A Thousand Years of Whaling

Whaling for food has been a part of Faroese life for the past thousand years. Late in the 20th century, this community-based activity came under enormous pressure from international animal rights and environmental organisations. These organisations initiated an international boycott of Faroese fisheries and fish products to 'bring the Faroes to their knees' and end their whaling. With some 95% of the Faroese economy based on fisheries and fish products, this action clearly threatened the economic viability of the Faroes. This book examines the claims of the animal rights and environmental organisations and sets these against the reality of Faroese life. The book has three aims. First, to trace the development of the grindadr?p, the Faroese institution for managing whaling and distributing the products of the hunt, from settlements of the islands in the 10th century through to the present time. Second, to determine the institution's performance in terms of its ability to maintain itself and sustainably manage the resource on which it is based, the long-finned pilot whale. Third, using this assessment, respond to the claims of the animal rights and environmental organisations to determine if these claims have any basis.