Faroe Islands Residents Agree To Limit The Number Of Dolphins Hunted

Illustration of dolphin hunting in the Faroe Islands. (Source: Instagram seashepherd)

JAKARTA - The Faroe Islands limit the number of dolphins that can be killed in its traditional hunt, after last year's slaughter of more than 1,400 dolphins drew international condemnation.

Under a four-century-old tradition, marine mammals are pushed into the shallow waters around the North Atlantic islands by motorboat, before being slaughtered for their meat and blubber.

Now, whalers can only catch 500 Atlantic white-sided dolphins a year, as part of the 'grindadráp' hunt that takes place between July and September.

The government on the semi-independent Danish islands announced the restrictive measure last July 10, saying it was "in response to an unusually large catch" on September 14, 2021.

Illustration of dolphin hunting in the Faroe Islands. (Source: Instagram seashepherd)

"This aspect of the catch was unsatisfactory, in particular the number of dolphins that died in an unusually large number," the government said in a statement.

This, he said, "is unlikely to be a sustainable catch rate on a long-term annual basis."

The proposal is expected to become law on July 25 and will apply to the 2023 season as well. However, environmental groups have expressed skepticism about the timing of the announcement.

Sea Shepherd, a marine conservation organization that has long campaigned against grindadráp or 'grind', claims "the proposed quota has clearly been lumped together in an attempt to distract British politicians", ahead of a government debate on the issue.

Illustration of dolphin hunting in the Faroe Islands. (Source: Instagram seashepherd)

The UK Petitions Committee agreed to debate the petition calling for the suspension of Britain's free trade agreement with the Faroe Islands until the whaling and dolphin hunt ends, after getting more than 100,000 signatures last month.

"The government is very concerned about the continued poaching of cetaceans in the Faroe Islands. This hunting is cruel, and unsustainable," Commerce Secretary Andrew Griffith said in response.

However, he added that ignoring the UK-Faroes trade deal would be 'counterproductive', as it would reduce Britain's influence on animal welfare standards.

But Sea Shepherd's 'Stop the Grind' campaign claims that the Faroese Government's proposals are insufficient for three main reasons.

Illustration of dolphin hunting in the Faroe Islands. (Source: Instagram seashepherd)

The quota of 500 dolphins does not apply to pilot whales, which are actually members of the dolphin family and are the main target for hunting. About 700 pilot whales are killed on average per year, according to the organization's records.

The average number of white-sided dolphins killed each year, meanwhile, is only 193 over the past four decades, even accounting for the unprecedented 1,428 supertails killed last year. Only 35 creatures were killed in 2020, according to data kept by the Faroe Islands.

Since this is below the quota, Sea Shepherd said it would not reduce the number of dolphins killed. And even if more than 500 white-sided dolphins are killed this year, there seems to be no punishment for whaling trespasses.

Defenders of the whaling tradition point to the fact that it is not commercial. Encouragement is regulated by law and meat and fat are divided on a community basis.

The Faroese government said it "continues to base its policies and management actions on the rights and responsibilities of its people to use marine resources in a sustainable manner. This also includes marine mammals, such as pilot whales and dolphins."