marine sciences, providing the BML with extensive expertise with regard to fishery and the marine environment. The DWK was founded nearly 1 00 years ago as a means of supporting the fishing industry: The board members' research activities in the field of "international oceanography" was intended to help guarantee the long-term and optimal availability of fish stocks. The board's title, which has remained programmatic from the beginning, is elucidated on the basis of scientific papers of the past and present. Whereas in former times the DWK was allotted funds to cover its non-personneI and research expenses, today it disposes only of a travel budget. The board's management and facilities have undergone a series of changes; for a period of several decades it even possessed its own research ship. Several examples serve to illustrate this evolution. Reference is also made to the fact that the DWK's influence on the coordination of national marine research was diminished by the establishment of the Senatskommission für Ozeanographie der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft (the German Research Association's Senatorial Commission on Oceanography). Examples of historical and current projects provide an impression of the DWK's present significance as weil as the scope of its activities in the past.
ln 1879, one of the two ships participating in the second German polar expedition, the HANSA, was encircled by ice off the eastern coast of Greenland and lost. For the crew a dramatic journey by ice flow and boat began; over 200 days passed before they finally reached a missionary station of the Herrnhuter order in South Greenland. The captain and the two officers of this adventurous expedition wrote diaries which have survived the times (one of them in the German Maritime Museum) and were published in 1997 by Reinhard A. Krause under the title 'Zweihundert Tage im Packeis', Volume 46 of the series 'Schriften des Deutschen Schiffahrtsmuseums'. During a voyage through the same waters on board the fisheries research vessel WALTER HERWIG III, the biologist Gerd Wegner read the records kept by the men of the HANSA and drew comparisons between the challenges that faced them and present-day maritime Operations. Our awareness and appreciation of the deeds accomplished by the HANSA seamen nearly 130 years ago are thus further heightened.
