Whaling Futures: A Survey of Faroese and Vincentian Youth on the Topic of Artisanal Whaling

Abstract

This article presents the results of surveys with postsecondary students in the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic and St. Vincent in the Caribbean on the topics of whaling and consumption of associated food products. Results are analyzed to predict future trends in whaling activities in both locations. Whaling faces both cultural and environmental challenges to its continuance. Perceptions and opinions of today's educated youth are arguably the best indicator of future trends in whaling nations—at least those trends that are within the control of culture and society. The results of this survey support a challenge to the conventional theory that whaling is a dying form of artisanal food production by showing that the food products obtained through whaling remain popular with the participants in both locations. These students exhibit varying degrees of familiarity with, and willingness to participate in, whaling activities.