Operation Bloody Fjords Eyewitness Account: Team 8

📁 Archive Document — Historical Record

This article was first published when our charity's original name/branding as 'Sea Shepherd UK' prior to our name change on 18th May 2023 following the removal of Captain Paul Watson from Sea Shepherd entities worldwide (with the exception of the UK, France and Brazil).

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This article and its contents are the property of the 'Captain Paul Watson Foundation UK' and forms part of our 21 year history.

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Team 8, based in Klaksvík, witnessed the Hvannasund grindadráp on 29th August 2017 (46 long-finned pilot whales killed) and the Bøur grindadráp on 31st August 2017 (29 long-finned pilot whales killed).

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"Witnessing a grind first hand was truly an eye-opening experience. In a place otherwise so quiet, it was unnerving to see the locals so animated once the grind had been announced. The first grind we saw was at Hvannasund, scene of several grinds in 2017. We witnessed the whole process from the driving in of the 50 or so pilot whales through the slaughter, the butchering, and the distribution of the meat and blubber. As the pilot whales were driven to the shoreline by the small boats, the intensity of the thrashing bodies grew. Hooks were sunk into the blowholes and the whales were dragged onto the shore in a sadistic game of 'tug of war'. We witnessed whales seemingly bashing their heads against the stones in a frenzy. Those involved in the slaughter were at waist height in the blood-stained water, making the incisions just rearwards of the whales' heads, which allows the blood to drain out. Others were using the grindaknívur, a whaling knife, to sever the spinal cord. We witnessed and recorded several of the whales still thrashing after the knife had been used, and in some cases the knife was used up to three times in order to kill the whales. We recorded whales still twitching and moving for up to a minute after the cuts had been made. For over an hour, including after the slaughter had taken place, the small boats and the fishermen attempted to drive one lone whale onto the beach without success. Eventually they gave up and left the whale swimming in the blood of its family. We stayed with the lone whale for several hours into the night while it circled exhaustedly in the area of the slaughter. As dusk settled, a rigid inflatable came speeding out of the village and tried unsuccessfully to run the whale over, killing it with the propeller. Shortly afterwards, two small pleasure boats came out and I had the opportunity of going on one of these boats to see the whale close up. The owner had come to check on the wellbeing of the whale and advised me that he didn't expect it to survive the night because of the exhaustion and trauma. The whale could barely surface to breathe. We returned in the morning and the whale was in exactly the same spot, still alive, but after further checks later that day, it was nowhere to be seen. We witnessed the butchery of these whales, and the whales that were killed at Bøur two days later, and spoke at length with the locals.

The children seemed to have a morbid fascination with the entrails and in particular the teeth. We recorded children attempting to remove the teeth of several whales with nothing more than a pocket knife, as well as removing slices of what appeared to be a tumour on one whale. We met with foreign tourists who were appalled at the process."

2017 has proved to be one of the worst years for the grindadráp since the mid-1990s, with 1,203 pilot whales and 488 dolphins killed during 24 indi