Vero - Wikipedia - User contributions [en]

Whaling in the Faroe Islands

2025-10-18T22:29:09Z

2600:8800:311B:4100:A843:4AB0:7A3A:3E18: /* The whale hunt */ MoS

{{Short description|Faroese drive hunting of whales and dolphins}}
{{For|industrial whaling in the Faroes|History of whaling#Faroe Islands}}
{{good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2025}}
{{multiple image|perrow = 1/2/2|total_width=400
| image1 = GrindadrapVestmanna17-06-1854.jpg
| image2 = Grindadrap vagur, faroe islands.jpg
| image3 = Killed pilot wales in hvalba, faroe islands.JPG
| image4 = Cut up pilot whales.jpg
| image5 = Tvost_og_spik.jpg
| footer = From top to bottom, left to right: illustration of a ''grindadráp'' ([[pilot whale]] hunt) near [[Vestmanna]] (17 June 1854); whale killing in [[Vágur]] (28 June 2004); pilot whale carcasses on a beach in [[Hvalba]] (2005); whale butchering in [[Klaksvík]] (July 2010); ''tvøst'' (meat) and ''spik'' (blubber) from a pilot whale, with fish and potatoes.
}}
'''Whaling in the Faroe Islands''', or '''{{lang|fo|grindadráp}}''' (from the [[Faroese language|Faroese]] terms {{lang|fo|grindhvalur}}, meaning [[pilot whale]], and {{lang|fo|dráp}}, meaning killing), is a type of [[dolphin drive hunting|drive hunting]] that involves herding various species of [[whales]] and [[dolphins]], but primarily pilot whales, into shallow bays to be beached, killed, and butchered. Each year, an average of around 700 [[long-finned pilot whales]] are caught, alongside varying numbers of [[Atlantic white-sided dolphin]]s.

The practice dates back to the 9th century, and many [[Faroe Islanders]] consider eating whales to be an important part of their history. Since 1948, the hunt has been regulated by the Faroese authorities, required its participants to be trained, involved modern boats and communications, and been supervised by police.

The hunt has been under increasing scrutiny since the 1980s. Domestically, concerns have arisen over the potential toxicity of whale meat, particularly for young children and pregnant women. Internationally, [[animal rights]] groups, who consider the hunts cruel and unnecessary, have targeted them with protests, boycotts, and occasional direct interventions.

== History ==
The evidence for whaling on the Faroe Islands dates back to the early days of [[Norsemen|Norse]] settlement (800–900 AD) during the [[Viking Age]].<ref name=Olsen99>{{harvnb|Olsen|1999}}</ref>
After 999 AD, when [[Sigmundur Brestisson]] brought Christianity to the Faroes, the islanders began keeping records of their whale kills for the purpose of the taxes due to the [[Monarchy of Norway|King of Norway]].<ref name=Olsen99/>
There is archaeological evidence of whaling in the form of pilot whale bones found in household remains dating back to around 1200 AD, and laws regulating the whale hunt appear in the 1298 [[Sheep Letter]].<ref name=Olsen99/> Written records of whale kills survive from 1584, and the statistical records are considered particularly reliable from 1709 to the present.<ref name="Døglingar">{{cite web|url=http://savn.fo/documents/156A3371-802B-4299-891D-5759A36186A3.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107132501/http://savn.fo/documents/156A3371-802B-4299-891D-5759A36186A3.pdf|archive-date=7 January 2016|title=Um døglingar í Føroyum|trans-title=About the bottle-nosed whale in the Faroe Islands|last=Bloch|first=Dorete|author-link=Dorete Bloch|year=2014|publisher=Føroya Náttúrugripasavn|page=6|language=fo|access-date=11 August 2015}}</ref>

The 20th century saw increased regulation of Faroese whaling. On 4 June 1907, the [[Denmark|Danish]] {{lang|fo|amtmaður}} (governor) and {{lang|fo|[[sysselmann]]}} ([[sheriff]]) sent the first draft for whaling regulations to the Danish authorities in [[Copenhagen]], and in 1932 the first modern whaling legislation was introduced. As a part of the [[Home Rule]] act of 1948, the powers relating to legislating on and regulating fishing and hunting on the Faroes were transferred from the [[Danish Parliament]] to the [[Faroese Parliament]].<ref name=homerule1>{{cite web|url=http://www.stm.dk/_p_12710.html |title=Home Rule Act of the Faroe Islands |work=Statsministeriet (State Department of Denmark) |access-date=30 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910005827/http://www.stm.dk/_p_12710.html |archive-date=10 September 2015 }}</ref> The 21st century has seen ongoing regulation alongside a Faroese whaling culture revival both as part of "an international preoccupation with reclaiming, preserving and reconstituting the past" and a national and local "quest for defining identity".<ref name=Ginkel05>{{harvnb|Van Ginkel|2005}}</ref>

==The whale hunt==
[[File:Whaling in the Faroe Islands in August 2012.JPG|thumb|Boats head out on a pilot whale hunt in [[Vágur]], [[Suðuroy]], in August 2012.]]
There are no fixed hunting seasons, but whale hunts are likely to happen during spring and summer periods, from June to October. Whale drives only take place when sea and weather conditions permit. When the men hear of a {{lang|fo|grindaboð}} (a whale pod spotted close to shore), and after approval from the {{lang|fo|sysselman}}, the fishermen already at sea head towards the whales and wait for others to arrive.<ref name=Olsen99/> Women usually do not actively take part in the whale hunt, but support it as bystanders or onlookers.<ref name="Grindaveiða1899">{{cite news|url=http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?issId=48459&lang=1|title=Grindaveiða|trans-title=Pilot whale hunting|date=16 March 1899|publisher=Føringatíðindi|access-date=25 March 2016|archive-date=7 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407234412/http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?issId=48459&lang=1|url-status=live}}</ref>

Whaling regulations specify how the school of whales is to be driven ashore, and the drive works by surrounding the pilot whales with a wide semicircle of boats. On the signal of the whale hunt foremen, stones attached to lines are thrown into the water behind the pilot whales to prevent their escape and the boats drive the whales towards an authorised beach or [[fjord]], where the animals are driven to beach themselves.<ref name=Olsen99/> In older times, the boats which were used to the whale hunt were traditional wooden rowing boats known as {{lang|fo|grindabátarnir}}; today they use wooden or fibreglass boats with engines. In the village of Vágur however they have preserved ten traditional whaling boats, the oldest dating back to 1873.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grindabatar.com/?page_id=288&lang=fo|title=Grindabátar í Vágur|trans-title=Whaling boats from Vágur|website=grindabatar.com|access-date=18 October 2021|archive-date=21 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210921105047/http://www.grindabatar.com/?page_id=288&lang=fo|url-status=live}}</ref> These boats are still in use, but for pleasure trips.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sudurras.fo/34244/|website=sudurras.fo|date=27 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140924042410/http://www.sudurras.fo/34244|title=Grindabátarnir í Vági summarið 2014 |trans-title=Traditional whaling boats in Vágur in the summer of 2014|archive-date=24 September 2014}}</ref>
[[File:Blasturongul.JPG|thumb|A blunt gaff, or {{lang|fo|Blásturongul}}, for use in dragging whales further up the beach by their blowholes]]
Once beached, the pilot whales are killed by a single deep cut through the [[Dorsum (biology)|dorsal]] area made with a special whaling knife, a {{lang|fo|mønustingari}} that severs the [[spinal cord]]. The {{lang|fo|mønustingari}} began to be used in 2011, and became a legal requirement in 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://theanimalfund.net/en/faroes-island-hunt/|title=The Faroe Islands Whale Hunt|access-date=18 October 2021|publisher=The Animal Fund|archive-date=10 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010031622/https://theanimalfund.net/en/faroes-island-hunt/|url-status=live}}</ref> After the whales are confirmed to be dead, their necks are cut open with a {{lang|fo|[[grindaknívur]]}}, so that as much blood as possible can run from the whale in order to better preserve the meat.<ref name=Grind2013>{{cite web|url=http://www.logir.fo/foldb/kunfo/2013/0000100.htm#Kapittul3|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808045608/http://www.logir.fo/foldb/kunfo/2013/0000100.htm#Kapittul3|title=Grind regulations |last=Vestergaard |first=Jacob |date=5 July 2013 |publisher=Lógasavnið, the official Faroese law publication|archive-date=8 August 2014}}</ref>

The pilot whales that are not beached were historically stabbed in the [[blubber]] with a sharp hook, called a {{lang|fo|sóknarongul}} (a kind of gaff), and then pulled ashore. In 1993, a blunt gaff or {{lang|fo|blásturongul}} was invented that could be used to hold the beached whales steady by their [[blowhole (biology)|blowholes]] and pull them ashore. In 1985, the Faroe Islands outlawed the use of [[spear]]s ({{lang|fo|skutil}}) and [[harpoon]]s ({{lang|fo|hvalvákn}}) in the hunt, as these weapons were considered to be unnecessarily cruel to the whales.<ref name="Grindahvalur-Bloch">{{cite web|url=http://savn.fo/documents/00068.pdf|title=Grind og grindahvalur|trans-title=The Whale-hunt and the pilot whale|last=Bloch|first=Dorete|year=2007|publisher=Føroya Náttúrugripasavn|language=fo|access-date=26 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924094625/http://www.savn.fo/documents/00068.pdf|archive-date=24 September 2015}}</ref> According to the 2013 Whale Hunt Law, whales must be either ashore or stuck on the seabed before they can lawfully be killed,<ref name=Grind2013/> and, as of 26 January 2017, only the men waiting on the beaches with {{lang|fo|blásturkrókur}}, {{lang|fo|mønustingari}} and {{lang|fo|grindaknívur}} are permitted to kill the whales, and it is no longer permitted to harpoon the whales while at sea, or hook those outside of the encircling net.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://logir.fo/Kunngerd/9-fra-26-01-2017-um-grind-og-annan-smahval|first=Høgni|last=Hoydal|title=Hunt regulations for small whales|date=26 January 2017|website=logir.fo|publisher=Lógasavnið, the official Faroese law publication|access-date=17 June 2020|archive-date=17 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200617101830/https://logir.fo/Kunngerd/9-fra-26-01-2017-um-grind-og-annan-smahval|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Hunted species and populations===
[[File:Whaling in the Faroe Islands.jpg|thumb|[[Atlantic white-sided dolphin|White-sided dolphin]] carcasses laid out in [[Hvalba]] in August 2006]]
The main target of the Faroese whale hunt is the long-finned pilot whale. In 1993, it was estimated that there were a total of 780,000 short and long-finned pilot whales in the North Atlantic. The study combined both as they are hard to distinguish at sea.<ref>{{harvnb|Buckland|Bloch|Cattanach|Gunnlaugsson|Hoydall|Lens|Sigurjónsson|1993}}</ref> The [[North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission]] has noted that there is little current information on the abundance of pilot whales in the North Atlantic.<ref name=NAMMCO>{{cite web|url=http://www.nammco.no/webcronize/images/Nammco/635.pdf |title=NAMMCO 1997 and 1999 report on the hunt |access-date=13 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927092707/http://www.nammco.no/webcronize/images/Nammco/635.pdf |archive-date=27 September 2011}}</ref> The [[American Cetacean Society]] (ACS) has estimated that there may be as many as one million long-finned pilot whales and 200,000 short finned animals.<ref name="acs99">{{cite report|url=http://acsonline.org/fact-sheets/pilot-whale/|title=American Cetacean Society Fact Sheet: Pilot Whale|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630132116/http://acsonline.org/fact-sheets/pilot-whale/ |archive-date=30 June 2015 }}, retrieved 26 July 2015</ref> The [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] (IUCN), in its [[Red List of Threatened Species]], rates both species of pilot whale as "least concern", and has estimated that the long-finned pilot whale subpopulation around the Faroes is around 100,000 individuals and that the Faroese catch is "likely sustainable".<ref name=IUCN>{{cite web |title=Globicephala melas (Long-finned pilot whale)|work=iucnredlist.org|url=http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/9250/0|publisher=IUCN |access-date=13 January 2012|author1=Taylor, B. L. |author2=Baird, R. |author3=Barlow, J. |author4=Dawson, S. M. |author5=Ford, J. |author6=Mead, J. G. |author7=Notarbartolo di Sciara, G. |author8=Wade, P. |author9=Pitman|year=2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100228135132/http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/9250/0|archive-date=28 February 2010}}</ref>

According to Faroese legislation, it is also permitted to hunt certain species of small cetaceans other than pilot whales.<ref name=Olsen99/> These include the [[Atlantic white-sided dolphin]] (''Lagenorhynchus acutus''), [[common bottlenose dolphin]] (''Tursiops truncatus''), [[white-beaked dolphin]] (''Lagenorhynchus albirostris''), and [[harbour porpoise]] (''Phocaena phocaena''). The hunting of these species is carried out in much the same way as the pilot whale hunt, with the exception of harbour porpoises, which are killed with shotguns. Occasionally, the [[northern bottlenose whale]] is also opportunistically killed when individuals stray too close to shore, or, on occasion, are stranded.<ref name="Bloch 2009">{{harvnb|Bloch|Desportes|Zachariassen|Christensen|2009}}</ref> The hunting of larger whale species (fin and minke whales) ended in 1984 in the Faroe Islands.<ref>{{harvnb|Altherr|Lonsdale|2012}}</ref>

===Impression===

[[File:Hvalba beach whaling, Faroe Islands.jpg|thumb|The sea colored blood-red after a [[pilot whale]] hunt in [[Hvalba]]]]

As the use of harpoons, spears, and firearms at sea is now prohibited, the whales are now all killed on beaches in full view of spectators. The process, in which a pilot whale's dorsal region is cut, their spine severed and their main [[arteries]] opened, is naturally graphic in nature. The entire sea surrounding a whale hunt beaching location tends to turn a bloody red, and this vivid imagery can have a shocking effect on onlookers.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/3104494.stm|publisher=BBC|title=Faroes' controversial whale hunt|date=14 September 2003|access-date=19 October 2021|archive-date=17 April 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050417161259/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/3104494.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> In this regard, the whale hunt is not considered a tourism-friendly practice, as compared to, say, the ''[[mattanza]]'' tuna fishing process in Sicily and Sardinia.<ref name=Ginkel05/> In 2006, Ólavur Sjúrðaberg, the chairman of the Faroese Pilot Whalers' Association, said of the pilot whale hunt: "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>{{cite web|url=http://www.highnorth.no/Library/Publications/M-hunter/mo-an-tr.htm |publisher=[[High North Alliance]] |title=Marine Hunters: Modern and Traditional |access-date=5 December 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060721075214/http://www.highnorth.no/Library/Publications/M-hunter/mo-an-tr.htm |archive-date=21 July 2006 }}</ref>

=== Locations ===
[[File:Killed pilot wales, faroe islands.jpg|thumb|The [[Northern bottlenose whale]] is hunted opportunistically, often when stranded (location: Nesin [[Hvalba]] bay).]]
The best locations for whale drives have highly specific "coastal geomorphology", with sandy bottoms, a lack of large rocks or mud, and lack what are known locally as a ''marbakki'', which are sharp land shelves close to shore that whales can see clearly with their echolocation and tend to avoid. At appropriate locations, whales can readily be driven close to or fully ashore,<ref>{{harvnb|Fielding|2013a}}</ref> and can sometimes even accidentally strand themselves.<ref name="Bloch 2009"/>

There are close to 30 historic whale hunt locations ({{lang|fo|hvalvàgir}}). These include: [[Bøur]], [[Fámjin]], [[Fuglafjørður]], [[Funningsfjørður]], [[Húsavík, Faroe Islands|Húsavík]], [[Hvalba]] (three sites), [[Hvalvík]], [[Hvannasund]], [[Klaksvík]] (in both bays), [[Kollafjørður]], [[Leynar]], [[Miðvágur]], [[Norðragøta]], [[Norðskáli]], [[Sandavágur]], [[Sandur (Faroe Islands)|Sandur]], [[Syðrugøta]], [[Tjørnuvík]], [[Tórshavn]] (in Sandagerð), [[Trongisvágur]], [[Vágur]], [[Vestmanna]], Viðvík (near Hvannasund, but on the east coast of [[Viðoy]]) and [[Øravík]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://heimabeiti.fo/216|website=heimabeiti.fo|title=Whaling locations and kill statistics|date=2017|access-date=22 September 2021|archive-date=10 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010014806/https://heimabeiti.fo/216|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Catch statistics===

Records of the drive exist in part since 1584, and continuously from 1709.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.whaling.fo/thepilot.htm#Whalecatches | title = Whale catches in figures | publisher = Faroese Government | access-date = 5 December 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080612013116/http://www.whaling.fo/thepilot.htm#Whalecatches |archive-date=12 June 2008 }}</ref> Faroese whaling catches have gone through several peaks and troughs in the last century, with notable peaks just before World War II, in the 1950s and 1980s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.whaling.fo/numberswhalingandani.htm |publisher=Whaling.fo |title=Pilot Whale catches in the Faroe Islands 1900–2000 |access-date=4 December 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060614100949/http://www.whaling.fo/numberswhalingandani.htm |archive-date=14 June 2006 }}</ref> Each catch is divided into the Faroese 'skinns', a unit of measurement for dividing whale carcasses into combined meat and blubber portions weighing about 75 kg.<ref name=Singleton>{{harvnb|Singleton|Fielding|2017}}</ref>
[[File:Whales Nordic.png|thumb|320px|Whale catch trends in different communities]]
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Period
! Drives
! Whales
! Skinn
!Drives/Year
!Whales/Year
!Skinn/Year
|-
| 1709–1950 || style="text-align:right;"| 1,195 || style="text-align:right;"| 178,259 || style="text-align:right;"| 1,360,160
|4.96
|738.66
|5,643.82
|-
| 1951–1960 || style="text-align:right;"| 122 || style="text-align:right;"| 18,772 || style="text-align:right;"| 99,102
|13.56
|2,085.78
|11,011.33
|-
| 1961–1970 || style="text-align:right;"| 130 || style="text-align:right;"| 15,784 || style="text-align:right;"| 79,588
|14.44
|1,753.78
|8,843.11
|-
| 1971–1980 || style="text-align:right;"| 85 || style="text-align:right;"| 11,311 || style="text-align:right;"| 69,026
|9.44
|1,256.78
|7,669.56
|-
| 1981–1990 || style="text-align:right;"| 176 || style="text-align:right;"| 18,806 || style="text-align:right;"| 108,714
|19.56
|2,089.56
|12,079.33
|-
| 1991–2000 || style="text-align:right;"| 101 || style="text-align:right;"| 9,212 || style="text-align:right;"| 66,284
|11.22
|1,023.56
|7,364.89
|-
| 2001–2010 || style="text-align:right;"| 81 || style="text-align:right;"| 6,265 || style="text-align:right;"| 49,267
|9.00
|696.11
|5,474.11
|-
| 2011–2016 || style="text-align:right;"| 47 || style="text-align:right;"| 3,394 || style="text-align:right;"| 24,001
|9.40
|678.80
|4,800.20
|}

The largest catch of pilot whales in a single season in recent decades was 1,203 animals in 2017. The average, since 2000, has been 670 animals. In the same period, the average number of white-sided dolphins caught has been 298 animals.<ref name="whaling.fo">{{cite web|url=https://www.whaling.fo/en/regulated/450-years-of-statistics/catches/|title=Faroes whaling catches (2000–2021)|website=whaling.fo|date=September 2021|access-date=27 September 2021|archive-date=27 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927132115/https://www.whaling.fo/en/regulated/450-years-of-statistics/catches/|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 15 September 2021, a highly unusual white-sided dolphin hunt took place in which 1,428 were caught and slaughtered in a single day.<ref name=BBC>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-58555694|title=Faroe Islands: Anger over killing of 1,400 dolphins in one day|publisher=BBC|first=Joshua|last=Nevett|date=15 September 2021|access-date=20 September 2021|archive-date=18 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918125033/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-58555694|url-status=live}}</ref> This was nearly five times the average annual catch of this species and roughly double the previous record number of the animals caught in recent decades. The previous recent record was a total of 773 of the animals caught across the entire season in 2002.<ref name="whaling.fo"/>

===Human casualties===
[[File:Memorial Skadagrindin in Sandvik 1915.jpg|thumb|Memorial for ''The whale hunt catastrophe in Sandvík in 1915'']]
On Saturday 13 February 1915 there was a whale hunt in [[Sandvík]]. During the drive, two boats capsized because of rough seas with 15 men on board, fourteen of whom lost their lives, while one was rescued. The men came from the villages Sandvík and Hvalba. The only man who survived the accident, Petur í Køkini, wrote a letter on the following day in which he described the accident and his loss of his son and his brother. The letter begins:

{{blockquote|It is with great sorrow, that I must write you these lines. Yesterday we have lost our beloved son [Niels Peter Joensen] during a whaling in Sandvík. The sea was so rough that two boats capsized, 9 men on board one and 6 in the other. I was myself on board one of these boats and was the only one who got rescued. Several times I got loose of the boat and was deep down in the sea, but I kept grabbing the boat again. After a long time a boat came to rescue me. You must not think, that I was just glad to be rescued. It was just because of Mariane [his wife] and the daughters. My brother Hans also died. All together 14 young men and boys like Peter. It is an unbelievable grief, both out where he used to work, and not at least here at home.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fiskimannafelag.fo/media/8896/335.pdf|date=3 February 2005|title=Skaðagrindin í Sandvík í 1915|trans-title=The whale hunt catastrophe in Sandvík in 1915|page=9|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809040110/http://www.fiskimannafelag.fo/media/8896/335.pdf|archive-date=9 August 2014}}</ref>}}

==Cultural significance==

The meat and blubber of the pilot whale are a traditional part of the diet of the Faroese community. Marine mammal blubber has also historically been processed for lamp oil and for medicinal purposes. The skin of pilot whales was once used to make [[fishing line]]s and ropes, while their stomachs were used as [[fishing float]]s. Other parts of the animals were used to make shoes.<ref name=Olsen99/>

[[Faroese cuisine]] is generally dominated by the use of animal products, as only about 2% of the 1,393 km<sup>2</sup> of land on the islands is at all suitable for arable crops.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/faroe-islands/ |title=The World Factbook – Faroe Islands |date=4 March 2010 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |access-date=16 March 2010 |archive-date=10 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110004755/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/faroe-islands |url-status=live}}</ref> As a result, during the winter months, the Faroe Islanders traditionally eat mostly salted or dried food, including mutton, fish, seabirds and the meat and blubber from sea mammals.<ref name="Mathisen 2016">{{cite web |last1=Mathisen |first1=Georg |title=Three-step drying keeps people fed in Faroe Islands |url=https://sciencenorway.no/food-habits-forskningno-norway/three-step-drying-keeps-people-fed-in-faroe-islands/1436622 |website=Science Norway |access-date=27 November 2021 |date=21 August 2016}}</ref>

The pilot whale hunt is also a recurring motif in [[Faroese literature]] and [[Art of the Faroe Islands|art]], such as the {{lang |fo |grindadráp}} paintings by [[Sámal Joensen-Mikines]], which are exhibited in the Faroese [[art museum]] in Tórshavn. Whale hunts were also once celebrated with a traditional cultural dance known as the ''grindadansur'',<ref>{{harvnb |Van Ginkel |2007 |page=35}}</ref> and in 1835, one Danish governor ({{lang |fo |amtmand}}) of the Faroe Islands, Christian Pløyen, published a whaling [[kvæði|ballad]] called the {{lang |fo |italic=yes |grindavísan}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sumba.fo/Kvadi/Grindavisan.pdf |title=Grindavisan (Whale hunt song) |first=Christian |last=Pløyen |date=1835 |access-date=18 October 2021 |website=Sumbiar Kommuna |archive-date=13 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913150057/http://sumba.fo/Kvadi/Grindavisan.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> Faroese place names often speak explicitly to whaling culture, such as that of the town of Hvalvík, which means 'whale bay'.<ref name="Proctor 2019 p. 81">{{cite book |last=Proctor |first=James |title=Faroe Islands |publisher=Bradt Travel Guides |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-78477-632-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fhSMDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA81 |access-date=27 November 2021 |page=81}}</ref>

===Culinary tradition===
[[File:FærøskMad.1.jpg|thumb|Tvøst. Black meat of the pilot whale]]

The tradition of eating pilot whale meat and blubber dates back many centuries. Today, it is consumed as a Faroese delicacy.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.faroeislands.com/Default.asp?sida=877 |title=Faroe Islands tourist guide 2007—Food from the clean waters |access-date=5 December 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061207113723/http://www.faroeislands.com/Default.asp?sida=877 |archive-date=7 December 2006 }}</ref> Meat and blubber, ''[[Tvøst og spik]]'' in Faroese, can be stored and prepared in various ways. When fresh, pilot whale meat can be served as a [[steak]] called a ''grindabúffur''. Meat, blubber and potatoes are also boiled together in stews, while slivers of the blubber are a popular accompaniment to [[dried fish]]. On special occasions, a dish called ''kalt borð'', a spread of cold dishes and cakes often including dried pilot whale meat and salted blubber, can be served.<ref name=Walker1995>{{harvnb|Walker|1995}}</ref>

The traditional means of preserving meat and blubber is by [[salting (food)|salting]] or outdoor wind-drying – a process that takes around eight weeks.<ref name="Joensen 2003">{{cite web |url=http://www.gransking.fo/get.file?ID=884 |title=Færøsk madkultur – En oversigt |trans-title=Faroese food culture – An overview |last=Joensen |first=Jóan Pauli |language=da |access-date=13 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109114009/http://www.gransking.fo/get.file?ID=884 |archive-date=9 November 2013}}</ref> Salting is done by immersing the meat or blubber in brine that is sufficiently saline that a potato can float in it. The meat and blubber can last for a long time in this condition, but cannot be eaten directly. Instead, the salt water must be allowed to drain back out of the meat or blubber before consumption. Today, many people also freeze the meat and the blubber, but the traditional way of storage is still practiced, particularly in the villages.<ref name=Walker1995/>

==Dietary health risks==

Studies in the late 1980s and 1990s exposed high levels of ocean-borne pollutants such as [[methyl mercury]] and [[Polychlorinated biphenyl|PCB]] in the Faroese diet, and raised the alarm over the possible effects of the level of exposure on young children.<ref>{{harvnb|Moore|2003|page=58}}</ref>

In August 2008, a [[WHO]] report summarising much of the prior research noted that the Faroe Islands population was exposed to methyl mercury largely from contaminated pilot whale meat, which contained very high levels of about 2 mg per kg. It noted that a 10-year study by [[Philippe Grandjean (professor)|Philippe Grandjean]] with a sample of about 900 Faroese children had shown that prenatal exposure to methyl mercury had resulted in neuropsychological deficits at 7 years of age, and that the developmental delays were significantly associated with methyl mercury exposures, even in lower exposure ranges.<ref>{{cite web |publisher= World Health Organization |year= 2008 |title= Guidance for identifying populations at risk from mercury exposure |page= 36 |url= https://www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/chem/mercuryexposure.pdf |access-date= 29 August 2013 |archive-date= 31 October 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131031005348/http://www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/chem/mercuryexposure.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref>

In November 2008, Høgni Debes Joensen, the chief medical officer of the Faroe Islands, and scientist Pál Weihe recommended that pilot whales should no longer be considered healthy for human consumption due to the high levels of mercury, PCB and DDT derivatives in the animals. The research by Joensen and Weihe led to recommendations, but no ruling, by the Faroese government against the consumption of pilot whale meat.<ref>{{cite web|author=MacKenzie|first=Debora|date=28 November 2008|title=Faroe islanders told to stop eating 'toxic' whales|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16159-faroe-islanders-told-to-stop-eating-toxic-whales.html|url-status=live|access-date=28 November 2008|website=[[New Scientist]]|archive-date=11 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711113054/http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16159-faroe-islanders-told-to-stop-eating-toxic-whales.html}}</ref>

In June 2011, the Faroese Food and Veterinary Authorities recommended that adults should only eat one portion of pilot whale meat and blubber per month, that the kidneys and liver of pilot whales should never be eaten, and that women should take particular care surrounding pregnancy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hfs.fo/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/HFS/WWW_HFS_FO/UMSITING/KUNNANDITILFAR/KUNNANDITILFARFRABODANIR/KUNNTILFFRAMATVORUR/GRIND_0.PDF|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810183632/http://www.hfs.fo/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/HFS/WWW_HFS_FO/UMSITING/KUNNANDITILFAR/KUNNANDITILFARFRABODANIR/KUNNTILFFRAMATVORUR/GRIND_0.PDF|title=Food recommendation regarding consumption of pilot whale meat and blubber |archive-date=10 August 2014}}</ref>

In July 2012, Joensen and Weihe published a follow-up study showed that pilot whales contain an average of twice the [[EU]] limit for mercury in food. In the paper, Weihe also revealed the detrimental impact of ingested mercury from the regular consumption of pilot whales on the foetal development of the human nervous system. It also raised the risk of [[Parkinson's]], [[hypertension]], [[arteriosclerosis]] and negative impacts on reproductive function later in life.<ref name="Weihe0612">{{harvnb|Weihe|Joensen|2012}}</ref>

In 2013, a survey revealed that students tended to consume more meat than blubber, and men more meat than women, probably due to warnings for pregnant women.<ref>{{harvnb|Fielding|2013b}}</ref> The Faroese generally agree that these health considerations mean whale meat consumption may have to be reduced, and that pregnant mothers should avoid it.<ref>{{cite web|first=Nick|last=Haslam|publisher=BBC News|date=2003|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/3104494.stm|title=Faroes' controversial whale hunt|access-date=21 June 2008|archive-date=26 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126073025/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/3104494.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Competing interpretations==

Faroese whaling practices have been challenged by environmental organisations, most notably by the [[Sea Shepherd Conservation Society]], as being cruel and unnecessary, with critics pointing out that the suffering of the animals is not as limited as claimed.<ref name="Britannica">{{cite web|url=http://advocacy.britannica.com/blog/advocacy/2010/04/the-faroe-islands-whale-hunt/|title=The Faroe Islands Whale Hunt|last=Duignan|first=Brian|date=26 April 2010|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica – Advocacy for Animals|access-date=2 August 2015|archive-date=6 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906075045/http://advocacy.britannica.com/blog/advocacy/2010/04/the-faroe-islands-whale-hunt/|url-status=live}}</ref> Reports on the length of time it takes the mammals to die are extremely variable, ranging from a few second to tens of minutes,<ref>{{harvnb|Thornton|Gibson|1985}}</ref><ref name=Bulbeck08>{{harvnb|Bulbeck|Bowdler|2008}}</ref> and that is without touching on the psychological suffering that the animals endure as they are herded into the bays and killed in the presence of each other – a point emphasised by Sea Shepherd,<ref name=Britannica/> which has also noted that the hunts can wipe out an entire whale pod or dolphin family group.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2000/NATURE/09/11/faroe.islands.enn/index.html|title=Conservation groups call for an end to Faroe Island whale hunts|publisher=Environmental News Network|date=11 September 2000|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060522173121/http://archives.cnn.com/2000/NATURE/09/11/faroe.islands.enn/index.html|archive-date=22 May 2006}}</ref> Critics and legal experts also point to the violation of the Faroes Islands of the [[CITES|Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)]] and [[Berne Convention]], which Denmark subscribes to.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oipa.org/international/why-the-grindagrap-is-not-legal/|title=Why the Grindadrap is not legal|date=30 July 2016|publisher=OIPA International|access-date=19 October 2021|archive-date=19 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170619234805/http://www.oipa.org/international/why-the-grindagrap-is-not-legal/|url-status=live}}</ref> The State of Denmark has also pushed back on and refused to ratify the [[International Whaling Commission|International Whaling Commission (IWC)]] moratorium on commercial whaling.<ref>{{harvnb|Couzens|2013|page=79}}</ref> Internationally, [[animal rights]] groups have targeted the hunts with protests, boycotts, and occasional direct interventions.<ref>{{cite web|first=Gavin|last=Haines|date=4 October 2012|url=https://theecologist.org/2012/oct/04/faroe-whale-killing-cruel-and-unnecessary-ritual-or-sustainable-food-practice|title=Faroe whale killing: a cruel and unnecessary ritual or a sustainable food practice?|publisher=The Ecologist|access-date=18 October 2021|archive-date=10 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010032406/https://theecologist.org/2012/oct/04/faroe-whale-killing-cruel-and-unnecessary-ritual-or-sustainable-food-practice|url-status=live}}</ref>

Proponents of Faroese pilot whaling defend it as essential to Faroese culture and argue that the number of whales taken are not harmful to the general pilot whale population.<ref name="The Spectator">{{cite web|url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/why-we-should-let-faroe-islanders-hunt-whales|title=Why we should let Faroe islanders hunt whales|last=Ecott|first=Tim|date=1 February 2014|publisher=The Spectator|access-date=27 September 2021|archive-date=27 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927080023/https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/why-we-should-let-faroe-islanders-hunt-whales|url-status=live}}</ref> They also point to recent Faroese laws to make the whale hunts more humane and reduce the unnecessary suffering of the animals.<ref name=Grind2015>{{cite web|url=http://www.logir.fo/Logtingslog/56-fra-19-05-2015-um-grind-og-annan-smahval|title=2015 Whale hunt regulations|date=19 May 2015|publisher=Lógasavnið, the official Faroese law publication|access-date=2 August 2015|archive-date=22 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222142223/http://www.logir.fo/Logtingslog/56-fra-19-05-2015-um-grind-og-annan-smahval|url-status=live}}</ref> One locally supported perspective, as illustrated by material published by the Faroese Department of Fisheries is that opposition to Faroese whaling is rooted in "the ambiguities it presents in relation to predominant cultural perceptions of nature and human society found in the urbanized Western world."<ref>{{harvnb|Sanderson|1990}}</ref> This notion has been reiterated by other academics, such as in a 2008 paper in ''Australian Archaeology'' that said conservationists find Faroese whaling particularly offensive because it does not conform to traditional Western perspectives on "primitive" tribes.<ref name=Bulbeck08/> On a related note, the Dutch anthropologist Rob van Ginkel has argued that the Faroese whale hunt is unfairly singled out due to the "obviously important" symbolic dimension of whales "in human classifications of the pecking order of sea creatures".<ref name=Ginkel05/> It has also been suggested that a reduction in the whale hunt could lead to an increase in other, less sustainable fishing practices by the Faroese.<ref>{{harvnb|Fielding|2010}}</ref> Proponents of whaling also argue that international whaling regulations have already scaled down the whale hunt from a [[profit maximization|profit maximisation]] model to a fairly limited form,<ref>{{cite book|title=Whales and Nations|jstor=j.ctvcwngrn|last1=Dorsey|first1=Kurkpatrick|year=2013|publisher=University of Washington Press|isbn=978-0-295-99311-9}}</ref> and that, as with efficient fishery management, the whaling communities are economically incentivised to ensure that the whale hunt remains sustainable.<ref>{{harvnb|Herrera|Hoagland|2006}}</ref>

==Controversies==

===Anthony Hopkins film===
In 1989, the [[Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society]] commissioned a one-minute-long animated public information film (or [[public service announcement]]) narrated by [[Anthony Hopkins]], directed by Charlie Paul, and with music from Gary Bell, to raise awareness about the Faroe Islands' whaling of [[long-finned pilot whale]]s. The film portrays the practice in a negative light, focusing on the suffering of the whales and the claimed sadism of the islanders.<ref name="itchfilm">{{cite web|url=https://vimeo.com/121658400|title=Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society: Animated public awareness film|date=9 March 2015|publisher=Itch Film|access-date=7 November 2021}}</ref>

===Sea Shepherd campaigns===
[[File:Porkeri.Suðuroy.10.jpg|thumb|Sea Shepherd personnel in [[Porkeri]] harbour, [[Suðuroy]] in August 2011]]
Sea Shepherd has been involved in campaigning against the Faroese whale hunt since the 1980s, but stepped up its efforts in mid-June 2014 when it launched "Operation GrindStop", which saw hundreds of volunteers travelling to the Faroes Islands to patrol the waters and attempt to help protect the whales and dolphins.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/thousands-of-whales-killed-in-the-faroe-islands-every-year/|title=Why are Thousands of Whales Killed in the Faroe Islands Every Year – And What Can You Do to Stop It!|first=Kate|last=Good|date=5 July 2014|publisher=One Green Planet|access-date=27 November 2021}}</ref>
[[File:Policemen in Hvalba on 12 August 2014.JPG|thumb|Police block access to Hvalba ahead of a hunt in August 2014]]
The subsequent year, Sea Shepherd led a further high-profile operation on the Faroe Islands called [[Sea Shepherd Conservation Society operations#Faroe Islands whaling (1985–1986, 2000, 2010–2011, 2014–2015)|''Sleppið Grindini'']], literally meaning "set the whales free" (a traditional order used by the whale hunt foreman to call off a whale hunt),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://seashepherd.org/news/sea-shepherd-announces-operation-sleppid-grindini/|title=Faroe Islands Pilot Whale Defense Campaign, 2015|date=11 May 2015|publisher=Sea Shepherd Conservation Society|access-date=9 November 2021}}</ref> that resulted in confrontations with local police and several arrests.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lee|first=Jane|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/140911-faroe-island-pilot-whale-hunt-animals-ocean-science|title=Faroe Island Whaling, a 1,000-Year Tradition, Comes Under Renewed Fire|date=12 September 2014|publisher=National Geographic|access-date=19 October 2021|archive-date=21 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210921012034/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/140911-faroe-island-pilot-whale-hunt-animals-ocean-science|url-status=live}}</ref> The organisation's campaigning aimed to pressure the Danish Parliament into stopping the whale hunt, and it received some international media coverage.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hvalaktivister tordner mod danske politikere over færøsk grindedrab|trans-title=Whale activists rail against Danish politicians over Faroese whale killing|url=https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/politik/hvalaktivister-tordner-mod-danske-politikere-over-faeroesk-grindedrab|publisher=DR Nyheder|date=27 July 2015|access-date=30 November 2016|archive-date=23 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160723103824/https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/politik/hvalaktivister-tordner-mod-danske-politikere-over-faeroesk-grindedrab|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Cabinet of Kaj Leo Johannesen II|Faroese government]] had asked the Danish government to forbid Sea Shepherd from entering the Faroe Islands after their 2014 GrindStop campaign before the 2015 Sleppið Grindini started, but the Danish government had refused.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://arcticjournal.com/politics/1285/cant-stop|publisher=The Arctic Journal|title=Sea Shepherd – Can't stop this|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160326013101/http://arcticjournal.com/politics/1285/cant-stop |archive-date=26 March 2016 }}, efter Kaj Joensen den 26. januar 2015.</ref>

The confrontations led to trials both in the Faroese court and in [[Østre Landsret]]. The Faroese Court found five activists from Sea Shepherd guilty, issuing them fines from 5,000 DKK to 35,000 DKK, while Sea Shepherd Global was fined 75,000 DKK.<ref name="Landsret2016">{{cite web|url=http://jyllands-posten.dk/indland/politiretsvaesen/ECE8522414/landsret-doemmer-organisation-for-aktion-mod-hvalfangst/|title=Landsret dømmer organisation for aktion mod hvalfangst|trans-title=The High Court sentences the organization for action against whaling|date=18 March 2016|publisher=Jyllands-Posten|language=da|access-date=27 March 2016|archive-date=20 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160320085853/http://jyllands-posten.dk/indland/politiretsvaesen/ECE8522414/landsret-doemmer-organisation-for-aktion-mod-hvalfangst/|url-status=live}}</ref> The five activists in the case subsequently appealed in the higher Danish court, Østre Landsret, which lowered some of the sentences, though the 5,000 DKK fine was raised to 12,500 DKK.<ref name="Landsret2016"/>

In all, a total of 28 Sea Shepherd campaigners were arrested and four boats were confiscated between 2014 and 2015.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/third-pilot-whales-grind-in-the-faroe-islands|title=Third Pilot Whale Grind in the Faroe Islands|publisher=Maritime Executive|date=27 August 2016|access-date=27 November 2021}}</ref>

In 2017, Sea Shepherd followed up on its campaigns by made a legal complaint to the European Commission, delivering a dossier of what it claimed to be evidence showing Denmark had broken EU law by facilitating the slaughter of dolphins in the Faroe Islands. The case was initially dismissed by the commission, according to Sea Shepherd statements.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/more-dead-cetaceans-less-legal-wrangling|title=More Dead Cetaceans, Less Legal Wrangling|publisher=Maritime Executive|date=28 September 2017|access-date=27 November 2021}}</ref>

===2021 dolphin hunt===

On 12 September 2021, Faroese whalers slaughtered 1,428 Atlantic white-sided dolphins after herding them into shallow waters at [[Skálafjørður|Skálabotnur]] beach in [[Eysturoy]]<ref name=Newsweek>{{cite news |title=Faroe Islands to Review Dolphin Hunt Polices After Massacre Sparks Outrage |url=https://www.newsweek.com/photos-hunters-slaughtering-dolphins-faroe-islands-global-outrage-1629336 |publisher=Newsweek |last=Lock |first=Samantha |date=26 September 2021 |access-date=27 November 2021}}</ref> – a record-breaking mass killing event that drew criticism even from some members of the pro-whaling community, which typically hunts a fraction of that number in an entire year.<ref name=BBC/> The relevant hunt foreman was also not notified about and did not approve the hunt, as is required.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://in.fo/news-detail/grindaformadur-er-skelkadur-av-drapinum-i-gjar |title=Grindaformaður er skelkaður av drápinum í gjár |language=fo |trans-title=The hunt foreman is horrified by the killing yesterday |publisher=In.fo|first=Áki |last=Bertholdsen |date=13 September 2021 |access-date=27 November 2021}}</ref>

Subsequent reporting has suggested that "many errors" were made in driving so many dolphins into the bay and that the lack of whalers on hand prolonged the dolphins' suffering.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/15/europe/faroe-dolphin-killing-record-scli-intl-scn/index.html |title=1,400 dolphins were killed in the Faroe Islands in one day, shocking even some pro-whalers |publisher=CNN |date=15 September 2021 |access-date=20 September 2021 |archive-date=17 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917235932/https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/15/europe/faroe-dolphin-killing-record-scli-intl-scn/index.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Following the hunt a survey found that the majority of Faroese opposed hunting dolphins, but wanted whale hunts to continue.<ref>{{cite news |title=Faroe Islands: Anger over killing of 1,400 dolphins in one day |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-58555694 |access-date=24 September 2021 |work=BBC News |date=14 September 2021 |archive-date=23 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923131324/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-58555694 |url-status=live }}</ref> Animal rights campaigners have called on a boycott of Faroese-sourced seafood, and the suspension of the £580 million post-Brexit trade agreement.<ref>{{cite web |date=5 October 2021 |title=UK Groceries Urged to Boycott Faroese Seafood Due to Dolphin Slaughter – October 5, 2021 |url=https://dailynewsbrief.com/2021/10/05/uk-groceries-urged-to-boycott-faroese-seafood-due-to-dolphin-slaughter/ |access-date=2021-10-05 |website=Daily News Brief |language=en-US |archive-date=19 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019180347/https://dailynewsbrief.com/2021/10/05/uk-groceries-urged-to-boycott-faroese-seafood-due-to-dolphin-slaughter/ |url-status=live}}</ref> On 16 September, the Faroese Prime Minister [[Bárður á Steig Nielsen]] pledged an official review of the dolphin hunt amid the outcry and international media attention.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/17/faroes-pm-pledges-dolphin-hunt-review-amid-outcry-at-carnage |title=Faroes PM pledges dolphin hunt review amid outcry at carnage |work=The Guardian |first=Regin |last=Winther |date=17 September 2021 |access-date=20 September 2021 |archive-date=20 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920013509/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/17/faroes-pm-pledges-dolphin-hunt-review-amid-outcry-at-carnage |url-status=live}}</ref>

In July 2022, the Faroese government set a provisional dolphin hunt quota of 500 animals a year. Campaigners criticized the target as "farcical", as, since 1996, aside from the 2021 slaughter, there have been only three other years where more than 500 dolphins were killed: 2001, 2002 and 2006.<ref name=Regin2022>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/13/faroe-islands-branded-an-abattoir-as-quota-set-for-slaughter-of-500-dolphins |title=Faroe Islands branded an 'abattoir' as quota set for slaughter of 500 dolphins |first1=Regin |last1=Winther Poulsen |first2=Karen |last2=McVeigh |date=13 Jul 2022 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> The government's proposal of a specific quota, noted Sally Hamilton of the marine conservation charity Orca, was to "formalise something that was previously unformalised", even though there is little market for dolphin meat and 53% of Faroese islands oppose dolphin hunting, as compared with 83% of islanders that support the killing of pilot whales.<ref name=Regin2022/>

==References==

===Citations===
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
{{Refbegin|2}}
*{{cite web |url=https://oceancare.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Report_IWC_CITES_Breaking-Ranks_EN_2012.pdf|title=Denmark goes it alone on whaling policy|first1=Sandra|last1=Altherr|first2=Jennifer|last2=Lonsdale|date=2012|website=OceanCare |access-date=18 October 2021|archive-date=19 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019180328/https://oceancare.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Report_IWC_CITES_Breaking-Ranks_EN_2012.pdf}}
*{{cite journal|last1=Bloch|first1=D.|last2=Desportes|first2=Genevieve|last3=Zachariassen|first3=M.|last4=Christensen|first4=I.|date=2009|title=The northern bottlenose whale in the Faroe Islands, 1584-1993|journal=Journal of Zoology|volume=239|pages=123–140|doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1996.tb05441.x|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230369801|access-date=19 October 2021|archive-date=19 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019180352/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230369801_The_northern_bottlenose_whale_in_the_Faroe_Islands_1584-1993|url-status=live}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Buckland|first1=S.T.|last2=Bloch|first2=D.|last3=Cattanach|first3=K.L.|last4=Gunnlaugsson|first4=T.|last5=Hoydall|first5=K.|last6=Lens|first6=S.|last7=Sigurjónsson|first7=J.|date=1993|title=Distribution and abundance of long-finned pilot whales in the North Atlantic, estimated from NASS-87 and NASS-89 data |journal=Reports of the International Whaling Commission |volume=14 |pages=33–49 |hdl=10508/8739 |hdl-access=free}}
*{{cite journal|last1=Bulbeck|first1=Chilla|last2=Bowdler|first2=Sandra|year=2008|title=The Faroes Grindadráp or Pilot Whale Hunt: The Importance of {{sic|i|t's|nolink=y}} 'Traditional' Status in Debates with Conservationists|journal=Australian Archaeology|volume=67|pages=53–60|doi=10.1080/03122417.2018.12033732|s2cid=147506264|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289731260|access-date=19 October 2021|archive-date=19 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019180355/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289731260_The_Faroes_Grindadrap_or_Pilot_Whale_Hunt_The_Importance_of_it%27s_%27Traditional%27_Status_in_Debates_with_Conservationists|url-status=live}}
*{{cite book|title=Whales and Elephants in International Conservation Law and Politics: A Comparative Study|first=Ed|last=Couzens|publisher=Routledge|year=2013|isbn=978-1-135-11966-9|doi=10.4324/9780203075333|url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780203075333/|access-date=19 October 2021|archive-date=19 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019180333/https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780203075333/whales-elephants-international-conservation-law-politics-ed-couzens|url-status=live}}
*{{cite journal|last=Fielding|first=Russell|year=2010|title=Environmental change as a threat to the pilot whale hunt in the Faroe Islands|journal=Polar Research|volume=29|issue=3|pages=430–438|doi=10.3402/polar.v29i3.6076|s2cid=140687650|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312359597|access-date=19 October 2021|archive-date=19 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019180347/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312359597_Environmental_change_as_a_threat_to_the_pilot_whale_hunt_in_the_Faroe_Islands|url-status=live|doi-access=free}}
*{{cite journal|last=Fielding|first=Russell|title=Coastal geomorphology and culture in the spatiality of whaling in the Faroe Islands|journal=Area|volume=45|issue=1|date=2013a|pages=88–97|doi=10.1111/j.1475-4762.2012.01123.x|bibcode=2013Area...45...88F |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264686572|access-date=19 October 2021|archive-date=19 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019180404/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264686572_Coastal_geomorphology_and_culture_in_the_spatiality_of_whaling_in_the_Faroe_Islands|url-status=live}}
*{{cite journal|last=Fielding|first=Russell|date=2013b|title=Whaling Futures: A Survey of Faroese and Vincentian Youth on the Topic of Artisanal Whaling|journal=Society and Natural Resources|volume=26|issue=7|pages=810–826|doi=10.1080/08941920.2012.721058|bibcode=2013SNatR..26..810F |s2cid=154697929|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262970385|access-date=19 October 2021|archive-date=19 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019180400/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262970385_Whaling_Futures_A_Survey_of_Faroese_and_Vincentian_Youth_on_the_Topic_of_Artisanal_Whaling|url-status=live}}
*{{cite journal|last1=Herrera|first1=Guillermo|last2=Hoagland|first2=Porter|year=2006|title=Commercial whaling, tourism, and boycotts: An economic perspective|journal=Marine Policy|volume=30|issue=3|pages=261–269|doi=10.1016/j.marpol.2004.12.005|bibcode=2006MarPo..30..261H |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222762722|access-date=19 October 2021|archive-date=19 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019180333/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222762722_Commercial_whaling_tourism_and_boycotts_An_economic_perspective|url-status=live}}
*{{cite book|last=Moore|first=Colleen|year=2003|title=Silent Scourge: Children, Pollution, and Why Scientists Disagree|isbn=978-0-19-534375-5|publisher=Oxford University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H5FcX0zkrmAC&q=faroe+islands+polluted+mercury&pg=PA58|access-date=22 November 2020|archive-date=10 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010011949/https://books.google.com/books?id=H5FcX0zkrmAC&q=faroe+islands+polluted+mercury&pg=PA58|url-status=live}}
*{{cite web |first=Jústines|last=Olsen|year=1999|title=Killing methods and equipment in the Faroese pilot whale hunt|website=North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission |url=https://nammco.no/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/doc-6-killing-methods-and-equipement-in-the-faroese-pilot-whale-hunt.pdf |access-date=19 October 2021|archive-date=16 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916101130/https://nammco.no/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/doc-6-killing-methods-and-equipement-in-the-faroese-pilot-whale-hunt.pdf|url-status=live}}
*{{cite book |last=Sanderson |first=Kate |title=Whales and Whaling in the Faroe Islands |location=Tórshavn |publisher=Dept. of Fisheries |year=1990 |oclc=29755860}}
*{{cite journal|last1=Singleton|first1=B.E.|last2=Fielding|first2=R.|title=Inclusive hunting: examining Faroese whaling using the theory of socio-cultural viability|journal=Maritime Studies|volume=16|issue=6|date=2017|doi=10.1186/s40152-017-0061-9|s2cid=44196385|url=https://pub.epsilon.slu.se/14723/1/singleton_et_al_171121.pdf|access-date=19 October 2021|archive-date=21 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721113914/https://pub.epsilon.slu.se/14723/1/singleton_et_al_171121.pdf|url-status=live |doi-access=free }}
*{{cite web |last1=Thornton|first1=Allan|last2=Gibson|first2=Jennifer|title=Pilot Whaling in the Faroe Islands: A Second Report|website=EU Environmental Investigation Agency|year=1985|url=https://eia-international.org/wp-content/uploads/Pilot-Whaling-in-the-Faroe-Islands.pdf |access-date=19 October 2021|archive-date=19 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019180333/https://eia-international.org/wp-content/uploads/Pilot-Whaling-in-the-Faroe-Islands.pdf|url-status=live}}
*{{cite book|last=Van Ginkel|first=Rob|year=2007|title=Coastal Cultures: An Anthropology of Fishing and Whaling Traditions|isbn=978-90-5589-294-5|publisher=Transaction Publishers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H-8cAQAAIAAJ|access-date=19 October 2021|archive-date=19 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019180334/https://books.google.com/books?id=H-8cAQAAIAAJ|url-status=live}}
*{{cite journal|last=Van Ginkel|first=Rob|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/255606310|title=Killing the giants of the sea: contentious heritage and the politics of culture|journal=Journal of Mediterranean Studies|volume=15|pages=71–98|year=2005|access-date=26 September 2021|archive-date=19 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019180335/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/255606310_Killing_giants_of_the_sea_Contentious_heritage_and_the_politics_of_culture|url-status=live}}
*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XR9YIaG0kIcC&q=sheep+letter+1298+grind&pg=PA86|title=Disappearing Foods: Studies in Foods and Dishes at Risk|last=Walker|first=Harlan|year=1995|isbn=978-0-907325-62-8|publisher=Oxford Symposium|access-date=22 November 2020|archive-date=10 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010031559/https://books.google.com/books?id=XR9YIaG0kIcC&q=sheep+letter+1298+grind&pg=PA86|url-status=live}}
*{{cite journal|title=Dietary recommendations regarding pilot whale meat and blubber in the Faroe Islands |journal=International Journal of Circumpolar Health |date=2012 |volume=71 |doi=10.3402/ijch.v71i0.18594 |first1=Pál|last1=Weihe |first2=Høgni D.|last2=Joensen |pmid=22789518|pmc=3417701 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229080588 |access-date=19 October 2021 |archive-date=19 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019180405/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229080588_Dietary_recommendations_regarding_pilot_whale_meat_and_blubber_in_the_Faroe_Islands |url-status=live}}
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book |last=Fielding |first=Russell |title=The Wake of the Whale: Hunter Societies in the Caribbean and North Atlantic |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-674-98637-4 |url=https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674986374 |ref=none }}
*{{cite book |last=Joensen |first=Jóan Pauli |year=2009 |title=Pilot Whaling in the Faroe Islands |publisher=Faroe University Press |isbn=978-99918-65-25-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=25dCtUOd_ZwC |ref=none}}
*{{cite book |last=Kerins |first=Seán |year=2010 |title=A Thousand Years of Whaling: A Faroese Common Property Regime |publisher=University of Alberta Press |isbn=978-1-896445-52-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=doa1uAAACAAJ |ref=none}}
*{{cite journal |last=Mamzer |first=H.M. |date=2021 |title=Ritual Slaughter: The Tradition of Pilot Whale Hunting on the Faroe Islands |journal=Frontiers in Veterinary Science |volume=8 |doi=10.3389/fvets.2021.552465 |pmid=33898540 |pmc=8062700 |doi-access=free |ref=none}}
{{refend}}

==External links==

{{Commons|Whaling in the Faroe Islands}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYOTkwFhe-w The Grind: Whaling in the Faroe Islands] a 30-minute documentary by Motherboard
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXZPmdULIKs GrindaDrap: Video of a Whale Hunt] YouTube
* [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_XfvZ9J4oABwC/page/193/mode/2up?view=theater Faroese-English translations of whaling terms]

{{Faroe Islands topics}}
{{Whaling}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whaling in the Faroe Islands}}
[[Category:Whaling in the Faroe Islands| ]]
[[Category:Animal killing]]
[[Category:Economy of the Faroe Islands]]
[[Category:Culture of the Faroe Islands]]
[[Category:Fishing in Denmark]]

Åsne Seierstad

2025-10-18T21:44:26Z

2600:8800:311B:4100:A843:4AB0:7A3A:3E18: /* Personal and professional life */ MoS

{{short description|Norwegian journalist and author (born 1970)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Åsne Guldahl Seierstad
| image = Åsne Seierstad.jpg
| caption = Seierstad in 2007
| image_upright = 1
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1970|02|10|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Oslo]], Norway
| occupation = [[Broadcast Journalist]], Author
| website = {{URL|morgenbladet.no/forfatter/asne_seierstad}}
}}
'''Åsne Seierstad''' (born 10 February 1970) is a Norwegian [[freelance journalist]] and writer, best known for her accounts of everyday life in war zones – most notably [[Kabul]] [[Timeline_of_Kabul#21st_century|after 2001]], [[Baghdad]] in 2002 and the ruined [[Grozny]] in 2006.<ref name="Omdal-2022">{{Citation |last=Omdal |first=Sven Egil |title=Åsne Seierstad |date=30 June 2022 |url=https://nbl.snl.no/%C3%85sne_Seierstad |encyclopedia=[[Great Norwegian Encyclopedia|Norsk biografisk leksikon]] |access-date=6 May 2023 |language=no}}</ref>

==Personal and professional life==
Seierstad was born in [[Oslo]], but grew up in [[Lillehammer]], Norway, to "a feminist author mother", Lector Frøydis Guldahl, and "a leftist politician father", Assistant Professor {{ill|Dag Seierstad|no}} (b. 1936)<ref name="Omdal-2022" /><ref name="www.worldpress.org">{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldpress.org/europe/0302people_seierstad.htm|title=World Press Review – Asne Seierstad|website=www.worldpress.org}}</ref> She holds a [[bachelor's degree]] from the [[University of Oslo]] where she majored in Russian, Spanish and [[history of ideas]].

From 1993 until 1996, she reported for the ''[[Dagsavisen|Arbeiderbladet]]'' in Russia and in 1997 from China. From 1998 until 2000, she worked for the national public broadcaster [[NRK]] where she reported from the Serbian breakaway province of [[Kosovo]]. ''[[With Their Backs to The World: Portraits of Serbia]]'', her first book, is an account of this time. (This book was extended and republished in 2004 when she again visited Serbia. The name was changed slightly, to ''Portraits of Serbia'', indicating that Serbia's back was no longer turned to the world.)<ref name="Åsne Seierstad inntar scenen med Trygve Seim">{{cite web |url=http://www.cappelendamm.no/main/Katalog.aspx?f=9967 |title=Åsne Seierstad inntar scenen med Trygve Seim (radio) – Cappelen Damm AS}}</ref>

As a reporter, she is particularly remembered for her work in war zones such as [[Afghanistan]], Iraq and most recently [[Chechnya]], as well as for her reports on the [[September 11 attacks]] in the United States. ''[[The Bookseller of Kabul]]'', her second, bestselling book, is an account of the time she spent living with an [[Afghan people|Afghan]] family in Kabul after [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|the fall of the Taliban]] in 2001. Her other books include ''[[One Hundred And One Days: A Baghdad Journal]]'' which describes the three months she spent in Iraq in the build-up to the [[Invasion of Iraq|U.S.-led invasion]] in 2003; ''[[Angel of Grozny: Inside Chechnya]]'', an account of the time she spent in Chechnya after [[Second Chechen War|the war]]; and ''[[One of Us (Seierstad book)|One of Us]]: The Story of Anders Breivik and the Massacre in Norway'' (2015),<ref name="Åsne Seierstad-2010">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/asne-seierstad |title=Åsne Seierstad – The Guardian Books |location=London |date=31 July 2010}}</ref> which is the basis for the Netflix drama, [[22 July (film)|''22 July'']].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/2018/film/news/july-22-trailer-netflix-paul-greengrass-1202926207/|title=Paul Greengrass Recreates Norway Terror Attack in '22 July' Trailer|last=Sippell|first=Margeaux|date=4 September 2018|work=Variety|access-date=11 September 2018|language=en-US}}</ref>

Seierstad is fluent in five languages, and has "a good working knowledge" of another four.<ref name="www.worldpress.org" /> She currently [when?] lives and works in [[Oslo]].

She has two children with the Norwegian jazz musician and composer [[Trygve Seim]] (b. 1971).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ifrance.wordpress.com/2010/11/22/asne-seierstad-inntar-scenen-med-samboer-trygve-seim-radio/ |title=Åsne Seierstad inntar scenen med Trygve Seim (radio) – iFrance.no|date=22 November 2010 }} (in Norwegian)</ref>

==Trial==
There are contradictory accounts concerning Seierstad's legal battles with Shah Muhammad Rais, the bookseller portrayed in ''[[The Bookseller of Kabul]]''.

According to ''[[The Irish Times]]'', on 24 July 2010 a court in Oslo found Seierstad guilty of defamation and "negligent journalistic practices and ordered to pay damages to Suraia Rais, wife of Shah Muhammad Rais".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2010/0729/1224275692778.html |title=Vindication for Bookseller of Kabul as court orders author to pay damages| newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] | date=29 July 2010 | author=Mary Fitzgerald}}</ref>

British newspaper ''[[The Guardian]]'' published the same story, but later revised it online and in print. The revised version claimed Seirstad was not found guilty of defamation or of negligence, but rather of invasion of privacy, the decision on damages would be taken later, and was finally 250,000 Norwegian kroner (£26,000). In relation to the book's influence on Rais's family members, ''The Guardian'' wrote "The article also said the book's revelations of personal details caused several members of the Afghan family to move to Pakistan and Canada. We should have made clear this was an allegation made by the plaintiff's side in a case document."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/jul/31/bookseller-of-kabul-interview-asne-seierstad |title=Bookseller of Kabul author Åsne Seierstad: 'It's not possible to write a neutral story' |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] | location=London}}</ref>

Seierstad won her appeal of the judgment and the Supreme Court declined to review the appellate court's decision.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsinenglish.no/2012/03/12/author-wins-over-afghan-subject/|title=Author wins over Afghan subject | Norway's News in English — www.newsinenglish.no|date=12 March 2012 }}</ref>

==Awards and honours==
* 1999: [[Gullruten|Gullruten Award]] for the best news coverage from Kosovo.
* 2001: [[Fritt Ord Honorary Award]]
* 2002: Årets Frilanser Award from the Norwegian reporters association. Also received the [[Norwegian Booksellers' Prize]].
* 2003: Nominated for the 2003 [[Kurt Schork]] Award in International Journalism
* 2003: The Peer Gynt and Den Store Journalistprisen which is the highest honour a reporter in Norway can receive.
* 2004: ''The Bookseller of Kabul'' was shortlisted for the first Richard & Judy Best Read of the Year Award 2004.
* 2004: Winner of EMMA (Ethnic Multicultural Media award), London, May 2004
* 2004: Prix de Libraires, France<ref name="Åsne Seierstad inntar scenen med Trygve Seim"/>
* 2018: [[Leipzig Book Award for European Understanding]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.leipzig.de/leisure-culture-and-tourism/literature-prizes/leipzig-book-award-for-european-understanding/ |title=Leipzig Book Award for European Understanding |publisher=City of Leipzig |access-date=9 December 2016}}</ref>

==Published works==
{{Portal|Norway|Biography|Journalism}}
* ''[[With Their Backs to The World: Portraits of Serbia]]'' (2000, updated extensively in 2004)
* ''[[The Bookseller of Kabul]]'' (2002, English translation 2003)
* ''[[One Hundred And One Days: A Baghdad Journal]]'' (2005)
* ''[[Angel of Grozny: Inside Chechnya]]'' (2007)<ref name="Åsne Seierstad inntar scenen med Trygve Seim"/><ref name="Åsne Seierstad-2010"/>
* '' [[One of Us (Seierstad book)|One of Us. The Story of Anders Breivik and the Massacre in Norway]]'' (2015)<ref>{{cite book | last1=Seierstad | first1=Åsne | last2=Death | first2=Sarah | title=One of us : the story of Anders Breivik and the massacre in Norway |publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux | publication-place=New York | date=2015 | isbn=978-0-374-27789-5 | oclc=879582758 | page=}}</ref>
* ''[[Two Sisters: A Father, His Daughters, and Their Journey into the Syrian Jihad]]'' (2018)<ref>{{cite book | last1=Seierstad | first1=Åsne | last2=Kinsella | first2=Seán | title=Two sisters : a father, his daughters, and their journey into the Syrian jihad |publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux | publication-place=New York | date=2018 | isbn=978-0-374-27967-7 | oclc=1012673800 | page=}}</ref>
* Afghanerne (2022)<ref>{{cite book | last=Seierstad | first=Åsne | title=Afghanerne | publisher=J.M. Stenersens forlag A.S | publication-place=Oslo | date=2022 | isbn=978-82-7201-773-5 | language=no | page=}}</ref>
*''The Afghans: Three Lives Through War, Love and Revolt''

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite web | title=Åsne Seierstad – Norsk biografisk leksikon | website=Norsk biografisk leksikon | date=30 June 2022 | url=https://nbl.snl.no/%C3%85sne_Seierstad | language=no | access-date=15 September 2023}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Åsne Seierstad}}
*{{official website|http://morgenbladet.no/forfatter/asne_seierstad}}
*{{Store norske leksikon|Åsne_Seierstad|Åsne Seierstad}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seierstad, Asne}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1970 births]]
[[Category:20th-century Norwegian women writers]]
[[Category:21st-century Norwegian women writers]]
[[Category:Norwegian journalists]]
[[Category:Norwegian non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Norwegian women non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Trials in Norway]]
[[Category:University of Oslo alumni]]
[[Category:Writers from Oslo]]