~ FOR GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF OUR MARINE LIFE ~
Elding Adventure at Sea began dedicated research on three of the main species encountered on our tours - white-beaked dolphins, minke whales, and humpback whales in 2007. Our research in Faxaflói bay, just outside Reykjavík, is carried out alongside our daily whale watching tours, allowing us to gather valuable long-term data on the marine life of the area.
In 2016, we expanded our whale watching operations to Akureyri in North Iceland and began research in Eyjafjörður. This expansion has strengthened our research programme by allowing us to study and compare species across two important areas of Iceland’s coastline.
A key part of our research is photo-identification, where we photograph distinctive features such as notches, nicks, and indentations on the dorsal fins of whales and dolphins, as well as the unique patterns on humpback whale flukes. Scars, mottling, tooth marks, and other markings can also help identify individual animals. These features are unique to each animal and act much like a human fingerprint, allowing us to recognise individuals throughout their lives.
Our growing photo catalogue contains thousands of images, with every new photograph compared against previous records. When we identify an animal we have photographed before, we have a “match”; when we encounter a new individual, it is added to the catalogue. In this way, our collection continues to grow, helping us build a better understanding of the whales and dolphins that visit Iceland’s waters.
How We Identify Whales
To research whales and dolphins, summarised under the name cetaceans, it does not require highly modern and expensive technology, research vessels and scientists with a PhD. At Elding we are able to collect viable data to better our understanding of cetaceans around Iceland simply by taking photos during our whale watching tours.
Of course, these photos need to be of good quality and at certain angles for them to be useful and they require a lot of time to analyse. Every summer, Elding offers young students to learn the basics of cetacean research and help us with collecting and processing data. Not only is this a great help to enlarge our knowledge about cetaceans, but it is often also the first hands-on experience for the students.
But there is so much more we can get out of this "photo identification" and "matching". It can help us understand migration paths if there are matches between Iceland and other countries around the world. We can find out about social associations as well if it turns out that certain individuals always are seen together. We can even estimate age and population size!
Over the years we have not only collected a plethora of viable information for our own database but also began collaborating with other researchers and research projects, both locally and internationally. We have found this to be a great way to build networks and strengthen our research!
By having our whale watching tours incorporate essential data collection by our researchers, we always thrive to do our best possible to help better understand these incredible animals. Ultimately, knowledge is the key to improve protection and conservation of such magical creatures.
