23rd of June, earlier this summer, a team of researchers tagged a blue whale in Skjálfandi Bay, hoping to get more information on the travels of the species. The team has successfully documented satellite signals from the blue whale for 55 days, and the whale has traveled over 7,700 km for the duration of that period. The whale has mostly swum in sprints, but taking it slow for 5-15 days in between, most likely to feed. The whale swam from Sjálfandi Bay and to Húni Bay, where it stayed until June 13th, when it decided to speed up north. It spent 10 days a little east of Greenland, then took the southwest direction and swam between Greenland and Iceland. Finally the whale swam south and is currently about 130 km South-south west of Reykjanes peninsula.

This time of year it can be expected for the blue whales and other baleen whales to return to warmer waters. The Marine Research Institute's researches are hoping that the satellite signals will last long enough to provide some information about their migration patterns.

The Marine Research Institute has put more emphasis on whale research, with the help of satellite transmitters. The goal is to map out the migration patterns of the Icelandic baleen whales when they leave Icelandic waters, since this information is very scarce. The information is not only important for the academic world, but is it also important regarding the protection of the species.

For further information on this blue whale, check http://www.hafro.is/hvalamerki/steypireydur.html