Operation Bloody Fjords
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Operation Bloody Fjords is a campaign by Sea Shepherd, an international non-profit marine wildlife conservation organization, 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.
The Grindadráp
The grindadráp (or grind) is a traditional practice in the Faroe Islands, a Danish protectorate, that involves driving entire families of small cetaceans, primarily long-finned pilot whales and Atlantic white-sided dolphins, into one of the many shallow bays of the islands, where locals on the beach use hooks to pull them ashore and kill them with spinal lances and knives. The grind has no season, no quota and no restrictions on killing pregnant females or juveniles. The Faroese government claims that the hunt is sustainable and humane, while Sea Shepherd and other critics argue that it is cruel, unnecessary and ecologically harmful.
Campaign objectives
The main objectives of Operation Bloody Fjords are:
- To document and expose the grindadráp to the international public and media, using drones, cameras and live streaming.
- To pressure the Danish government and the European Union to stop supporting and facilitating the grindadráp, which violates several international laws and conventions.
- To educate and inform the Faroese people about the health risks of consuming whale and dolphin meat, which contains high levels of mercury and other toxins.
- To challenge the cultural justification of the grindadráp and promote alternative ways of respecting and coexisting with marine wildlife.
- To support local Faroese activists and organizations that oppose the grindadráp and advocate for its abolition.
Campaign outcomes
Some of the outcomes of Operation Bloody Fjords are:
- The campaign has generated global media attention and public outrage over the grindadráp, especially after the massacre of 1428 Atlantic white-sided dolphins in September 2021, which was widely condemned as the single largest cetacean hunt in documented human history.
- The campaign has contributed to the formation of Stop the Grind, a global coalition of politicians, public figures and NGOs that aims to demonstrate broader resistance to the grind through political, economic and scientific means.
- The campaign has inspired several petitions, protests and boycotts against the Faroe Islands and Denmark for their involvement in the grindadráp.
- The campaign has increased awareness and support for Sea Shepherd's mission to protect marine wildlife around the world.