A New Season

by Steve Truluck

It’s peak season once again for seeing orcas in the Snæfellsnes Peninsula region of Iceland! Luckily for me, I’m the first volunteer of the Orca Guardians Iceland 2020 season aboard Láki Tours and the orcas are being seen on a regular basis.

As a volunteer for Orca Guardians, I’m assisting Marie (the founder) with taking ID photos, promoting the orca adoption programme to help fund her work, and by spreading the word of the amazing work Orca Guardians Iceland have been doing.

I’m immensely proud to be part of the team, especially having seen all the recent work that has gone into documenting SN113 Riptide’s incredible journey through the Mediterranean. None of the matching of Riptide and his pod would have been possible without Marie’s focus and dedication to conserve and protect orcas in Iceland.

Icelanders are connecting with orcas more and more. The life-size sculpture of ‘Thunderstorm’ in Grundarfjörđur is a perfect example of how these incredible creatures have a profound impact on humans and how Orca Guardians Iceland is contributing to spreading awareness of orcas in Iceland.

Láki Tours supports the work Orca Guardians Iceland undertakes by providing the platform for Marie to do her research. After an hour of travelling on my very first trip, there they are! Striking, jet black, dorsal fins cutting through the swell. Instantly, everyone on board is happy. The power of orcas!

Marie recognises the large male closest to the boat, ‘Warrior’! He has an obvious nick in his dorsal fin, but when you have identified hundreds of different orcas in the area it’s no mean feat to recognise a specific dorsal fin.

It’s a similar story on our second trip out and this time there’s even more orcas to photograph and observe. After 3 trips we’ve seen orcas, sperm whales, white-beaked dolphins and harbour porpoises as well as a myriad of bird species all in the spectacular surroundings of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula.

I am absolutely over the moon with what I’ve seen BUT there’s one thing I want to see more than anything…

I live in Scotland where I am part of a group of citizen scientists keeping track of the orcas seen in Scottish waters. This currently includes 29 orcas known to migrate between Iceland and Scotland. I would LOVE to see one of the Scottish orcas while I’m here. Will it happen?!

Check the next blog to find out more about the orcas migrating between Iceland and Scotland and to see if I’m successful…

If you would like to support Orca Guardians Iceland’s work by adopting an orca, please click here.