A large number of reefs on Skjálfand

Many humpback whales come to Skjálfandaflói every year, as many visitors to whale watching companies in Húsavík know. On an annual basis whale conference The Whale Museum in Húsavík and the Research Center of the University of Iceland, which was held earlier in sumar information about the number of gray whales that experts have counted on Skjálfand in recent years was revealed. A special research project on counting grayling is underway in Húsavík, where staff and students at the Research Center of the University of Iceland in Húsavík are working. The project consists of an analysis of photographs of wrecks on Skjálfand. According to dr. Marianne Rasmussen from the Research Center and the manager of the project, 172 different whales have visited Skjálfand once or more between 2001-2015. The killer whale population in the North Atlantic is estimated to be around 1.000 animals. That means that about 17% of the gray heron population has made its way to Skjálfand. Due to overfishing in the last century, the species is in danger of extinction and it is difficult to estimate how the population will fare. This was among the things that appeared in Marianne's talk about research on whales at Skjálfand.

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Many blue whales in Skjálfandi Bay

A significant number of blue whales visit Skjálfandi Bay every year as many people whale-watching from Husavik can bear witness. During our annual whale congress, held by the Whale Museum in Húsavík and The University of Iceland's Research Center in Húsavík, information about the number of blue whales sighted by researchers in Skjáldandi Bay was revealed. A research project concerned with counting the blue whales in the bay is being conducted by the staff and students at the research center. The project makes use of photo ID to analyze the blue whale population in the bay. According to Dr. Marianne Helene Rasmussen, director of the research center and project leader, 172 different individuals have visited the bay during the time span 2001-2015. It is estimated that the North Atlantic blue whale population is approximately 1000 animals. This means that more than 17% of the North Atlantic blue whales have been visiting Skjálfandi Bay. Due to whaling in the past blue whales are still endangered worldwide and currently the status of the population is not known with certainty. This among others Marianne revealed in her talk about the research on whales in Skjáldandi Bay.

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