The massacre of dolphins in the Faroe Islands: what can the European Union do?

source: unsplash.com
*by Jeanne Gallien, 6 minutes*

Warning: This article contains graphic details and images that could be subversive.

On the 12 of September 2021, the Faroe Islands were a hot topic in the news after the slaughter of 1428 white-sided dolphins and pilot whales. The inhabitants of these islands indulge every year in a bloodthirsty practice: the Grind or Grindadrap. But this year was a record-breaker. The previous record dates back to 1940, where 1200 deaths were registered.

History

This tradition of the Faroese Islands, named the Grind, was imported by the Vikings in the XVIth century. The operation consisted in surrounding a group of dolphins and taking them to the bay where the cetaceans were trapped in shallow waters. The fishermen on the shore would drag the dolphins to the bay before stabbing and slitting their throats with large knives (grinds). At that time, due to the climatic conditions, it was complicated to cultivate anything. The inhabitants had no other choice than to hunt cetaceans for food. Today the Grindadrap has kept its traditional rather than its vital aspect. Indeed, the Faroe Islands are one of the richest archipelagos in the world and have one of the highest standards of living in Europe. Dolphin hunting in the Faroe Islands is no longer a necessity but leisure. The inhabitants enjoy, like us, supermarkets.

Today

Although this practice may seem barbaric, the islanders support this tradition and do not consider themselves bad people. The hunters claim that the meat is distributed, cooked, and eaten so as to guarantee no waste. The harvest of the September 12th hunt, which amounted to 1428 cetaceans, was unexpected. Usually, local authorities distribute the meat fairly to residents, but this year there were more dolphins than anyone would have expected. Sea Shepherd, an organization committed to stopping the Grind, proved that some of the meat has been thrown away. They found that compared to the size of a dolphin, only some of its meat was taken and some whales were just thrown into a dumpster. Furthermore, many studies have shown a high level of persistent organic pollutants, such as mercury in whales and dolphin blubber making the meat of the latter inedible and toxic to humans. Summing up, it is true that the inhabitants of the islands eat this meat. Even though it is not recommended by doctors and some of it is thrown away.

Picture realised by Sea shepherd: https://www.seashepherdglobal.org/

What can the European Union do about it?

For the European Union to act, the Member States have to have conferred powers and/or transfer competences to the European Union. This principle called the principle of conferral is made explicit in article 5(2) of the Treaty of the European Union. However, there is a problem that makes the whole situation more difficult. To make more clear what the problem is: The Faroe Islands are not a member state of the European Union (Article 355(5)a TFEU). The Faroe Islands have the exclusive competence to govern the country and negotiate their trade and fisheries agreements. In other words, the European Union does not have the competence to create a legislative act that prohibits the Grind. As a result of these discoveries, I met Merijn Chamon, assistant professor in European and international law at Maastricht University, to help me find an alternative. Mr. Chamon told me about two ways that the European Union could use to push the Faroe Islands government to stop this massacre. Economic and political means.

The economic means fall within the scope of the trade agreement. The Faroe Islands are considered a third country. During the negotiation, the European Union should imply that the Grind should stop in exchange for an agreement between the two parties. However, this tradition is well-rooted in the country, so the government would tend to refuse. Moreover, the professor reminded that the European Union would lose out because the Member States would probably no longer have access to the waters of the Faroe Islands. The political way is more risky. It would be to deprive the Faroe Islands of a benefit that the European Union brings. Mr. Chamon provided an example of the Erasmus program. As long as improvements have not been observed to reduce traditional hunting, the country no longer have access to this privilege. However, when asked about whether such situation was realistic, his answer was: "probably not”. It would create tensions between the two entities and make international relations more difficult. He added that, given the reactions of the European Union for the whaling in Japan, and the Corrida in France and Spain, the same reaction is expected for the Grind in the Faroe Islands, nothing.

On the international stage

Mr. Chamon then launched me on the trail of international laws. Despite the conventions that Denmark has signed to protect white sided dolphins and pilot whales, the scope of the Bern Convention, the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas ASCOBANS and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora CITES does not extend to the Faroe Islands. Two international agreements which aim to protect white-sided dolphins and pilot whales catch the attention. The Bonn Convention. The Faroe Islands have been included in the Membership of Denmark since 1989. The signatory parties acknowledge the unfavourable conservation status of migratory species listed in appendix II. The convention encourages international agreements to avoid any species being endangered. The pilot whales (Globicephala melas) and the Atlantic White-sided dolphins (Lagenorhunchus acutus) hunted during the Grind are both on the list in Appendix II. How is it possible that species classified as 'unfavourable conservation status' are hunted by a state that has pledged to protect them? The secretary of the Bonn Convention replies that the hunt of species in appendix II “ allows the possibility of sustainable use". what was surprising when seeing that NAMNCO, another organization aiming to protect cetaceans of which the Faroe Islands is a signatory, aligns with this position. Indeed, NAMNCO claim that the species are abundant throughout their range, so that species are not endangered by the grind. However, NAMNCO confessed that "there are few surveys available to provide population estimation”.

I asked Professor Chamon if there was anything anyone could do about it. He answered that change will come from within. The Faroese government must abolish this practice itself.

Conclusion

To conclude, neither the European Union nor the international stage are willing to act. But informing the population, creating media pressure, and waking up the conscience can already be useful ways to make the government of Faroé Islands react. If you want to continue researching the subject, a Netflix documentary called "Seaspiracy" denounces the fishing industry. You can also visit the sea shepherd website and join Operation Bloody Fjords. Lastly, you can also write to the Denmark embassy no matter where you are from. They may not be able to change much but it contributes to the political pressure.

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