Diary from Alex Blackburne’s recent trip to the Faroe Islands (17-20 Sept 2013)

7/27/2019 Diary from Alex Blackburnes recent trip to the Faroe Islands (17-20 Sept 2013)

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Faroe Islands diary: a first glance at the Land of MaybeMonday, September 16th, 2013 ByAlex Blackburne

The Faroe Islands: is that near Egypt? I smiled as I stood in the queue at Gatwick,while the woman I was on the phone with from my bank tried to work out where inthe world I was jetting off to.

She will have eventually found that my destination was actually around 200 miles north-west of Scotland, almost equidistant

between Iceland and Norway and certainly not in north Africa. Froyar, or to the English-speaking world the Faroe

Islands, is an archipelago of 18 islands and one of the smallest countries not only in Europe, but the world.

During the second world war, thousands of British troops used the islands as a base, following Nazi Germanys invasion of

Denmarkof which the Faroe Islands belong. The British nicknamed the country the Land of Maybe, because the regularly

changeable weather makes it nigh on impossible to plan anything. I experienced this for myself straight after stepping off the

plane at Vgar airport built by the British during their five-year stay in the west of the islands.

My guide for the day, Andrias Thomassen, had called the local postman in the village of Gsadalur earlier that morning tocheck on the weather. The postman looked up at Eysturtindur, the mountain Andrias was planning on taking me up, and

said it wouldnt be possible because the conditions were too poor.

As it was, we reached the summit 714 metres high in just over an hour and in beautifully clear but incredibly windy

conditions. For a country that experiences rain 260 days a year, it seemed as if I had arrived on one of the good days. For at

least the first few hours of my time on the island, the jacket and raincoat Id packed were redundant.

They also briefly remained in my rucksack because, perhaps surprisingly given how far north it is, it doesnt actually ever g et

that cold in the Faroe Islands even at the height of winter. Whereas many of its Scandinavian cousins Sweden, Norway

and in particular Iceland experience sub-zero temperatures regularly, the Faroes have a mild climate because of their

positioning in the Gulf Stream. Mean temperatures in winter are around 3-4C, but it also means summers are cool

between 9.5-10.5C usually.

My first glimpse of a Faroese village was Dvabreyt a tiny community located a short drive from the airport. It had a small

beach with black, volcanic sand, and a waterfall running into the Srvgsfjrur fjord.

Most of the handful of houses in the village had grass on their roofs, which Andrias explained was a natural form of

insulation. It went some way to camouflaging them against the surrounding mountains. On some houses, the grass was

overgrown; while on others, it was like a perfect rooftop bowling green. My first question to Andrias was, obviously, How dothey cut the grass? Strimmers and scythes are the most popular methods, he said, but some people prefer to stick a couple

of sheep up there to keep the grass trim.
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As we moved on

to begin scaling Eysturtindur, Andrias gave me a potted history of his country from its Viking and, unexpectedly,Irish roots,

through to its Danish control and eventual home rule. Now, 91% of the countrys 49,000 people are Faroese, with the rest

made up of Danes, Brits, Greenlanders, Icelanders and a small minority of people of other ethnicities. Its main language is

Faroese, which is similar to the Old Nordic language, but Danish is taught in schools to children aged eight and upwards.English is taught from nine and German from 13.

Although the Faroe Islands population increased 0.5% between 2012 and 2013, many of its residents are leaving the

smaller communities and villages for larger settlements. Meanwhile, young people often move to Denmark to study and

never return permanently.

But its certainly not the Faroe Islands lack of beauty th at is sending them away. The entire country is steeped in splendour.

Think the Lake District or the Scottish Highlands, with fewer roads and amenities and even fewer urbanisations (and almost

no trees outside the major conurbations). Its lush green mountains, some of whose only inhabitants are sheep (which

outnumber people 2:1), appear to stretch for miles. Yet everything is within reach.

The Faroese mountains the highest of which is Slttaratindur, at 882 metres above sea level appear to have been

hand-crafted by the gods themselves. So its easy to understand why almost everyone in the country is religious (strangely,

unlike some of its other Scandinavian cousins. Sweden, for example, has one of the highest proportions of atheists in the

world at 34% of the population). The five peaks of Tindhlmur, a mountain on the south side of Srvgsfjrur named

Ytsti, Arni, Ltli, Breidi and Bogdi (translated as Farthest, Eagle, Small, Broad and Bent, respectively) almost resemble a

giant hand reaching out to the heavens from the Earth.

Like many of his fellow countrymen and women, Andrias too is religious. Hes 34, and spent time in the US studying at Biblecollege, and also works in a hotel. He told me he was never completely sure about religion growing up, until one day, while

out walking with a friend, he was all of a sudden stopped in his tracks and filled by joy, peace and energy. He saw this as a

sign from God that instantly reaffirmed his faith.

The Faroe Islands are famous for their thriving seabird population puffins, guillemots, eiders and starlings are common.

Andrias said a handful of mountain hares (which villagers are allowed to shoot and eat in certain months) were introduced in

the 1800s and there are now thousands across the country. Whaling is also popular in the country though a somewhat

contentious issue among environmentalists (I looked at whaling more detail later on in my trip, so stay tuned).

Andrias told me of a time he saw a walrus on the beach an apparently rare sight in the country. It was getting dark, and he

slowly edged nearer and nearer the creature in an effort to simply touch it. He did, and described it as one of the best

moments of his life.
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Perhaps the most famous creature local to the Faroe Islands, though, is the salmon. Salmon fishing makes up 95% of the

countrys exports (the US, Andrias told me, is particularly fond of Faroese salmon) and contributes massively to the

economy. It is also one of the things that the country is globally famous for.

Before arecent international football matchwith the Faroe Islands, Joachim Lw, the manager of the German national team,

said, I dont knowmuch about the Faroe Islands, but I do know that they have the best salmon in the world. The Germans

may have won 3-0 on the night which many Faroese supporters hailed as a good result for the country but at least the

islanders can claim a victory in the fish stakes.

After saying my

goodbyes to Andrias, I headed to Gjgv on the northern tip of Eysturoy island, where I would be staying the night. The 80km

drive through the rolling Faroese mountains would have Jeremy Clarkson salivating. The humble automobile might have its

critics in terms of its environmental impact, but its invention has connected regions of the Faroe Islands in ways that were

once not possible.

Road tunnels have been constructed through mountains so that villages dont have to brave the conditions to get something

from the other side. Until the development of the tunnel between Gsadalur and nearby Bur, the local postman had to walk

the exact 3.5km route I walked with Andrias three times a week.

I arrived at the Gjargarur guesthouse in Gjgv at around 8.30pm, and was greeted by a plate of locally-produced food a

range of breads, salad, meat and fish and a thoroughly welcome local beer, brewed by Froya Bjr.

I had only been in this incredible country for half a day, yet I had already forgotten what it was like to be in the hustle and

bustle of a major city. The Land of Maybe had me at hello.
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Faroe Islands diary: salvation through sustainable tourismTuesday, September 17th, 2013 ByAlex Blackburne

It was 7am and the sun in Gjgv, on the northern tip of the Faroe Islands, waspeering through the clouds on the horizon, casting a yellowy-orange glow over theisland of Kalsoy in the distance. It had been raining overnight, with the early

morning rays reflecting off the dew-covered grass.The striking landscape outside my window was more akin to Narnia or Middle Earth. And despite a longfirst dayin the

Faroes, mostly spent walking and travelling, it was unsurprisingly an even more attractive option than sleep.

After a breakfast at the Gjargarur guesthouse made up of assorted bread, cheese and meat, I met with Olga Biskopst,

head of the government-fundedtoyggjafelagi, also known as the Outer Islands Association. The Faroe Islands consists of

18 separate islands, and the smallest eight Fugloy, Svnoy, Kalsoy, Mykines, Koltur, Hestur, Skvoy and Stra Dmun

form part of the coalition.

Whereas the main islands are connected by bridges and underwater tunnels, these eight are only reachable by boat or

helicopter. There are few jobs (most are farmers) and even fewer services meaning the islands 200 or so inhabitants areoften forced to travel elsewhere for work and supplies.

Stra Dmun, for example, one of the smallest islands in the Faroes, has only one family a brother and sister, their

spouses and children. The children are taught partly on the island and partly via Skype (incidentally, the internet connection

and mobile phone network across the country are generally very good).

While this way of

life may have once been unavoidable across the Faroe Islands, better and cheaper transport links, and a greater need for

employment, means families are moving elsewhereperhaps to the countrys capital, Trshavn, or worse: abroad.

Population across the outer islands therefore declined by an incredible 40% between 1999 and 2010 (though the Faroese

population overall has been fairly stagnant and if anything, grown over the past few years).
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The Outer Islands Association was set up in 2001 to reinvigorate the eight outer islands and put an end to their population

decline. Olga, from Klaksvkthe Faroes second largest town works at the university in Trshavn, and heads up the

association in her spare time.

They wait and hope, she said of the outer islanders many of whom have gone to great lengths to really engage with the

work Olga and her team are doing. The eight islands were once alone and anonymous; now they are together and have a

voice.

For the Outer Islands Association, tourism is playing a key role in attempting to refresh the eight islands it covers. It is often

the case that the people who moved from the outer islands to the towns such as Trshavn, Klaksvk and Hoyvk, kept hold

of their original properties as a holiday retreat of sorts.

The problem is, Olga said, such houses are therefore unoccupied for as much as 50 weeks of the year. The owners are also

either reluctant to rent them out or unwilling to sell up or worse: both. Olga added that Gjgv, where I stayed for the first

night, is made up almost entirely of summer houses, making an already sleepy village even sleepier.

However, there is a concerted effort to attract a greater number of visitors to the islands. Around 40,000 people a year visit

the Faroes from abroada figure that is increasing. We dont want a lot of people here, Olga said, pointing out that the

Faroese way of life and the countrys nature should not be sacrificed in the name of tourism.

It needs to be sustainable, she added. People come to the Faroe Islands for the quietness, for village life and to feel

anonymous. We dont want to be anotherSpain.

By that, of course, she means that the islands dont want to become a hotspot for budget holidays. But that seems very

unlikely given that most things in the country are really quite pricey (my guide from the first day, Andrias, said that one of the

only things cheaper in the Faroe Islands than in the UK is petrol). Reykjavk, the capital of neighbouring Iceland, may have

becomea popular destination for exuberant stag weekends, but as long as the high cost of living remains so, its unlikely

that anywhere in the Faroe Islands will follow suit.

In the outer islands specifically, its hoped that by increasing tourism, women will stay on the islands. The ratio betw een men

and women already favours the men in the country generally, but in the eight smallest islands, the mismatch is even greater.

The possibility of jobs in tourism and small crafts could well go some way to solving this.

The Outer Islands Association is also at the forefront of calls for young people to get better education and aim higher than

farming, carpentry and fishing. But by doing this, Olga said, theyre shooting themselves in the foot as many then move

away to work. Theres a clear goldilockszone on this issue, in which its stressed to the young people that they can be

successful in other, newer areas in their home country, instead of abroad.
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After my chat

with Olga, I headed south for the Faroese capital Trshavn. There, I met Ssanna Srensen fromthe countrys tourist

boardat Etikaa sushi restaurant located in the town centre. Its fair to say the food was infinitely better (and much fresher)

than the Tesco-bought sushi Im used to back home. It was here that I got my first taste of Faroese salmon (if you read my

first diary entry, German football coach Joachim Lw was right). Id also recommend the cod tongue, which may soundrather disgusting (who knew fish even have tongues?) but is actually incredibly tasty.

I spent the afternoon exploring the area around the apartment Id be staying in for the next two nights a short walk from the

Trsvllur national football stadium. The centre of the countrys capital is much more urbanised than the tiny Faroese

villages Id been to and driven through before. Its amenities are sufficient mostly small, independent shops, bars and

restaurants and there is a shopping centre a short walk out that serves as a pinprick in the side of the cosy bubble in which

the Faroes sit (there is a Burger King but no McDonalds in the country).

A conversation I had with Ssanna over sushi summed up the Faroese way of life. We were discussing my schedule for the

next few days, when the topic of renewable energy came up (the Faroe Islands are big on wind and hydro). Gjargarur,

where you stayed last night, has solar panels, you know, she said. I laughed, and said that despite discussing the purpose

of my trip with the guesthouse staff when I arrived, they hadnt mentioned that.

We dont like to boast, Ssanna replied. That may be the Faroese way, but boy could they boast.
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Faroe Islands diary: wind turbines and people powerWednesday, September 18th, 2013 ByAlex Blackburne

Theres an old Faroese saying betri er at vera fyrivarin, enn eftirsnarur(its betterto be prepared than swift afterwards) that can be used as a tagline for the morningof my third day in the Faroe Islands.

I had travelled by ferry from the capital Trshavn to the nearby island of Nlsoy to meet Bjarti Thomsen, the chairman of a

local wind power association. As we approached the island and the boat made its way into the small harbour, I saw a single

turbine on the top of a hill, standing above the 100-or-so houses like some kind of 21st century gatekeeper.

Bjarti greeted me as I stepped off the ferry. It was a windy day on Nlsoy, and whereas once upon a time he would have

looked at the weather forecast, seen the forecasted high winds and grimaced, he now celebrates. Thats because for over

seven years, he has been the driving force behind his islands shift to clean, decentralised energy specifically, wind.

The Faroese government hopes wind can produce nearly a quarter of the countrys electricity as soon as 2014. And the

countrys conditions certainly favour the technology. Studies over the last decade or so suggest that onshore turbinessituated on certain islands in the Faroes could be twice as effective as even some of the best offshore locations in Denmark

a renowned world leader in wind energy.

Indeed, it is Denmark where the Nlsoy community bought its two 220 kilowatt wind turbines. Both structures had stood

proud in the country for nearly two decades, before being retired in favour of newer, larger models. Still in perfect working

condition, though, they were bought for a fraction of the cost a pair of new turbines would command.

Nlsoys interest in wind energy began in 2006 with the formation of an interest group. Local information meetings were held

regularly over the next couple of years, with Bjarti who has a background in electronics studying the economics,

technicalities and maintenance of the potential wind turbines intensely. He did part-time university courses and even

travelled to Denmark to speak to experts. This was a man who was slowly becoming a wind power expert.

Seeing the interest in Nlsoy for the introduction of wind power, the Faroese government gave the community a grant of

1.8m Danish krone (just over 200,000) in May 2010. The project had become a reality, and a limited company was swiftly

set up: Nlsoy Energy Ltd. Fourteen members of the island community collectively stumped up 300,000 krone (nearly

34,000) to help the firm get over the line.


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Construction of

the first turbine took time, beginning in November 2011 and finishing in the summer of 2012. The single turbine that stands

on the hill above Nlsoy now is still in the preliminary stages, while Bjarti and co-workers Bjrn Elson and Magnus Thomsen

fit cables and wires to connect the first set of houses to the islands natural resources.

But perhaps the most interesting part of the whole operation is what the turbines will actually be doing. Instead of generating

electricity for lighting and so on, the power is stored in a heat pump and used to heat Nlsoy homes a process called

space heating.

Bjarti said theirs was one of the first wind projects of its kind anywhere in the world. And his motivation for going with energy

as opposed to electricity (there is a difference) was almost entirely economic (at one point I made a comment to Bjarti about

the weather, to which he joked that the prospect of global warming in the Faroe Islands was actually quite attractive). With

the price of oil expected to increase in the coming years, as reserves become more difficult to find and extract, the islanders

wanted a way to become self-sufficient. And the Faroe Islands vast and free resource of wind was the obvious long -term

replacement.

Betri er at vera fyrivarin, enn eftirsnarur.

The process is straightforward. The turbine turns, generating electricity that is passed through electrical wires to a control

centre in the village. The eight houses that are currently connected either have their own boiler or theyre controlled by th e

large tank (an old oil container) in the control centre, which pumps heat to the houses as and when its needed.

Bjarti showed me two charts, as we ate food and drank coffee prepared by his wife Sigrid in their family home. One showed

the energy demand in Nlsoy over the course of an average year; the other showed energy production at the turbine site

over an average year. They were almost identical, with both displaying a U curve that dipped in the summer months and

rose into winter.


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Bjarti, Bjrn and Magnus have devoted almost all of their free time to working on the wind project in the last few years (I met

them on a Saturday morning, and all three were working when I got there). Bjartis devotion to the cause led him to taking a

job at the Faroese Earth and energy directorate (the equivalent of the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change). His

research into wind has been meticulous looking at wind speeds, noise pollution, impact on birdlife and more.

I asked him whether there had been any opposition from the local community, and he said there hadnt been. Everyone in

Nlsoy is behind the project; everyone understands why the turbines are being constructed.

The key thing that I took away from Nlsoy, as I travelled back to Trshavn on the ferry, was that community engagement

and rigorous planning is absolutely essential to having a successful wind project. Its obvious that theres going to be some

form of opposition when a multinational energy firm decides, with no engagement with local people, that it is going to install

a wind farm in a nearby field. I wouldnt particularly want that in my back yard, either.

But if the local people are properly informed, involved in the planning process and even financially rewarded, then wind is

fantastic. Its a free, clean source of energy that brings with it no external health costs or d anger warnings. And it will never

run out.

In a place like the Faroe Islands, where its windy almost all of the time, its the obvious path towards a future of

sustainability, self-sufficiency and decentralised energy.

Faroe Islands diary: an informed debate on the whaling issueFriday, September 20th, 2013 ByAlex Blackburne

Whaling: rugged Scandinavian men with spears and harpoons chasing poor,defenceless whales out of their natural habitat, before slaughtering and eating them.Its fair to say I headed to the Faroe Islands with a few preconceptions of thecontroversial practice.

Whaling in the Faroe Islands is almost as old as the country itself. The first settlers are said to have reached the island

somewhere between 400-800 AD, and there is evidence to suggest these early inhabitants took to the Faroese waters in

search of food, and came back with pilot whales for dinner. The issue was the elephant in the room for my recent visit to the

country.


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During research before my trip, I had watched arather harrowing animated videofrom the 80s, narrated by Sir Anthony

Hopkins, that detailed alleged atrocities taking place in the Faroes. The more the whales scream, the more the crowd seem

to enjoy it, Hopkins says, almost as if killing these magnificent animals is a sport for the locals.

Whatever it is, its certainly not pretty. A quick Google search of whaling in the Faroe Islands brings up hundreds, if not

thousands, of images of whale hunts, known locally as the grindadrp, with villagers seen struggling with bloodied whales in

crimson-coloured water.

But many Faroese people take a very different view and I wanted to hear what they had to say. After all, the role of a

journalist is to give readers the information they need to make their own informed decisions.

However, I would advise people of a squeamish disposition to stop reading now.

In Trshavn, the

countrys capital, I met Bjarni Mikkelsen from the Faroese Museum of Natural History. Bjarni told me that once upon a time,

whales were a staple part of the Faroese diet. It remains a traditional dish today, but is eaten less frequently, for reasons Ill

discuss shortly.

Pilot whales specifically the long-finned pilot whale which the Faroese hunt actually belong to the dolphin family. They

are black or dark grey, have rounded foreheads and can grow to 25ft long and over 2,200 kilograms in weight. They are

formidable creatures and have been known to attack and destroy boats that get into their territory, especially if protecting

their young.

Historically, whaling in the Faroe Islands was a free-for-all with little or no regulation, meaning villagers could realistically use

whatever they liked to capture and kill the animals. While the industry is perhaps not as brutal as it once was (spears and

harpoons were used until the mid-80s; now the creatures are driven to shore and killed quickly with a special whaling knife,

known as a grindaknvur) the arguments against the practice remain as strong as ever.

Bjarni explained the process of the grindadrp in detail. There are six sheriffs across the Faroe Islands who, when notified

that a group of whales (known as a pod) had been spotted nearby, tell one of the local foremen to gather their team and

prepare for the hunt. Pilot boats then come together, and drive the pod towards a cove, where they are forced into shallow

waters.

They are then pulled onto the beach using a blsturongul a blunt hook with a long pole in their blowhole. Regulation

states that villagers cannot kill the whales from their boats, so they must wait until the creatures are beached to use

the grindaknvurto cut through their spinal cord, killing them. Bjarni assured me the whales die almost instantaneously

(many say otherwise), but their last few moments are certainly not comfortable.

The meat and blubber that comes from the dead whales is distributed for free among the people who helped kill them. Its a

free source of meat that can last a family a few years if stored properly.
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Whaling is definitely not a pretty process. Even as I write this, Im grimacing at the phrases cut through their spinal cord

and blunt hook in their blowhole. For these social and communicative creatures to be killed explains the natural revulsion

and outrage among many people, not just environmentalistsespecially given the creatures pursuit and graphic deaths.

The hunt may have played an important part in Faroese history, but that is no reason for it to continue, a spokesperson for

global charity Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) told me upon my return to the UK. Today the brutal slaughter of

these intelligent, sentient creatures is unnecessary, inhumane and a danger to humans as well as the whales.

We clearly should not be hypocritical. In the UK, the sheep, cows and chickens we rear in our farms in the UK are often

killed in equally horrible ways. Are we just desensitised to the killing of these animals because they happen behind closed

doors?

The spokesperson added, Unlike cattle or other animals slaughtered in the UK or elsewhere, whales and dolphins are wild

animals living in distinct populations and in many cases little research has been carried out on their status or how these

hunts may affect their survival.

They also have complicated social structures and in some instances specific cultures. It is not known what effects the

hunting or capture and removal of individuals from these populations has on the welfare and conservation status of theremaining animals. Also, unlike domestic animals which in most countries are subject to protection from inhumane slaughter

methods and treatment, whales and dolphins have no such protection from international regulations and laws regarding

killing techniques that are cruel and painful.

I asked Bjarni about the sustainability of the industry. He came back with an interesting answer, saying, If the grindadrp is

not sustainable anymore, well stop. Nobody wants to drive pilot whales to extinction .

Many suggest,

as in the video mentioned at the beginning, that the Faroe Islanders enjoy the grindadrp. Those who take part are oftenportrayed as bloodthirsty and evil, and whaling is spoke of in the same light as bullfighting and fox hunting. I struggle with

this particular description, as most of the Faroe Islanders I met were humble and kind. But what drives these people to

gather five to 10 times a year and slaughter hundreds of these creatures? The answer: over a thousand years of tradition.


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While tradition certainly isnt a justification for the killing of the whales, it at least allows onlookers to understand why the

practice happens. But slavery was once a tradition, and eventually the atrociousness of that industry prevailed the dominant

culture.

Not all traditions need to maintained in their entirety, the WDC spokesperson said. Look to the islands of the Azores,

where whaling played an important historical role, and whose contribution is still celebrated today without actually having to

kill the whales themselves.

Elsewhere, New Zealand and South Africa have found another way to make profit from whales by using them as a draw for

tourists and for scientific research. While this activity has many vocal critics, it has also done a lot to compensate former

whaling communities, to see whales as an asset worth preserving, rather than just as meat.

But just as people invest unsustainably in mining and fossil fuels and people power their homes using dirty energy, it is

culturally difficult for the Faroe Islanders to shift away from traditional ways of thinking. These transitions take time.

Bjarnis comments about sustainability are encouraging as to the future of whaling. They suggest that the country is aware of

at least some of the issues surrounding their highly controversial hunting. Of course, not everyone takes part in

the grindadrp. The general consensus among the Faroese people is that whaling should continue, though a large number

(particularly younger people) are apathetic and choose not to take part.

The tale contains a twist, however, for the eventual end of whaling in the Faroes may not be because of public pressure. In

2008, Faroese chief medical officers Pl Weihe and Hgni Debes Joensen said that whale meat was no longer fit for human

consumption, because of the amount of toxic chemicals including mercury, DDT and PCBs that hadbeen found in many

samples, derived from manmade pollution of the oceans.

It is with great sadness that this recommendation is provided, they said at the time. The pilot whale has kept many

Faroese alive through the centuries.

Whale meat is generally eaten fresh or hung dried. Its usually served with potatoes and has been described as tasting very

similar to reindeer or moose. However, the Faroese government now recommends that islanders only eat whale meat once

a month and even less frequently for women and children.

To many the vast majority even killing whales is unforgivable, evil and often cruel. Meanwhile, for a significant and

growing minority, all meat is murder, and they are right. We do need to eat far less meat in the developed world; ideally

none. Its very bad for us, the animals themselves and the planet as a whole.

But it would be intellectually dishonest and hypocritical to condemn those who hunt for food, if you consume meat yourself.

In large economies, we find it as hard to shift from meat in our diet. To developing economies its a symbol of growing

wealth. To many Faroese people, whales are simply a source of meat.

However, the WDC spokesperson has the last, thoughtful word. Fifty years ago we did not know what we now know about

these remarkable creatures. In years to come, the Faroese may look back at their continued slaughter of the whales in the

21st century as a sad, unnecessary attempt to singularly define their cultural identity as whalers when there is so much more

to the Faroese people than just the grind.

I couldnt agree more with the last line.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16159-faroe-islanders-told-to-stop-eating-toxic-whales.html#.UjoVLMYqhnghttp://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16159-faroe-islanders-told-to-stop-eating-toxic-whales.html#.UjoVLMYqhnghttp://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16159-faroe-islanders-told-to-stop-eating-toxic-whales.html#.UjoVLMYqhnghttp://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16159-faroe-islanders-told-to-stop-eating-toxic-whales.html#.UjoVLMYqhnghttp://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16159-faroe-islanders-told-to-stop-eating-toxic-whales.html#.UjoVLMYqhnghttp://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16159-faroe-islanders-told-to-stop-eating-toxic-whales.html#.UjoVLMYqhng

Documents

Diary from Alex Blackburne’s recent trip to the Faroe Islands (17-20 Sept 2013)