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Whaling in the Faroe Islands

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Killed pilot whales on the beach in the village Hvalba on the southernmost Faroese island Suðuroy, 11 August 2002.

Whaling in the Faroe Islands has been practiced since about the time of the first Norse settlements on the islands. It is regulated by Faroese authorities but not by the International Whaling Commission as there are disagreements about the Commission's competency for small cetaceans.[1][2] Around 950 Long-finned Pilot Whales (Globicephala melaena) are killed annually, mainly during the summer. The hunts, called "grindadráp" in Faroese, are non-commercial and are organized on a community level; anyone can participate. The hunters first surround the pilot whales with a wide semicircle of boats. The boats then drive the pilot whales slowly into a bay or to the bottom of a fjord.

Most Faroese consider the hunt an important part of their culture and history. Animal-rights groups criticize the hunt as being cruel and unnecessary,[3][4] while the hunters claim in return that most journalists do not exhibit sufficient knowledge of the catch methods or its economic significance.[5]

As of the end of November 2008 the chief medical officers of the Faroe Islands have recommended that pilot whales no longer be considered fit for human consumption because of the levels of toxins in the whales.[6]

Origins

Whale hunting has been a common phenomenon for a long period of time. It is known to have existed on Iceland, in the Hebrides, and in Shetland and Orkney.

Archaeological evidence from the early Norse settlement of the Faroe Islands c. 1200 years ago, in the form of pilot whale bones found in household remains in Gøta, indicates that the pilot whale has long had a central place in the everyday life of Faroe Islanders. The meat and blubber of the pilot whale has been an important part of the islanders staple diet. The blubber, in particular, has been highly valued both as food and for processing into oil, which was used for lighting fuel and other purposes. Parts of the skin of pilot whales were also used for ropes and lines, while stomachs were used as floats.

Rights have been regulated by law since medieval times and references are found in early Norwegian legal documents, while the oldest existing legal document with specific reference to the Faroes, the so-called Sheep Letter from 1298, includes rules for rights to, and shares of both stranded whales as well as whales driven ashore.[7]

Records of drive hunts in the Faroe Islands date back to 1584.[8]

Elements of the hunt

The sighting

The pilot whale hunt has a well-developed system of communication. Reverend Lucas Debes made reference to the system, which means that it had already developed by the seventeenth century. Historically the system takes place as such: When a school of pilot whales has been sighted, messengers are sent to spread the news among the inhabitants of the island involved (the Faroe Islands have 17 inhabited islands). At the same time, a bonfire is lit at a specific location, to inform those on the neighbouring island, where the same pattern then is followed.

It is believed that the system is one of the oldest elements concerning the pilot whale hunt. This is because a rather large number of boats and people are necessary to drive and kill a school of pilot whales. Today, however, the news of a sighting is relayed via mobile phones and other modern methods of communication.

Locations

The small village of Hvalvík (in English Whale Bay) on the island Streymoy is a well-known place for beaching pilot whales.

The location must be well-suited to the purpose of beaching whales. It is against the law to kill pilot whales at locations with inappropriate conditions. The seabed must gradually slope from the shore out to deep water. Given such conditions, the chances are good that the whales can be driven fully ashore or close enough to the shore that they can be secured and killed from land. When a school of pilot whales is sighted, boats gather behind the whales and slowly drive them towards the chosen authorized location, usually a bay or the end of a fjord. There are 17 towns and villages that have the right conditions, and therefore legal authorization, for beaching whales. These are Bøur, Fámjin, Fuglafjørður, Syðrugøta, Húsavík, Hvalba, Hvalvík, Hvannasund, Klaksvík, Miðvágur, Norðskáli, Sandavágur, Sandur, Tórshavn (in Sandagerði), Tvøroyri, Vágur and Vestmanna. These towns and villages have featured most heavily in the statistics for whaling in the Faroes since 1854.

Regulations

At the beginning of the twentieth century, proposals to begin regulation of the whale hunt began to be proposed in the Faroese legislature. On 4 June 1907, the Danish Governor (in Faroese amtmaður) as well as the sheriff sent the first draft for whaling regulations to the Office of the Exchequer in Copenhagen. In the following years, a number of drafts were debated, and finally in 1932 the first Faroese whaling regulations were introduced. Since then, every detail of the pilot whale hunt has been carefully defined in the regulations. This means that the institution of the pilot whale hunt, which had previously largely been based on tradition, became an integrated part of society's legal structure. In the regulations one has institutionalized old customs and added new ordinances when old customs have proved insufficient or inappropriate.[9]

Districts

Since 1832, the Faroe Islands have been divided into several whaling districts, although there is reason to believe that these districts already existed in some form prior to this date. These whaling districts are the basis for the distribution of the meat and blubber of the pilot whales caught. The catch is distributed in such a way that all the residents of the whaling district are given the same amount of the catch, regardless of whether or not they took part in the hunt.

Supervision

Before the enactment of home-rule in 1948, the Danish governor had the highest responsibility of supervising a pilot whale hunt. Today, supervision is the responsibility of the Faroese government. The government is charged with ensuring that the Pilot whaling regulations are respected and otherwise answer for preparations. In practice, this means that it is the local legislative representative, who holds the highest command in a pilot whale hunt. It is his responsibility to both supervise the hunt and to distribute the catch.

The hunt

In accordance with the regulations, men gather on the shore to kill the beached whales, here in the town Vágur on Suðuroy, June 28, 2004.

Whale hunting equipment is legally restricted to hooks, ropes, and assessing-poles for measurement. A boat that has been equipped in such a manner is a pilot whale boat. The pilot whale boat is not a traditional small Faroese rowing boat, neither is it a vehicle used by the coastal navigation, and it does not include the modern Faroese factory fleet. A pilot whale boat simply describes the temporary condition of a small boat during a hunt, which is otherwise used for line fishery or leisure purposes.

When the whalers have met the requirements specified above, the pilot whales can be driven. Whale drives only take place when a school of whales is sighted close to land, and when sea and weather conditions make them possible. The whaling regulations specify how the school of whales is to be driven ashore. The drive itself works by surrounding the pilot whales with a wide semicircle of boats. On the whaling-foremans signal, stones attached to lines are thrown into the water behind the pilot whales, thus the boats drive the whales towards an authorised beach or fjord, where the whales then beach themselves. It is not permitted to take whales on the ocean-side of the rope. A pilot whale drive is always under supervision of local authorities.

The pilot whales that are not beached were often stabbed in the blubber with a sharp hook, called a gaff (in Faroese sóknarongul), and then pulled ashore. But, after allegations of animal cruelty, the Faroese whalers started using blunt gaffs (in Faroese blásturongul) to pull the whales ashore by their blowholes. Today, the ordinary gaff is only being used to pull killed whales ashore. The blunt gaff became generally accepted since its invention in 1993, and it is not only more effective, but it is also more humane by comparison to the other gaff. However, anti-whaling groups such as Greenpeace and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) claim that the partial blocking and irritation of the airway hurts and panics the animal.

Furthermore, in 1985 the Faroe Islands outlawed the use of spears and harpoons in the hunt, as it considers these weapons to be unnecessarily cruel to animals.

Once ashore the pilot whale is killed by cutting the dorsal area through to the spinal cord with a special whaling knife, a grindaknívur. Given the circumstances during a pilot whale hunt, the whaling knife is considered the safest and most effective equipment with which to kill the whales. Naturally since the whales are killed manually death cannot, by definition, be instantaneous. The length it takes for a whale to die varies between a few seconds to a few minutes, with the average time being 30 seconds.[10]


Other Species of cetacean that may be taken[11]

According to Faroese legislation it is also permitted to hunt certain species of small cetaceans other than pilot whales. These include: bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus); Atlantic white-beaked dolphin (Lagenorhynchus albirostris); Atlantic white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus acutus); and harbour porpoise ( Phocaena phocaena).

The hunting of these dolphin species, with the exception of harbour porpoises, is carried out in the same way as the pilot whale hunt.

Harbour porpoises are killed with shotguns and numbers taken must be reported to the relevant district sheriff. According to statistics, the number of harbour porpoises shot on an annual basis is very low - from 0 to 10 animals.

Commercial whaling for larger whale species (fin and minke whales) in the Faroese has not been carried out since 1984.

Impression

The sea having turned blood red.
Two dead northern bottlenose whales in the bay of Nes in Vágur on Suðuroy.

During the cut of a pilot whale's spine, their main arteries also get cut. Because of this the surrounding sea tends to turn a bloody red. This vivid imagery is often used by anti-whaling groups in their campaigns against the hunt. These images of a blood red sea can often have a shocking effect on bystanders.

Since harpoons, spears and firearms are prohibited, the whalers must be on the shoreline of the water and kill each individual whale.

Ólavur Sjúrðaberg, the chairman of the Faroese Pilot Whaler’s Association, describes the pilot whale hunt in such a way: "I'm sure that no one who kills his own animals for food is unmoved by what he does. You want it done as quickly and with as little suffering as possible for the animal."[12]

The pilot whale as a source of food

Most part of traditional Faroese food consists of meat. Because of the rugged, rocky Faroese terrain, grain and vegetables have not been able to grow very well as only about 2% of the 1,393 sq km is arable land and none is set aside for permanent crops.[13] During the winter months the Faroe Islanders´ only option was to mostly eat salted or dried food (this includes meat, pilot whale meat, seabirds and fish). This means that over the centuries, the pilot whale has been an important source of food and vitamins to the isolated population on the North Atlantic archipelago.

The pilot whale meat and blubber is stored, prepared and eaten in the Faroese households. This also means that whale meat is not available at supermarkets. Although the Faroe Island's main export is fish, this does not include pilot whale meat or blubber. An annual catch of 956 pilot whales[14] (1990–1999) is roughly equivalent to 500 tonnes of meat and blubber, some 30% of all meat produced locally in the Faroe Islands.

Food preparation

Tvøst og spik. Black meat of the pilot whale and blubber (middle), together with dried fish (left) and potatoes.

Whale meat and blubber is a Faroese specialty. Well into the last century meat and blubber from the pilot whale meant food for a long time. Everybody got their share, as is the custom to this day.[15] The meat and blubber can be stored and prepared in a variety of ways such as Tvøst og spik. When fresh, the meat is boiled or served as steaks. A pilot whale steak is in Faroese called grindabúffur. Whale meat with blubber and potatoes in their skins are put in to a saucepan with salt and then boiled for an hour. Thin slivers of the blubber are also a popular accompaniment to dried fish.

The traditional preservation is by salting or outdoor wind-drying. Today the meat and blubber is often kept in the freezer. The traditional way of storage is still being practiced however, particularly in the villages.

Tourists in the Faroe Islands who would like to try pilot whale meat and other Faroese food specialties can do so at different cultural events which are mostly organized in the summer period. Those tourists that may be considering consuming pilot whale or cetacean meat whilst visiting the Faroe Islands should take note of the latest warnings from the Faroese Chief Medical Officers noted below.[16]

Cultural importance

The bottle nose dolphins hunt is an integral part of Faroese social culture. Faroese men often say that grindadráp makes them feel Faroese. Women do not actively take part in grindadráp, but are bystanders or onlookers. This is part of the traditional division of labour concerning grindadráp that is centuries old, and has not changed over time.

In Faroese literature and art, grindadráp is an important motif. The grindadráp paintings by Sámal Joensen-Mikines rank internationally as some of his most important. They are part of a permanent exhibition in the Faroese art museum in the capital Tórshavn. The Danish governor of the Faroe Islands Christian Pløyen wrote the famous Pilot Whaling song, a Faroese ballad written in Danish entitled "A New Song about the Pilot Whale Hunt on the Faroes". It was written during his term of office (1830–1847) and was printed in Copenhagen in 1835.

The Danish chorus line is: Raske drenge, grind at dræbe det er vor lyst

In English: Strong young lads, to kill the grind that's our joy

These old verses are rarely sung by the Faroese today[citation needed]. To many in the outside world (including Denmark)[citation needed] they are seen as a backward cliché about the culture of the islands[citation needed].

Catches

Whaling in 1854 in Vestmanna

Records of the drive exist in part since 1584, and continuously from 1709—the longest period of time for statistics existing for any wild animal harvest in the world.[17]

The catch is divided into shares known in Faroese as a skinn, which is an age-old measurement value that derives from agricultural practices. 1 skinn equals 38 kg of whale meat plus 34 kg of blubber: in total 72 kg.

Period Drives Whales Skinn
1709–1950 1,195 178,259 1,360,160
1951–1960 122 18,772 99,102
1961–1970 130 15,784 79,588
1971–1980 85 11,311 69,026
1981–1990 176 18,806 108,714
1991–2000 101 9,212 66,284
2001 11 918 7,447
2002 10 626 4,263
2003 5 503 3,968
2004 9 1,010 8,276
2005 6 302 2,194
2006 11 856 6,615
2007 10 633 5,522
2008 N/A N/A N/A
2009 3 310

The Faroe Island Statistical office has published the official numbers for the 2009 drive hunt. The statistics show that a total of 310 pilot whales, 174 whitebeaked dolphins, 2 bottlenose whales and 1 bottlenose dolphin were killed in three separate grinds.[18]

  • Long-term annual average catch 1709–1999: 850
  • Annual average catch 1900–1999: 1,225
  • Annual average catch 1980–1999: 1,511
  • Annual average catch 1990–1999: 956

Threat to the whale population

Atlantic White-sided Dolphins on a concrete-floored dock in Hvalba, 26 August 2006

There is a raging debate about whether the pilot whale hunt represents a significant threat to pilot whale populations; the actual size of the Northeast Atlantic pilot whale population is a subject of debate between different organizations. The figure accepted by the International Whaling Commission's Scientific Committee is the 778,000 animals obtained by the North Atlantic Sightings Survey in 1992. Those in favour of whaling, such as the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission in their 1997 and 1999 report on the hunt,[19] say that this is a conservative estimate, whilst those opposed to the hunt, such as the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society say the figure is over-estimated. If the figure is accepted, then the average kill from 1990–1999 of 956 animals per year, represents a little more than 0.1% of the population, which the commission has deemed sustainable.

In its Red List of Threatened Species the IUCN lists both the Long-finned and Short-finned Pilot Whales with "Data Deficient" status according to its 2008 assessment. In a previous assessment in 1996 the organization listed the species in the "Lower Risk/least concern" category. However, the IUCN also says that with an estimated subpopulation size of 778 000 in the eastern North Atlantic and approximately 100 000 around the Faroes, Faroese catches of 850 per year are probably sustainable.[20]

According to the American Cetacean Society — a whale protectionist group — pilot whales are not considered endangered. The society cites that there are likely about 1 000 000 long-finned and at least 200 000 short-finned pilot whales worldwide.[21]

Controversy

Photographs in the media of the pilot whale hunt display a red-coloured sea with the bodies of dead pilot whales. These images enraged whale protectors worldwide.

Most Faroese maintain that it is their right to catch pilot whales given that they have done so for centuries. The Faroese whalers defend their actions before international organizations like Greenpeace with three arguments: one, that grindadráp is not a hunt as such, but a dráp meaning a kill (ie that they do not regularly take to sea just to hunt for pilot whales, but only kill those which are sighted swimming too close at land); two, that the pilot whale hunt does not exist for commercial reasons, but for communal food distribution among local households; and three, data suggests that Pilot Whales are not endangered.

It is rare to hear critical voices in the Faroe Islands, but in the last few years they have become more frequent. Opponents of the grindadráp often argue on an emotional level, citing in particular the bloody kill on the fjord bank. The Faroese response to this allegation is that a bloody beach is not in fact a problematic issue concerning whale-catching, and that the problem is that a large part of the civilized population has been alienated from the process and basic consequences of animal food production.

Proponents of the hunt further argue that the pilot whale lives its whole life in liberty in its natural habitat, the Atlantic Ocean, and then dies in a few minutes, in contrast to many commonly held livestock such as cows, pigs and chickens, the meat from which one finds in most modern supermarkets. These animals often live in captivity or confinement for their whole lives and are then subject to lengthy transportation and other stressful events before their final slaughter. Furthermore, causing an animal unnecessary or excessive pain and discomfort is prohibited by the Faroese law.

Animal-rights activists argue that the grindadráp is not only cruel, but in view of the ample food supply in today's Faroes, completely unnecessary. Additional argumentation is supplied by the Faroese Ministry of Health, which warns of excessive consumption of pilot whale meat, since it has been shown to contain high levels of mercury, PCBs and environmental poisons.[22][23] The Faroese Chief medical officers Pál Weihe and Høgni Debes Joensen announced in late 2008 that pilot whale meat and blubber contains too much mercury, PCBs and DDT derivatives to be safe for human consumption[24]

During the recent history of the grindadráp, the tools of the catch have modernized. Cellular telephones and radio allow the islands to be alerted to a sighting within the course of minutes. The use of private motorboats give the whalers more speed and maneuverability on the water. The dull blowhole hook, adopted in response to concerns over cruelty, had the additional effect of further increasing the effectiveness of Faroese attempting to beach the whales. In spite of how such improvements to the tools could make the grindadráp more effective, the number of pilot whales caught, both overall and per drive, is less than preceding centuries.

In 1989 the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society commissioned an animated public information film (narrated by Anthony Hopkins) to raise awareness on the Faroe Islands' whaling of Long-finned Pilot Whales. The film caused controversy when it was released, as it shows in somewhat graphic detail what occurred during the annual hunt, but was only given a Universal Certificate by the BBFC[citation needed] since it was animated.

Notes and references

  1. ^ "Small Cetaceans". International Whaling Commission. 5 May 2004. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
  2. ^ "Catch limits". International Whaling Commission. 1 September 2009. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
  3. ^ [http://www.whaling.fo/thepilot.htm#Drivingthewhales[dead link] "Whales and whaling in the Faroe Islands"]. Faroese Government. Retrieved 2006-12-05. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  4. ^ [http://www.wdcs.org/dan/publishing.nsf/allweb/99E632F7502FCC3B802568F20048794C[dead link] "Why do whales and dolphins strand?"]. WDCS. Retrieved 2006-12-05. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  5. ^ Chrismar, Nicole (28 July 2006). "Dolphins Hunted for Sport and Fertilizer". ABC News. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
  6. ^ MacKenzie, Debora (28 November 2008). "Faroe islanders told to stop eating 'toxic' whales". New Scientist. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
  7. ^ Killing Methods and Equipment in the Faroese Pilot Whale Hunt — English translation of a working paper by senior veterinarian, Jústines Olsen, originally presented in Danish at the NAMMCO Workshop on Hunting Methods for marine mammals, held in Nuuk, Greenland in February 1999.
  8. ^ Brakes, Philippa (2004). "A background to whaling". In Philippa Brakes, Andrew Butterworth, Mark Simmonds & Philip Lymbery (ed.). Troubled Waters: A Review of the Welfare Implications of Modern Whaling Activities (PDF). p. 7. ISBN 0-9547065-0-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
  9. ^ Joensen, Jóan Pauli, Pilot Whaling in the Faroe Islands. Ethnologia Scandinavica 1976, Lund
  10. ^ "With the use of the traditional whaling hook, the average total time-to-death taken in the 199 whales recorded was 65.4 seconds, with a range of 8.0 to 290 seconds, and with 50% of whales killed in 55.3 seconds. With the use of the blowhole hook, recorded with a total of 52 whales, the average time-to-death was 29.2 seconds, with a range of 6 to 211 seconds, and with 50% of whales killed in 20.0 seconds.", quote from Killing methods and equipment in the Faroese pilot whale hunt
  11. ^ Olsen, J. (1999) KILLING METHODS AND EQUIPMENT IN THE FAROESE PILOT WHALE HUNT, NAMMCO/99/WS/2
  12. ^ "Marine Hunters: Modern and Traditional". High North Alliance. Retrieved 2006-12-05.
  13. ^ "The World Factbook -- Faroe Islands". Central Intelligence Agency. 4 March 2010. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
  14. ^ "Pilot Whale catches in the Faroe Islands 1900–2000". Whaling.fo. Retrieved 2006-12-04.
  15. ^ "Faroe Islands tourist guide 2007—Food from the clean waters". Retrieved 2006-12-05.
  16. ^ Whaling in the Faroe Islands#Controversy
  17. ^ "Whale catches in figures". Faroese Government. Retrieved 2006-12-05.
  18. ^ http://www.hagstova.fo/portal/page/portal/HAGSTOVAN/Hagstova_Foroya
  19. ^ "NAMMCO 1997 and 1999 report on the hunt" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-12-14.
  20. ^ Taylor, B.L., Baird, R., Barlow, J., Dawson, S.M., Ford, J., Mead, J.G., Notarbartolo di Sciara, G., Wade, P. & Pitman, R.L. 2008. Globicephala melas. In: IUCN 2009. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 28 December 2009.
  21. ^ American Cetacean Society Fact Sheet: Pilot Whale
  22. ^ "CHEF—Children's Health and the Environment in the Faroes". Retrieved 2006-12-05.
  23. ^ http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16159-faroe-islanders-told-to-stop-eating-toxic-whales.html
  24. ^ New Scientist http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16159-faroe-islanders-told-to-stop-eating-toxic-whales.html

Further reading

  • Sanderson, Kate (1990). Whales and Whaling in the Faroe Islands. Tórshavn: Dept. of Fisheries. OCLC 29755860.
  • van Ginkel, Rob (2007). "Bloody Rituals: The Sicilian Mattanza and the Faroese Grindadrap". Coastal Cultures: An Anthropology of Fishing and Whaling Traditions. Apeldoorn: Het Spinhuis. p. 35. ISBN 978-90-5589-294-5.
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