Whalers from Europe and the United States were active in the eastern Arctic from 1719 to 1912.The bowhead whale was hunted almost to extinction for its baleen and oil. The bowhead was easy prey as it swam slowly and floated when killed although other whales were hunted too. Whalers established stations at locations where large numbers of whales were available and Inuit were hired to butcher the whales and render the fat into oil.