Crew hauling a whaler caught in the ice. (Copy from Arctic Whalers, by Basil Lubbock.) Excessive hunting meant that whaling was becoming more and more dangerous, as whales could no longer be easily found, and had to be hunted in ice-bound waters. This was incredibly hazardous for the large sailing ships and by the 1890s, following the development of steam whale catchers in the 1860s, the type of equipment used was considered 'old fashioned' and unprofitable. Norwegian companies continued hunting whales in the North Atlantic until the 1920s, by which time supplies were at an all time low, and by then the rich waters surrounding Antarctica were being exploited.