Research news and updates

Humpback whales are always on the move. Each year they travel thousands of kilometres from their mating grounds in the tropics to their feeding grounds in the Arctic or Antarctic. While these mighty animals are always travelling, some do seem to have their preferred hangout spots. Lucky for us, our bay Faxaflói  is a favourite among humpbacks! While many pass by each year, some frequent visitors managed to steal the hearts of crew and passengers alike. So much so that we comp

At Elding, our research team use photo-Identification to record and recognise individuals whales. Turning a lot of encounters into a long term research project. This technique allow us to track movements, health and behaviour of the cetacean individuals from year to year, contributing us valuable information about the population that visit us every year in the Icelandic waters.

The name “Sakkara” is familiar to many whale watchers and researchers in Iceland. For more than a decade, Sakkara has been a regular visitor to our area in Faxaflói bay. She is one of the most recognisable killer whales in the Icelandic population, with a distinctive square-shaped nick in her dorsal fin. But her signature appearance is only part of the reason why she has earned her celebrity status. Sakkara characteristic nick Sakkara’s Rise to Fame For many years, Icelandic

Last week, we attended the 4th Humpback Whale World Congress in Tadoussac, Québec. The conference focused on coexisting with whales for our oceans, highlighting new research in whale alert systems, marine protected areas, and the impacts of sound and climate change.

First seen in Iceland in 2020, Davy Jones II has become one of our most recognisable and beloved humpback whales. Known for his large dorsal notch, playful curiosity and unforgettable encounters with our boats, he’s truly one of a kind.

Why do we name animals? For many years, scientists have been giving animals names. Even though these names can sometimes be silly, like...

As cetacean populations worldwide continue their gradual recovery from the devastating impacts of widespread commercial whaling...

In July 2025, PhD student Victor from Kiel University joined our whale watching tours in Eyjafjörður to collect data for his research. By measuring how light reflects off the sea from our boats, he aims to improve satellite data accuracy in Arctic waters. This work helps monitor water quality and phytoplankton, which form the basis of the rich marine life that sustains the whales we are lucky to encounter.

Whale watching is one of Iceland’s most unforgettable wildlife experiences, offering people the chance to witness the behaviours of incredible species like humpback whales, minke whales, white-beaked dolphins and occasionally harbour porpoises up close. But how do these animals react when boats approach?

We all know and love whales, whether it is for their serenity, impressive size or acrobatic behaviour. There is, however, a whole different aspect for which these gentle giants deserve to be appreciated, namely their inexhaustible efforts towards the welfare of our oceans and our climate.

After learning many things about orcas through the serie of blogs by Kylie Veal, lets get back to Elding research, the result of the work...

Welcome orca-lovers to the last blog of this Orca series. Here we will introduce you to the threats orcas and other cetaceans face on a...

In this next part of the orca series you will learn more about their hunting techniques!

Discover the different ecotypes of orcas within the southern hemisphere and how they are different to what we see in the north!

For part 3 of our orca series we are going to focus on the different ecotypes of orcas from the northern hemisphere!

Welcome to the second blog in our orca series. This time we will focus more on our Icelandic orcas! 

This blog is going to be a little bit different. We are going to start a little series of blogs about orcas! So welcome to our first one.

In this blog we look at how often the humpback whales were performing acrobatics!

Since November, numerous humpback whales have been spotted near the coastlines of Faxaflói Bay. We have seen between 1-5 on any given...

Over the course of 2024 we had some incredible whale watching moments. We saw a huge amount of baleen whales including humpback, minke...