Tradition Records Abundance Estimate Sustainability Regulations The Drive The Kill
The preliminary results of investigations carried out to document the kill (so far
involving the one hunt where 130 whales were examined) show that the method
of cutting the blood stream to the brain takes an average of 36 seconds. As far as
the whales that have to be hauled ashore are concerned, it takes an average of
about 80 seconds from the gaff is driven in, until the actual kill takes place. This
last figure is probably not representative, but rather high, as conditions in the hunt
in question were made difficult by the large number of whales involved.
Distribution Storage and Preparation
Pilot whaling in the Faroe Islands is a communal, non-commercial undertaking
providing local households with a welcome supply of meat and blubber.
Pilot whaling has probably been going on in the Faroes for as long as the islands
have been inhabited. The Faroese people are descendants of the Norse settlers
who came to the islands over a thousand years ago, bringing with them their
marine mammal hunting traditions.
The almost continuous records of Faroese pilot whaling date all the way back to
1584. These records are unique in that they provide the longest and most complete
statistics available for the catch of any wild animal. They show a long-term
average annual catch of about 850 pilot whales. In 1993, 1994 and 1995 the annual
catch consisted of 806, 1201 and 228 pilot whales respectively.
In 1992, an estimate of 778,000 pilot whales in the central and north-east Atlantic
was approved by the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling
Commission. The estimate was calculated on the basis of the North Atlantic
Sighting Surveys of 1987 and 1989 by an international group of scientists led by
prof. Steve Buckland from Scotland.
The abundance estimate together with the history of the hunt show beyond doubt
that the Faroese pilot whale hunt has always been sustainable, and still is.
Pilot whaling regulations divide the Faroes into 9 whaling districts with a total of
22 authorized whaling bays all of which meet the demands made on efficient
stranding conditions for the whales. In each district the hunt is supervised by the
district sheriff, and each authorized bay has 4 elected whaling foremen . The
regulations stipulate how whales should be killed and what equipment is
approved for this purpose.
Whale drives only take place when a school of whales is sighted close to land, and
when sea and weather conditions make them possible. Notice of the school is sent
to the elected whaling officials and to the district sheriff, and is spread as widely
and quickly as possible in the local community so that enough men and boats can
join in the drive. Employers usually make allowances for members of their staff to
take time off during drives. The boats gather in a wide semi-circle behind the
whales and slowly and quietly begin to drive them towards the chosen authorized
bay. On the whaling foreman’s signal, stones attached to lines are thrown into the
water behind the whales, driving them rapidly towards the beach where they
become stranded. According to the regulations, any group of whales which cannot
be beached in this manner must be driven out to sea again.
Men gather on the shore to kill the beached whales. Ideally, most of the whales
will end up so far on shore that it is unnecessary to secure them. However, those
remaining in the shallows have to be held fast and hauled closer. Traditionally,
this is done by driving a steel hook, or gaff, with a rope attached to it into the
whale’s blubber. At present a blunt hook - to haul the whale in by its blowhole - is
being tested. The tests have so far been successfull and this new equipment might
in the future replace the gaff. The whale is killed with a sharp knife cutting down
to the spinal chord and severing the major arteries leading to the whale’s brain.
The catch is divided among those taking part in the drive and the local residents
of the whaling bays and districts in accordance with a complex, traditional sharing
system unique to each whaling district. The sharing process is managed by the
local sheriff. In most districts it is customary to allot a share to the local hospitals
and other institutions such as nursing homes and day-care centres. In a few of the
bigger villages, a small amount taken from the private shares is sold to the local
food stores. The maximum retail price is regulated by governmental order and is
about half the price of other meats such as beef or pork.
The meat and blubber of pilot whales is stored, prepared and eaten in a variety of
ways. When fresh, the meat is boiled or served as whale steaks, with blubber and
potatoes. The meat and blubber can be kept in the freezer, or preserved in the
traditional way by salting or outdoor drying. Blubber is often eaten together with
dried fish.
The Pilot Whale
There are two species of pilot whales commonly known as the long-finned and the
short-finned pilot whale. The pilot whales found in the north-east Atlantic are of
the long-finned species (Globicephala melas), and are known to the Faroese as
grindahvalur. They occur widely and in great numbers in temperate, subarctic
waters in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Long-finned pilot whales
travel in schools, or pods, numbering anything from just a few to up to a
thousand or more. The males reach an average weight of 1.7 tons and an average
length of 5.5 metres, while the females reach averages of 0.9 tons and 4.3 metres
respectively.
The Pilot Whale Campaign
Since 1984 the pilot whale hunt has been the subject of organized protest by a
number of animal protection groups in Europe and North America. In 1992, three
of these groups, the Environmental Investigation Agency, the Whale and Dolphin
Conservation Society and the World Society for the Protection of Animals, formed
the Pilot Whale Campaign and started targeting importers and retailers of Faroese
products in Britain (and later on in Germany) in an attempt to stop the import of
Faroese products. So far the impact of these boycotts has been negligible. The
campaign portrays the pilot whale hunt as a cruel sport and as the largest
whale massacre in the world. In a letter to the Pilot Whalers’ Association, they
confirm that they will not be satisfied by any improvements in the animal welfare
aspect of the hunt, and that their aim is to stop the hunt altogether.
The Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, roughly
half way between Scotland and Iceland. The archipelago consists of 18 small
islands, 17 of which are inhabited by a population of 43,500. Many people have
left the Faroes due to economic hardship, and the population has decreased by
about 3,000 people since 1990.