Following-on from the success of its 2015 Pilot Whale Defense Campaign, Sea Shepherd Global announces Operation Bloody Fjords; a new operation targeting the bloody slaughter of pilot whales in the Faroe Islands.

Every year, up to 1,000 migrating pilot whales and other dolphins are hunted and brutally killed in the Danish protectorate of the Faroe Islands in a practice known as the ‘grindadráp’ or ‘grind.’ The cruel and bloody practice continues with the support of the Danish government, in conflict with Denmark's international legal obligations.

Operation Bloody Fjords heralds a new direction for Sea Shepherd as the organization takes its battle against the grindadráp to the heart of the Faroese and Danish institutions that continue to promote this outdated practice.

“Thanks to the tireless work of our volunteer crews who have been on the ground in the Faroe Islands during our past campaigns, we have all of the photographic and video evidence we need to take this battle beyond the bloody shores of the Faroe Islands,” said Operation Bloody Fjords Campaign Leader, Geert Vons. “We will target the grind in the judicial and political arenas, in commerce, in industry and as always in the media,” he continued.

The new strategy comes in response to increasing restrictions that have been placed on Sea Shepherd volunteers entering the Faroe Islands.

“The Faroese authorities have denied us entry to their country in an attempt to cover-up the horrors of the grindadráp,” said Captain Alex Cornelissen, CEO of Sea Shepherd Global. “But as the battleground changes, we too change our tactics. Sea Shepherd is now louder, stronger and more determined than ever to end the bloody slaughter,” he concluded.

A total of 28 Sea Shepherd volunteers have been arrested for interfering against the grindadráp, many of who were subsequently deported for the “crime” of defending pilot whales.

In 2014, Sea Shepherd’s Captain Treverton was arrested after she successfully defended a large pod of white-sided dolphins from slaughter, preventing them from reaching the killing beaches of the Faroe Islands. She still awaits her day in court. 

Sea Shepherd has led opposition to the grindadráp since the 1980s, saving the lives of hundreds of pilot whales and brining global attention to the on-going slaughters.