Update on the Dolphin Hunts in the Faroese Islands

Yesterday, Tuesday, the long-awaited report about dolphin hunting was presented to the Cabinet of Ministers of the Faroese Islands. No details of the report have been revealed nor any precise information about the legislative process which may follow. Therefore, OceanCare is not in a position yet to provide any comments on the potential conclusions drawn from the review. We expect that the process may run for several weeks now and we shall be carefully monitoring it.

We also hope that the scientific report about the status of knowledge about the Atlantic White-Sided dolphin commissioned by OceanCare will be taken into account and that this review process will address the hunting of all cetacean species in the islands, and that it is is not limited to the unprecedented killing of more than 1,400 Atlantic white-sided dolphins in the Faroe Islands on September 12th, 2021.

«Just a few days ago, we witnessed a move away from whaling practises in the Atlantic when the Icelandic Fisheries Minister commented on the likely end to whaling there from 2024, highlighting economic reasons. The people in the Faroese now have this great opportunity to follow such a courageous move and enter a new relationship with dolphins and small whales by halting the drive hunts. We do hope that they will embrace this opportunity» says Nicolas Entrup, Director International Relations at OceanCare.