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Orca Lulu's body contained PCB levels 100x above the safe limit. Image: SMASS

Toxic tides, troubled whales: the toll of chemical pollution

In last week's blog, we examined the challenges whales and dolphins face as they travel...
Group of orcas at surface

Breaking barriers for whales and dolphins at the Convention of Migratory Species

Many species of whales, dolphins and porpoises undertake long journeys, encountering human-made obstacles along the...
Tokyo

WDC in Japan – Part 1: Finding allies in Tokyo

At the end of May, I embarked on an incredible journey to Japan on behalf...
Amazon river dolphins leaping

The state of river dolphin conservation

At Whale and Dolphin Conservation, we partner with conservationists and communities fighting to save river...
Researchers in Southeast Alaska studying whale poo

We’re funding crucial research on whale poo to combat the climate crisis

The ocean is one of the lungs of our planet, and whales help it to...
Narwhal surfacing

The unicorns of the sea must be protected – CITES

The narwhal, is under threat. Often referred to as the unicorns of the sea, narwhals,...
Sperm whales

We’re pushing governments for action for our climate heroes – whales

The climate crisis is the greatest threat to all life on Earth. But there is...
Dolphins captured for captivity in Taiji. Image: Hans Peter Roth

Loved and killed – whales and dolphins in Japan

Protests and criticism from outside Japan in response to the slaughter of whales and dolphins...

Iceland 2013: Saga #2 – Grundarfjörður

My home from home for the next few weeks will be the small town of Grundarfjörður which lies on the north coast of the Snæfellsnes peninsula in the west of Iceland. The whole peninsula is often referred to as a miniature Iceland and it is a very popular tourist destination. The glacier-topped Snæfellsjökull volcano, standing at 1446m, is the highest mountain on the peninsula and dominates the landscape. The volcano was the setting for the classic Jules Verne’s novel, Journey to the Centre of the Earth.

Grundarfjörður has done well from the fishing industry over the years but in recent times the area has started to attract a whole new international crowd hoping to witness a new winter phenomenon. Since 2011, groups of orca (Orcinus orca) have regularly been spotted out in the bay during the winter months causing much excitement amongst locals, tourists and researchers.

As with all wild whales and dolphins, prey availability dictates their movements and the reason the orcas have shown up in Grundarfjörður recently is a direct response to a shift in the wintering habits of their prey – the Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) – one of the most abundant fish species on earth. If you want to find out more about orca then you really need to understand the natural history of the herring! The Icelandic herring stock, or Sild, as it is known locally, used to spend the winters in the fjords in the east of Iceland but in 2006 some of the older stock shifted their distribution to the Grundarfjörður area. However, it took a few more years before the orcas figured this out and now, from December to March each winter, the orcas appear to be a regular feature giving people a golden opportunity to see these iconic and charismatic mammals. Please follow the blogs over the coming weeks as we attempt to give you an insight in to the lives of the whales, the people and landscapes of this stunning island.