Whaling in the Faroe Islands

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Image:Killed pilot wales in hvalba, faroe islands.JPG

Whaling in the Faroe Islands has been practiced since at least the 10th century <ref>Taken from "An Introduction to the History of Whaling" published by the WDCS</ref>. It is strongly regulated by Faroese authorities and is approved by the International Whaling Commission. To most Faroese, the hunt represents a part of their culture and history. Around 950 Long-finned Pilot Whales Globicephala melas are killed annually, although mainly during the summer. Occasionally, other species are hunted as well, such as the Northern bottlenose whale and Atlantic White-sided Dolphin. The hunts are called grindadráp in Faroese. The hunts are non-commercial and are organised on a community level. Anyone can participate. The hunt itself works by surrounding the pilot-whales with a wide semi-circle of boats. The boats then drive the pilot whales slowly into a bay or to the bottom of a fjord. The hunt remains controversial as animal rights groups accuse the drive of being cruel and unnecessary <ref>See also this description from the Faroese government. The WDCS describes the operation of driving the whales onto the beach as "cruel".</ref>, whereby many journalistic reports do not exhibit a detailed knowledge of the catch methods or its economic significance.<ref>Dolphins are hunted as a sport [1]</ref>

In Faroese society, the argument about the topic does not run off emotion-free. But with the ongoing marine pollution from large industrial nations, perhaps soon the Faroese people will be without this source of food.

[edit] The Meaning of the Word Grind

In Faroese grind has different meanings. The expression "ein grind", can both mean a school of pilot whales as well as pilot whale meat. The plural form grindir, means several schools of pilot whales. But grind is also the actual event, defining the whole affair and the associated culture. The word grind derives from the Old Norse language. A pilot whale is in Faroese grindahvalur or grindafiskur the latter meaning grind”fish”. Dráp means to kill. Literally translated therefore grindadráp means pilot whale kill, or perhaps: pilotwhaling.

The cry grindaboð, which historically took place when a school of pilot whales was sighted, are the two words grind and boð the latter meaning message. Literally translated it therefore means grind message. A better translation could be: news of grind.

[edit] The Origins of the Pilot Whale Hunt

Whale hunting has been a common phenomenon for a long period of time. It is known to have exsisted 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 to whales have been regulated by law since medieval times. 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 <ref>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.</ref>.

[edit] The Institutions of the Pilot Whale Hunt and the Killing Process

[edit] The Sighting: Grindaboð

The pilot whale hunt has a well-developed system of communication. The system is known as Grindaboð. Reverend Lucas Debes made reference to the system, which means that it had already developed by the 17th century. Historically, grindaboð 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 has 17 inhabited Islands). At the same time, a bonfire is lit at a specific location, in order to inform those on the neighbouring island, where the same pattern then is followed.

It is believed that grindaboð 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, grindaboð is relayed via mobile phones and other modern methods of communication.

[edit] The Locations

Image:Sundini with Hvalvík Streymoy in the winter, faroe islands.jpg

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 authorisation, 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.

[edit] The Whaling Regulations

At the beginning of the 19th 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<ref>Joensen, Jóan Pauli, Pilot Whaling in the Faroe Islands. Ethnologia Scandinavica 1976, Lund</ref>.

[edit] The Whaling 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.

[edit] The 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, landsstýri. 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, (in Faroese sýslumaður) who holds the highest command in a pilot whale hunt. It is his responsibility to both supervise the hunt and to distribute the catch.

[edit] The Hunt and Drive

Image:Grindadrap vagur, faroe islands.jpg

During a hunt, the whalers are obliged by law to use only permitted whaling equipment (hooks, ropes, and assessing-poles for measurement). A boat that has been equipped in such a manner is known in Faroese as a grindabátur (a pilot whale boat). The pilot whale boat is not an ordinary 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. In the whaling regulations there are rules for how the school of whales is to be driven ashore. The drive itself works by surrounding the pilot-whales with a wide semi-circle 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 remain unbeached have historically been stabbed in the blubber with a sharp hook, called a gaff (in Faroese sóknarongul), and have then been pulled ashore. After allegations of animal cruelty, the Faroese whalers have respunded by using blunt gaffs (in Faroese blásturongul) instead. This means that today the whales are no longer being stabbed, but are being pulled ashore by putting the blunt gaffs inside the blowhole of the whales.

Today the ordinary gaff is only being used to pull killed whales ashore with. The blunt gaff became generally accepted since it's invention in 1993, and it is not only more effective, but it is also more humane with comparison to the formerly used gaff. Although anti-whaling groups such as Greenpeace and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) claim that the partial blocking and irritation of the airway causes pain and panic in the animal. Furthermore, in 1985 the Faroe Islands made it illegal to use spears and harpoons in the hunt, as it considers these weapons being unnecessarily cruel to animals.

Once ashore the Pilot whale is killed by cutting the dorsal area through to the spinal cord with a special knife known as whaling knife (in Faroese 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.<ref>"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</ref>

[edit] The Impression

Image:Killed pilot wales, faroe islands.jpg 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 spectacular 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 no harpoons or spears or firearms may be used, the men must be located in ice-cold water and struggle with each individual animal. Those who take part describe it as being particularly arduous as well as requiring a high level of concentration. For those who take part grindadráp primarily means free food procurement for themselves and their families.

Chairman of the Faroese pilot whaler’s association Ólavur Sjúrðaberg from Leirvík 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 <ref>highnorth.no</ref>.

[edit] The Pilot Whale as a Source of Food

All of the meat and blubber of the pilot whale is consumed. This fact is sometimes denied by animal rights organizations.

Most part of traditional Faroese food consists of meat. Because of the harsh Faroese climate grain and vegetables have not been able to grow very well. 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 during 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 hunt is still non-commercial. The free pilot whale meat and blubber is stored, prepared and eaten in the Faroese households. This also means that pilot whale meat is not available at supermarkets. And it should be stated, that although the Faroe Island's main export article is fish, this does not include pilot whale meat or blubber. An annual catch of 956 pilot whales<ref>whaling.fo The Faroese government quotes an average of 956 animals per year in the years 1990-1999</ref> (the average annual catch over the past ten years, 1990-1999) is roughly equivalent to 500 tons of meat and blubber, some 30% of all meat produced locally in the Faroe Islands.

[edit] Food Preparation

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. Everyone would benefit rich and poor, young and old. Everybody got their share, as is the custom to this day <ref>Faroe Islands Food from the clean water</ref>. The meat and blubber can be stored and prepared in a variety of ways. When fresh, the meat is boiled or served as steaks. A pilot whale steak is in Faroese called grindabúffur. The traditional recipe for boiled whale meat is very simple. A nutritious meal, that does not involve a cook book. 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 practised, particularly in the villages.

Tourists in the Faroe Islands, who would like to try pilot whale meat and other Faroese food specialties, can do as such at different cultural events which are mostly organized in the summer period.

[edit] Cultural importance

The pilot whale hunt is an integral part of Faroese social culture. Often one hears men talk about the fact that grindadráp makes them feel as proper Faroese. Women do not actively take part in grindadráp, but are bystanders or onlookers. This is part of the traditional division of labor concerning grindadráp that goes back for centuries, and has not changed over time.

In Faroese literature and art, grindadráp is an important motive. The grindadráp paintings by Samual Joensen-Mikines rank internationally as some of his most important. They are part of the 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 ballade 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 men, to kill grind that's our pleasure

These old verses are very seldom being song nowadays by the Faroese. To the outside world (including Denmark) they're part of a backward cliché about the country.

[edit] Pilot Whale Catches In The Faroe Islands

Records of the drive exist in part since 1584, and continuously from 1709 <ref> These dates are given by the Faroese government, which maintains the records</ref>. - the longest period of time for statistics existing for any wild animal harvest in the world.

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 kilos of whale meat plus 34 kilos of blubber: in total 72 kg.

Period	Schools	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
Total	1,844	255,165	1,806,828

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

[edit] A threat to the whale population?

There is a raging debate about whether the pilot whale hunt represents a significant threat to Pilot Whale populations.

It should be mentioned that in its Red List of Threatened Species the IUCN lists both the Long-finned and Short-finned pilot whales as "Lower Risk; conservation dependent".

But the size of the North-east 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 (NAMMCO) in their 1997 and 1999 report on the hunt <ref>NAMMCO 1997 and 1999 report on the hunt</ref>, say that this is a conservative estimate.

Whilst those opposed to the hunt, such as the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) 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 NAMMCO insist is sustainable.

[edit] Controversy

Regularly circulating photographs in the media of the pilot whale hunt display a red colored sea, in combination with motives of dead pilot whales. These strong images move engaged whale protectors world-wide.

[edit] Pro

Most Faroese persist it's their right to catch pilot whales, as they have done for centuries. The Faroese whalers justify themselves before international animal protection organizations, like for example Greenpeace, with the fact that grindadráp is not a hunt as such, but a dráp meaning a kill. This implies that Faroese whalers do not regularly take to sea in order just to hunt for pilot whales. But instead they only kill the pilot whales, which are sighted swimming to close at land e.g. the whales come to the whalers by their own merit. Secondly, the Faroese continue to state that grindadráp does not exist for commercial reasons, but for internal food distribution among households. Thirdly, most Faroese do not believe the pilot whale to be an endangered species. It is rare to hear critical voices in the Faroe Islands, but in the last few years they have become more frequent. The opponents often argue on an emotional level, in particular hallmarking the bloody kill on the fjord bank. The Faroese response to this allegation is, that a bloody beach is by no means a problematic issue concerning whale catching. The problem is that a large part of the civilized population has been alienated from the basic consequences of animal food production. In comparison with the conditions in a modern slaughterhouse, in which the average meat consumer is unfamiliar with, whale catching is harmless. A further argument is that the pilot whale lives its whole life in liberty in the Atlantic Ocean and then dies in a few seconds. The other meat, which one can buy in the supermarket, originates from animals who spend their whole lives in captivity. It is obvious that the Faroese react to criticism and are continuing search for better killing methods, which can leave the animal in lesser pain. Furthermore causing the animal excessive pain is prohibited by the animal rights law.

[edit] Contra

Animal right activists argue that the pilot whale hunt is not only particularly cruel, but in view of today's supply situation of the Faroes, completely unnecessary. Additional argumentation is supplied by the Faroese Ministry of Health, which warns of excessive consumption of pilot whale meat, since it is enriched with mercury, PCB and environmental poisons <ref>CHEF - Children's Health and the Environment in the Faroes</ref>. In practice this means that pilot whale meat and blubber can only be consumed once a month by the Faroese. This is a much smaller quantity compared with previous decades. In the recent history of the Faroes, the catch methods have changed fundamentally. When the Faroese used rowing boats out on the sea in order to circle and drive a school of whales, the whales had a relatively large chance of escaping. Today they don't stand a chance against what is practically a small fleet of motorboats. Although, according to statistics the number of pilot whales caught recently has downsized from previous decades. In the Faroe Islands international criticism is often felt as interference into national affairs. Although criticism from the outside world is both being heard, felt as well as being widely discussed. Many Faroese have the opinion that grindadráp is to only concern the Faroese themselves. On the other hand grindadráp, in spite off its traditions and justifications, might hurt the prestige of the country, something that the Faroese could do without. This latter attitude is by no means marginal in the Faroese society