When the Ambassador Cruise Line cruise ship Ambition arrived recently in the port of Tórshavn, the capital of the Faroe Islands, its passengers admired the rugged coastline and the breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains. For many, however, the sense of awe quickly shifted to alarm as the water of the port was stained red with blood. Passengers were horrified to watch as local islanders slaughtered pilot whales.
Among those passengers were conservationists with the Ocean Research & Conservation Association (ORCA), a marine life advocacy group that seeks to protect whales and dolphins in European waters. Since 2021, Ambassador has paid for ORCA staff to join their cruises in order to educate tourists on marine wildlife and collect data on the animals.
The Ambition’s arrival coincided with the culmination of the sixth hunt of 2023, resulting in the slaughter of 78 pilot whales in the port area, including 9 tiny calves estimated as being no more than a month old.
Passengers watched on in horror as a flotilla of 40+ small boats and jet-skis drove and herded the pilot whales into shallow waters. A group of 150 people then hauled the animals ashore with hooks and others armed with killing lances slaughtered the animals in the space of 20 minutes. ORCA observed that some of the pilot whales, including a calf, took over 30 seconds to die.
Sally Hamilton CEO of ORCA said; “It defies belief that the Faroese authorities allowed this activity to take place in clear sight of a cruise ship packed with passengers sitting in dock. On one hand, they promote their pristine environment and spectacular wildlife while simultaneously wielding gaff hooks and lances to kill whales and dolphins. It’s almost as if they are flaunting the hunt and taunting the tourists.”
“We shall never stop seeking the change that is necessary here, and the strong partnerships with forward-thinking companies like Ambassador Cruise Line will enable us to continue evidencing whale and dolphin populations in this little-studied region. At some point, the Faroese authorities will have to decide if its marine life is a more attractive tourist proposition when it is alive than when it is being killed.”
The inhabitants of the Faroe Islands, a windswept archipelago in the North Atlantic roughly halfway between Norway and Iceland, have been hunting long-finned pilot whales and white-sided dolphins for food for almost a thousand years. The summer hunt is known as the Grindadráp, often called the Grind, and typically slaughters around 600 whales. The whale meat is considered a key part of Faroese culture and is shared among the community. The grind has been the target of international protests for years.
Long-finned pilot whales, which are technically a species of dolphin, are a medium-sized marine mammal that dwells in the North Atlantic, known for their bulbous head and sickle-shaped flippers. They’re protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, but not currently listed as an endangered species.
The mammals live in social pods of up to 20 individuals, organized into a larger school of hundreds of animals — a social structure that makes them easy targets for whalers, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.