Wildlife in the sea around the Faroe Islands

Sea cucumber (*Cucumaria frondosa*) is among the most common benthic animals that live off the Faroe Islands, especially in areas where the bottom is hard.
RIGHTS MANAGED/RITZAU SCANPIX, 2007

The sea around the Faroe Islands contains a varied wildlife, which in addition to fish and large marine mammals also includes a large number of invertebrates. In the 1920s, Danish biologists carried out a series of studies of the wildlife, and the results were later published in the six-volume work The Zoology of The Faroes. The studies of the seabed were mainly carried out within the 100 m depth contour, where, in addition to a number of demersal fish species, approx. 850 different species of benthic invertebrates were recorded. The seabed was studied again in 1988‑90 in connection with the Biofar project. This time the seabed was studied at a depth of 100‑1,000 m. So far, the studies have identified 1,570 different species of invertebrates, but as all the samples have not yet been analysed, the number is expected to reach some 3,000 species. To this should be added an unknown number of small pelagic animals as well as around 240 species of fish, 24 species of whales and the grey seal, which is the only remaining seal in the Faroe Islands.

Marine mammals

Marine mammals is a collective term for mammals that spend most of their lives in the sea. Although due to their adaptations to life in water they often resemble each other in appearance, they are not closely related and include several different orders such as whales, seals and manatees. In the sea around the Faroe Islands, marine mammals are represented by whales and seals.

Marine mammals

Further reading