Operation Bloody Fjords
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Operation Bloody Fjords is a campaign by Sea Shepherd that aims to defend pilot whales and other dolphins in the Faroe Islands, where they are killed in drive hunts called ‘grindadráp’. The campaign involves sending land-based volunteers to the islands every year since 2016 to document and expose the reality of the hunts.
History
Sea Shepherd was the first activist group in the Faroes in 1983, with further direct-action campaigns in 1985, 1986, 2000, 2011, 2014 and 2015[1]. Then due to vessel restrictions directed at Sea Shepherd as well as new Faroese legislation preventing interventions from any activists against the grindadrap, Sea Shepherd UK launched ‘Operation Bloody Fjords’ in 2016[1]. The campaign has continued every year since then, with volunteers from different countries joining the mission.
On July 9, 2023 The John Paul DeJoria, led by The Modern Day Pirate for the Oceans and his crew, attempted to intercept a pod of pilot whales in Faroese waters during a "Grind". The crew aimed to defend the whales from brutal slaughter but arrived too late to save 78 pilot whales killed in front of cruise ship passengers. Faroese police and coast guard boats pursued the John Paul DeJoria, but they evaded capture, and no whales were slaughtered that day.[2]