Mehamn-opprøret eller Mehamnslaget fant sted 2. juni i 1903, da fiskere ødela hvalfangststasjonen i Mehamn fordi de mente at hvalfangsten ødela fisket.
I 1870-årene startet den industrielle hvalfangsten utenfor Finnmark. Kapitalsterke grupper sørfra, med Svend Foyn i spissen, bygde opp flere hvalfangsstasjoner langs finnmarkskysten. Fangsten var så stor at bestanden ble kraftig redusert. Fiskerne mente at hvalen presset fisken inn til kysten og dermed la grunnlaget for kystfisket utenfor Finnmark.
Rundt århundresskiftet var det flere uår i fiskeriene utenfor Finnmark. Hvalstriden mellom norske fiskere på den ene siden og norske hvalfangere og marinbiologer på den andre siden, om hvorvidt hvalfangst var skadelig for sesongfisket langs kysten av Norge blusset derfor opp. Det ble tatt flere initiativ for å få Stortinget til å frede hvalen, men dette førte ikke fram. Aksjonen ble utløst etter at Stortinget i 1903 utsatte behandlingen av hvalfredningen nok en gang.
Den 2. juni 1903 ble stasjonen i Mehamn grundig ødelagt. Omkring 700 til 1500 menn (h
ovedsakelig fiskere) deltok i opprøret.[1] Flere andre stasjoner var også truet av ødelegging. Militære styrker ble sendt ut for å gjenopprette lov og orden. Hvalfredning ble vedtatt året etter.
Kilde: Wikipedia
The Mehamn Revolt or Mehamn Battle took place June 2, 1903, when fishermen destroyed the whaling station in Mehamn because they believed that whaling was destroying the fish.
In the 1870s, the industrial whaling started outside Finnmark. Capital-strong groups from the south, with Svend Foyn in the lead, built several whaling stations along the Finnmark coast. The catch was so large that the stock was greatly reduced. The fishermen believed that the whale pushed the fish into the coast, thus laying the foundations for the coastal fishery outside Finnmark.
Around the turn of the century there were several years of fishing outside Finnmark. The whale fight between Norwegian fishermen on the one hand and Norwegian whalers and marine biologists on the other hand, as to whether whaling was harmful to the seasonal fishery along the coast of Norway, therefore, broke up. Several initiatives were taken to get the Storting to rescue the whales, but this did not lead. The action was triggered after the Storting in 1903 deferred the treatment of whale peace once more.
On June 2, 1903, the station in Mehamn was severely destroyed. About 700 to 1500 men (mainly fishermen) participated in the uprising. [1] Several other stations were also threatened with destruction. Military forces were sent out to restore law and order. Whaling was adopted the following year.
Source: Wikipedia
