 Around 1560, the Basque own à fleet of a hundred cod-fishers and thirty whalers.They first exploit the abundant ressources present in the estuary and the banks of Newfoundland, but around 1570, it seems the reduced numbers of whale colonies push them to search for them all the way to the medium estuary of the Saint Lawrence.The hunt is mainly located at the level of the chasse Saguenay fjord.