Along with other Basque towns of Gipuzkoa and Labourd, they were largely responsible for the partial extinction of North Atlantic right whales in the Bay of Biscay and of the first unstable settlement by Europeans in Newfoundland.
Zajedno s drugim baskijskim gradovima Gipuskoe i Lapurdije, oni su u velikoj mjeri bili odgovorni za djelomično izumiranje sjevernoatlantskih pravih kitova (Eubalaena glacialis ) u Biskajskom zaljevu i prvim nestabilnim naseljima Europljana u Newfoundlandu.