Iceland

Studies of killer whales in Iceland began in the 1980’s in East Iceland, where the main overwintering grounds of the Icelandic summer-spawning herring (Clupea harengus) were. The main prey of Icelandic killer whales is herring and killer whales can be found both in the overwintering and the spawning grounds.

Our work in Iceland started in 2007 in Vestmannaeyjar, an archipelago south of Iceland and a known herring spawning ground. Here killer whales can be found every summer feeding on herring. Our research focuses primarily on photo-identification and acoustic studies.

To date we have identified 123 individuals off Vestmannaeyjar. Some individuals are sighted every year but we are still finding new individuals, so it is likely that the number of killer whales visiting these waters is even higher.  

We have found that killer whales in Iceland, like in Norway and Shetland, produce whistles at much higher frequencies than previously thought. These whistles are inaudible to humans, as they occur at ultrasonic frequencies.