Source: Whales And Whaling - In The Faroe Islands, published by The Faroe Islands Department of Fisheries, 1993
The islands are divided into 9 whaling districts, with a total
of 21 authorized whaling bays. It is illegal for whales to be
driven or beached anywhere other than in these locations.
Pilot whaling in each district is supervised by the district
sheriff, and each village or town with an authorized whaling
bay has 4 pilot whaling foremen.
These foremen are elected for 5-year periods, according to
their experience in the whale drive, and they are responsible
for supervising the conduct of the drive and kill. During the
drive, the foreman's boat must fly the national flag so the
other boats can easily see it, and the foreman communicates
his instructions through a lound-speaker or over his radio. A
successful drive depends very much on the high degree of
organisation which has developed over the years, and which has
been clearly outlined in written regulations since 1832.
A school of pilot whales keeps close together, and for this
reason the entire school is usually taken. It is impossible to
single out particular whales, and the beaching stage relies
very much on the herd instinct of the animals. Nor it is
possible to distinguish the sex of the animals in the water,
so all whales which are successfully stranded will be taken.
That the entire school is taken also means that no wounded
animal vill escape, unlike in many other forms of hunting
where injured animals often evade their hunters, only to
suffer a slow and agonizing death. Since 1986 it has been
obligatory by law that a group of whales which cannot be
stranded must be driven out to sea again.
Individual whaling bays or entire whaling districts are closed
for pilot whaling by governmental executive order when it is
clear that any further catches would create an over-supply.
This step is often taken in order to avoid wastage. In the
period from May, 1986 to December, 1988, for example, various
whale bays and whale districts were temporarily closed for
pilot whaling in this way on a total of 11 occasions, and such
closures continue to be common practice whenever the supply of
whale meat and blubber is deemed sufficient by the district
authorities.