Cultural identity sustains Faroese pilot whale hunting despite health warnings

A new Faroese study finds that knowledge of contamination has not stopped people from eating pilot whale meat, with cultural identity playing a strong role in support for the hunt, KVF reports.

Researcher Elsa Helmsdal examined health risks, media coverage and the cultural significance of pilot whale meat for her PhD. Her study combined an analysis of 40 years of newspaper and radio coverage, a survey of 1,500 randomly selected Faroese people aged 18 to 70, and research involving participants in Cohort 1, known as the “mercury children”, who were born in 1986 and 1987 and have been followed since.

Surveys by the Department of Occupational and Public Health have found for more than 40 years that pilot whales contain high levels of mercury and PCBs. The new research found that 97 per cent of Faroese people know the meat is contaminated, and most are aware of the mercury risk. Yet 71 per cent said the hunt should not stop.

Neither education nor place of residence determined people’s attitudes, the study found. Instead, those who viewed pilot whale meat as an important part of Faroese culture were also more likely to eat it. Few respondents thought it could be eaten several times a month, but half said eating it a few times a year, such as at Ólavsøka or when fresh meat was available, would not cause harm.

People aged 18 to 29 were less familiar with official health advice than older respondents. But they were more likely to see pilot whale meat as important to Faroese culture, support the hunt and oppose stopping it. Helmsdal said pressure from outside groups, including Sea Shepherd, may have strengthened young people’s desire to defend Faroese heritage and identity.

Eating habits have changed considerably since the 1980s, particularly among women of childbearing age. In tests of hair from mothers in Cohort 1 in 1986 and 1987, 15 per cent had mercury levels above 10 micrograms per gram, while the average was above four. In the latest study, Cohort 6, conducted in 2021 and 2022, the average had fallen to 0.5 micrograms per gram. Helmsdal said women of childbearing age had taken the health advice seriously and now had levels similar to women in other parts of Europe used for comparison.

Men still eat pilot whale meat more often and in greater quantities than women, and have correspondingly higher mercury levels in their blood. Helmsdal said one possible factor was that health information over the years had focused almost entirely on young women and unborn children, while men were rarely mentioned.

Helmsdal also said official guidance had been inconsistent. In 2008, the Chief Medical Officer advised that pilot whale meat should no longer be considered food for people. In 2011, the Food and Veterinary Authority issued new advice saying adults could eat it once a month. Helmsdal said the authorities should revisit the issue and provide clearer information to younger generations.

Helmsdal, who was born in 1987 and is herself one of the “mercury children”, stopped eating pilot whale meat in her twenties when she began thinking about childbearing. She said she would not eat it again or give it to her two daughters.