Thursday, 27 September 2018 

Beautiful Pilot Whales are the primary target species during the annual grindadrap (Photo Credit: Chris Walter / Sea Shepherd).

DURING the last 10 years a total of 7,744 small cetaceans of five different species (58,897 cetaceans of at least six species over the last 50 years) have lost their lives in the Faroe Islands grindadráp hunts.

Sea Shepherd UK, a marine conservation charity working to defend ocean wildlife and habitats, is offering a financial incentive to the Faroe Islands of One Million Euros in total over the next 10 years to bring to an end the grindadráp.

The one million Euros will be payable over ten instalments of 100,000 Euros at the end of every calendar year for 10 years starting January 2019 with the first instalment of 100,000 Euros on the 1st January 2020.

All of the incentive payments must only be spent in the Faroe Islands (with documented proof provided to Sea Shepherd UK) on the following projects:

1. Promoting Eco-friendly tourism to the Faroe Islands
2. Establishing cooperative whale/dolphin watching businesses in small communities around the Faroe Islands
3. Provision of teaching materials or specialist lectures to Faroese children on Marine Conservation
4. Training to Faroese citizens in Marine Mammal Rescue techniques so that stranded cetaceans can be saved whenever possible

Each yearly payment of 100,000 Euros will only be made if ZERO cetaceans are deliberately hunted and killed in the Faroe Islands throughout the entire preceding 12-month period. If during any year a cetacean is deliberately killed in the Faroe Islands, then the current and subsequent yearly payments will be cancelled.

"This offer has been made direct to the government of the Faroe Islands on the 25th September 2018," said Sea Shepherd UK Chief Operations Officer, Robert Reed.