Image: Whaling in the Faroe Islands in August 2012

Description: This photo was taken from land, while the boats were hunting a group of pilot whales into a fjord. The whales were killed a few minutes later, after swimming on to the beach or near to the beach, where men were waiting. I am uploading this photo here, because I can only find bloody photos and photos of the whales after they have been killed. But there is also the hunting with boats, before the whales are getting killed on the beach. The hunting is not planned, boats don't go out searching for the whales, it happens when a boat or perhaps a ferry happens to finds a group of pilot whales near land, and then they pass the message on and other boats sail out to chase them into the nearest bay or fjord. The bay must be a recognized whaling bay (hvalvág), it must not be polluted etc. Before the whales are being hunted into a bay, permission must be granted first by the highest ranked policeman in the area (Sýslumaður). If he does not allow it, it could happen if he thinkt that people have enough of whale meat, then the boats must let the whales go, or lead them to another bay on another island, it permission is granted there. The meat is not sold. The rules are not the same in all the islands. In Suðuroy, where this photo was taken, every single individual who lives in the island gets a part of the meat and the blubber of the whales, and they get it for free. In other places the meat and blubber goes first of all to the men who took part of the killing or took part in the hunting in the boats, and after they have got their share, others in the are get their part. In Suðuroy it is up to the police officer (sýslumaður) to decide if the whales will be shared to all 4,800 persons on the island or only to the village where the killing took place or to several villages, or perhaps the the southern part of the island or to the northern part of the island. It is up to people also to not claim their meat, if they don't want it, if so it goes to others.
Title: Whaling in the Faroe Islands in August 2012
Credit: Own work
Author: EileenSanda
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
License: CC BY-SA 3.0
License Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
Attribution Required?: Yes