Grindadrap: The stunning Nordic islands have growing appeal for tourists despite the dark annual ritual cull. Photo / Getty Images; Annie Spratt, Unsplash
Grindadrap: The stunning Nordic islands have growing appeal for tourists despite the dark annual ritual cull. Photo / Getty Images; Annie Spratt, Unsplash
It's one of the most unbelievably beautiful collections of islands in the world.
The Faroe Islands are like Iceland's better-looking, lesser known little brother - grass-roofed buildings, puffins and the infinite Múlafossur falls cascading down black sea cliffs.
It's been a quirky inclusion on the must visit lists of LonelyPlanet and The New York Times.
But this Nordic island has a dark side.
Every summer up to 1000 pilot whales and dolphins are herded to their death in a bloody cull known as the Grindadráp, or "grind".
It's a traditional method of hunting marine mammals that has been practised for hundreds of years. Originating back 1200 years when there were few other sources of meat, it's a brutal ritual that sees the animals channelled into the narrow natural harbour on Eysturoy.
The Faroe Islands are fast rising as a top tourism destination and location. Photo/ Sebastian Boring, Unsplash
Whale blubber has been a traditional staple of the islands since viking times. You'll still find it served as preserved whale jerky or in thinly sliced blubber carpaccio in the Michelin-starred Koks restaurant.
However, the "grind" is no less shocking than it was in Viking times. The blood-red waters make it a shockingly visible target for animal rights issues. Every year pictures of the white bellied-whales on black beaches make for grizzly photos.
Grind: There was outrage last year after 1400 dolphins were caught up in the Faroese cull. Photo / Wikimedia Commons
Although it is defended as a responsible method of sourcing the food, recently the scale of the cull has drawn outrage even amongst locals.
Almost 1.3 million people signed a petition calling for a ban of the hunt last year. In a country of just 48,000 the clamour is hard to ignore.
In February a review was ordered into last year's cull, which saw 1,423 white-sided dolphins caught up in the carnage.
Now new limits are being imposed to control the A cap of 500 dolphins will now be imposed on the 'grind'.
"Aspects of that catch were not satisfactory, in particular the unusually large number of dolphins killed," said the Faroese government on Sunday, but it defended the practice to harvest the "important supplement" to the livelihoods of islanders.
The Faroese tourism board also defends the practice as "sustainable".
Spectacular scenery has grown the Faroe Islands tourism numbers, but whaling continues to be a contentious subject. Photo / Vincenet Pawlowski, Unsplash
"Today, as in times past, the whale drive is a community activity open to all, while also well organised on a community level and regulated by national laws," reads the official tourist website.
"Records of all pilot whale hunts have been kept since 1584 and the practice is deemed sustainable, as there are an estimated 778,000 whales in the eastern North Atlantic region."
The bad image concerns for animal welfare hasn't been the only problem for whale meat. High concentrations of mercury and PCB pollution found in whale meat has led the Faroese government to advise pregnant and breastfeeding women to avoid eating blubber.
Given the devolved Danish dominion is closer to the Arctic Circle than it is to Copenhagen, it is an issue that has been hard to resolve.
Since 2016 Sea Shepherd has been running 'Operation Bloody Fjords' a land-based crew to document the Grind and lobbying Faroese and Danish governments to ban the practice.
Tourism to the Faroe Islands has been growing rapidly. From an insignificance foreign visitors now bring in six per cent of the islands' GDP.
Sea Shepherd activists have been running protests and monitoring the cull numbers from shore. Photo / Supplied
Prior to the pandemic visitor numbers were up 13 per cent year on year. As the backdrop the film 'No Time to Die', the Faroese tourism board are hoping for the "James Bond effect" to bring in more visitors.
Still the grizzly tradition of whaling might put some off taking the trip.
Travel agency Responsible Travel says while interest in the islands has grown, so has the profile of the Grind.
"Travel to the Faroe Islands and you're bound to come across the issue of whaling," they warn visitors.
