The Faroes Islands are situated in the North Atlantic Ocean between Scotland and Iceland. There are eighteen mountainous islands of which seventeen are inhabited by a total population of 48,000 people. The language of the Faroes is Faroese, a west Nordic language related to Icelandic. The Faroes are a self governing nation under the constitutional monarchy of Denmark. The Faroese Parliament legislates independently of Denmark but the Faroese are not a member of the European Union (EU). The conservation and management of fish and whale stocks is legislated by the Faroese.
Economy of the Faroe Islands
The economy of the Faroe Islands is dependent upon fishing and aquaculture industries. In addition, the Faroes also supplement food production from local resources. These include grazing sheep which provide up to 60% of locally produced meat and wool. Additional food sources are the snaring of sea birds like puffins and fulmars, dairy cattle and pilot whales. In recent years, the whaling activity has become a source of controversy.
History of Whaling in the Faroe Islands
Whaling in the Faroe Islands has been practiced since the first Norse settlement on the islands. Archeological evidence consisting of whale bones from early Norse settlements, c. 1200 years ago, indicates that the pilot whale has long been an important part of the Faroese diet. The Faroese lack most grains and vegetables due to the harsh mountainous terrain of the islands so the meat and blubber of the whale was an important part of their diet.
Independent Regulation of Whaling
As mentioned, whaling is regulated by the Faroese but not by the International Whaling Commission due to distrust of the commission’s competency in regulating small cetaceans. However the Faroes cooperate internationally through the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission (NAMMCO) on the conservation and management of whaling.
NAMMCO also monitors the pilot whale hunt in the Faroes at regular intervals. The Bonn Convention in 1983, which Denmark ratified but does not include the Faroes, indicates that the population of pilot whales in the Faroes meets the criteria of having “favorable conservation status.” Currently, some 950 Long-finned Pilot Whales, a species of dolphin, are killed annually, mainly during the summer months of July and August.
Toxins in Pilot Whales
As of November 2008 the chief medical officers of the Foaroe Islands have recommended that the pilot whales no longer be considered fit for consistent human consumption because of the high levels of toxins in the whales. The recommended consumption of whale meat is now not more than once a month.
The Whale Hunt as a Cultural Event
The Faroese consider the hunt an important part of their culture and the black meat of the animal is considered a delicacy. The hunts, called “grindadráp” are not commercial and are organized on a community level. The hunt commences with the sighting of a school of whales which, by law, must be close to land. Messengers spread the news of the sighting among the inhabitants of the island involved. A bonfire is lit at a specific location to inform neighboring islands.
Regulation of the Whale Hunt
The location must be well suited to the beaching of whales. The law provides that the whales must be killed at appropriate locations consisting of a sloping seabed. The men, excused from other work, then circle behind the whales in boats and slowly drive the whales to the shore, usually at a bay or the end of the fjord. The whale hunt is restricted to hooks, ropes and assessing-poles for measurement. On the whaling foreman’s signal, stones attached to ropes are thrown in the water behind the whales driving them toward the land. When the whales beach themselves, men on the shore stab the whales by cutting the dorsal area through to the spinal cord with a special whaling knife, a “grindsknívur.”
Harpoons, spears and firearms are prohibited. Whales which are in the shallow water are hooked and pulled shore. Each whale is killed individually.
Division of the Hunt
The catch is divided into shares called “skinn”. One “skinn” equals about 38 kg of whale meat plus 34 kg of blubber. From 1991 to 2000 there were 101 whale drives resulting in 9,212 whales being harvested in this manner.
Opposition to the Hunt from Conservationists
When the whale hunt ends, the sea is red with blood. The Faroese claim that animal rights groups and news people do not have sufficient knowledge of the catch to assess their procedure for whaling. The whale hunts have abundant opposition from various whale conservation and animal rights groups.
Since 1984 the pilot whale hunt has been the subject of organized protest by a number of animal protection groups in Europe and North America. In 1992, three of these groups, the Environmental Investigation Agency, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society and the World Society for the Protection of Animals, formed the Pilot Whale Campaign and have been targeting the importers and retailers of Faroese products in Britain and Germany.
From what I have read the impact so far has been negligible. The campaign generally portrays the pilot whale hunt as a cruel blood sport and the largest whale massacre in the world. In a letter to the Pilot Whaler’s Association, these organizations have indicated that they will not be satisfied with any modifications to the hunt but that their aim is to stop the hunt altogether.
The Faroese defend against organizations like Greenpeace with three main arguments. They state that they do not take to the sea to hunt whales but kill only those close to land, the food is distributed among the households, and the pilot whale is not an endangered species. Proponents also argue that livestock lives its whole life in captivity or confinement, is transported under stress and then slaughtered in often inhumane ways, e.g. chickens in the U.S. are typically slaughtered by machine.
The animal-rights activists argue that the “grindadráp” is cruel and unnecessary given available food supplies today. Further, the Faroese Ministry of Health has warned of excessive consumption of whale meat due to high levels of mercury, PCBs and environmental poisons. Further, the tools of the “grindadráp” have modernized. The whalers use motor boats which are faster and more maneuverable, and cell phones to alert other islanders of the hunt.
In 1989 the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society commissioned a public information film narrated by Anthony Hopkins to raise awareness of the Faroes whaling of Long-finned Pilot Whales. The film caused great controversy as it shows the whale hunt in graphic detail.
Conclusion
The purpose of this article is only to bring attention to the controversy. Whether to oppose or to favor the hunt is left to the reader.The hunt is still being debated through organizations like the Humane Society and PETA and various whale conservation organizations with the Faroese arguing to maintain their lifestyle and traditions.
Source
- Sea Shepard UK, Faroe Islands Whale Hunt film
- A Thousand Years of Whaling, A Faroese Common Property Regime, published by the Canadian Circumpolar Institute Press, University of Alberta
Frances Simmons - I have worked at a lot of different jobs in my life from being an attorney to being a drug counselor with stints in aerospace as a manager ...
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