Catalogues

An overall aim of our year-round identification work both from land and sea is to record as many individual killer whales as possible moving through the area, with as few knowledge gaps as possible, extending fieldwork over the longest achievable period of time. This will help identify potential critical habitat / important feeding grounds of the Icelandic killer whales and provide crucial knowledge for conservation measures.
Furthermore, collecting data (and an average of 40,000 photographs) in the same area throughout the year gives unique insights into migration patterns, social structure, and feeding habits of repeatedly documented individuals. The catalogues are thus used as tools to aid in conservation work, for the long-term monitoring of the population, and as a reference document for ongoing and future research.

Orca Guardians’ core task is to ensure the welfare of individual wild killer whales, and of the Icelandic orca population as a whole. Therefore, any research conducted by Orca Guardians Iceland is critically monitored for its non-invasive character and application of the precautionary approach.