Top Long Finned Pilot Whale Fishing Countries

The long-finned pilot whale (*Globicephala melas*) is a large, social cetacean known for its distinctive long pectoral fins and bulbous forehead. These whales inhabit temperate and subpolar waters of the North Atlantic and Southern Hemisphere. Unlike most commercial fish species, long-finned pilot whales are not targeted by large-scale industrial fisheries but are instead subject to traditional, small-scale hunts. The most notable country involved in pilot whale harvesting is the Faroe Islands, a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, where the centuries-old practice known as "grindadráp" involves community-driven drives of pilot whales onto shore for meat and blubber. Other countries, such as Iceland and Greenland, have historically hunted pilot whales, but at much smaller scales compared to the Faroe Islands. The species is not widely fished elsewhere, and international attention has focused on the sustainability and ethical aspects of these traditional hunts.

Data from FAO. 2025. Global Capture Production. In: Fisheries and Aquaculture.