More Than a Decade of Knowledge

Whale Watching Akureyri has been closely connected to whale research and wildlife observation for more than a decade. Since establishing our operations in Akureyri in 2016, we have built an extensive knowledge base of the whales and other marine wildlife that visit Eyjafjörður.

Our research is carried out in close collaboration with our sister operation in Reykjavík, allowing us to combine years of observations from both North and Southwest Iceland. This gives us a broader understanding of individual whales and their movements between Iceland’s waters throughout the year.

Each year, we bring together an international and interdisciplinary team, including marine biologists and environmental scientists. Our naturalists collect footage and observations from our tours, contributing to photo-identification, behavioural studies and ongoing wildlife research. Over time, this has created a valuable long-term record of the animals that visit these waters and how their patterns change.

This kind of knowledge cannot be gained overnight. It comes from years spent on the water, observing, documenting and learning from the wildlife of Iceland. Our tours are therefore about more than simply finding whales - they are an opportunity to experience these animals with a team whose knowledge is grounded in long-term research and first-hand experience.

Learn more about Elding Research

Whale Watching Akureyri has been involved in megafauna research for years and we have collected an incredible amount of data for over a decade. Each year we build an international and interdisciplinary team, including marine biologists and environmentalists, creating an opportunity for everyone to contribute to research.

We are located in the North of Iceland sailing in Eyjafjörður, the longest fjord in Iceland (60km) and probably the most unique research area in the country.

Eyjafjörður is known to be one of the most fascinating marine-wildlife research areas in Iceland. The fjord is long and narrow, and whales often return to the same areas giving us an opportunity to witness exciting rare behaviours and group interactions even though humpback whales are considered to be solitary animals.

Humpback whales are one of the easiest species of cetacean to identify as individuals. Each tail is unique and often there are unique features that we are able to observe on the tours to identify them. Joining our team efforts in Akureyri and Reykjavik we have developed a humpback whale catalogue with hundreds of individuals recognised in Faxaflói and Eyjafjörður.

Additionally we cooperate with researchers and scientists to learn more about these animals. Almost every year we participate in tagging expeditions and share our data about whales that have been tagged.

If you’d like to learn more or contribute to our research contact us here: info@whalewatchingakureyri.is