The Grind, or “Grindadráp” in Faroese, takes place primarily in July and August, and is the so-called “event” where the killing of close to 1,000 Pilot Whales, Northern Bottlenose Whales and Atlantic White-sided Dolphins takes place.
The tradition of the Grindadráp originated during times of famine in the middle to late 1,400’s. It is the “tradition” where the Faroese locate pods of cetaceans. Crowding the pods with boats, they drive them slowly into a bay or to the bottom of a fjord.
There are 22 locations that have the right conditions, and legal authorization, for the Grindadráp. These are Bøur, Fámjin, Fuglafjørður, Funningsfjøður, Húsavík, Hvalba (Lítlabergssandur, Í Nesi and Hvalbiarsandur), Hvalvík, Hvannasund, Klaksvík, Leynar, Miðvágur, Norðagøta, Norðskáli, Sandavágur, Sandur, Syðrugøta, Tórshavn (in Sandagerði), Trongisvágur, Vágur, Vestmanna, Viðvík and Øravík.