With a net in one hand and a rope around their waists, Faroese men have for centuries abseiled down steep mountain slopes to catch puffins, guillemots and other seabirds. Ever since the time of the settlement of the Faroe Islands, birds have been an important part of the diet for many Faroese people.
Birds have been a readily available source of food, even though hunting them was dangerous and risky. When there were no fish to catch in the sea, birds were an important source of sustenance. In 1900, 200,000 puffins were caught in the Faroe Islands; in 2000, the figure was 95,000, whilst today it has fallen to just a few hundred.
“For some islands, bird hunting has always been of great cultural significance. This applies to islands such as Mykines, Skúvoy and Fugloy, where bird hunting is a tradition that has been passed down through the generations. People have had a wealth of knowledge about bird populations, hunting techniques and food preservation, and that knowledge is now at risk of being lost. When conditions change and traditional ways of life and crafts lose their significance, we do not have the same tools to understand what these losses entail as we do for losses that are more economically quantifiable, such as infrastructure,” says Ragnheiður Bogadóttir, senior lecturer at Fróðskaparsetur Føroya (University of the Faroe Islands, ed.).
What does it mean for the Faroese identity that bird hunting may soon be a thing of the past?
Ragnheiður Bogadóttir is investigating this together with postdoc Tráin Petursson Nónklett from Fróðskaparsetur Føroya. They are part of the LostToClimate research project, which is part of NordForsk’s major Arctic initiative.
The project involves researchers from Finland, Sweden, Iceland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Canada, Norway, Denmark and the USA.
Read more at Home | LostToClimate.
“In LostToClimate, we are investigating the intangible losses experienced by small Arctic communities as a result of climate change. The Faroese case study focuses on how sea temperatures are affecting bird populations to such an extent that the bird-hunting of some species is on the verge of extinction. We want to investigate what this means for the culture and identity of the Faroese people,” says Tráin Petursson Nónklett.
Rising sea temperatures are one of the reasons why there are fewer sand eels in the waters around the Faroe Islands. This is the fish on which many bird species depend. When the fish disappear, the birds lose their food source, and the Faroese lose the opportunity to catch birds.
Loss of meaning and sense of belonging
“Many people in the Faroe Islands believe that the outlying islands of the Faroe Islands are bound to die out anyway, and that this is an inevitable and natural part of modernisation. In our project, we challenge the narrative that we simply have to adapt. We aim to investigate what this development and the intangible losses mean for the people living in small, remote communities. We will explore the significance of historical roots and traditions, and how we should respond to external changes at a broader societal level,” says Ragnheiður Bogadóttir.
In her family, bird hunting has played a central role for the generations before her:
“My grandfather grew up on one of the islands, and I’ve always been told stories about how important bird trapping was in terms of culture and identity. He and others of his generation have also been very conscious of how to look after nature and conserve its resources,” she says.
To understand what the decline in bird hunting means for the Faroese, the researchers will visit the islands where there have traditionally been large numbers of birds. They will carry out fieldwork, interview local people and visit the mountainous areas where bird hunting has taken place.
The debate for and against bird hunting
According to Faroese statistics, it is an ageing section of the population that lives on the islands of Mykines, Fugloy and Skúvoy, where bird hunting was particularly widespread. Today, the debate for and against bird hunting is a recurring theme in the Faroese news. For some bird species, it is up to the islands themselves to set quotas on how many the locals are allowed to catch. This applies, for example, to puffins. But not everyone agrees that this should be the approach.
“We must take a respectful approach to the people we are going to meet, because bird hunting is an issue on which there are, and have always been, many different views. Should we stop all hunting or carry on? Opinions differ on this, and it makes matters more difficult that many people living in small communities do not feel heard or seen by politicians,” says Ragnheiður Bogadóttir, and Tráin Petursson Nónklett adds:
“When you go out into the mountains with a net, you hold life in your hands, because birds have been a vital source of livelihood, and traditionally the whole family took part. Men and boys caught the birds, whilst the women plucked and prepared them. You could see it as a loss of meaning and purpose in life when bird hunting is no longer a living tradition, as it has social consequences. It can be a loss for those who have a connection to the place, whether through work or family ties.”
