Andenes Whale Summit

We hope to come back in 2027!

Our first Whale Summit - a huge success!

Together with our skilled partners, we wanted to showcase our activities, emphasizing the research findings from the past six years and how this work contribute to a positive impact on marine life and better knowledge about whales.

THE PROGRAM:
Whale2Sea Whalesafari combines research on whales and whale watching
– Why is this a success and what ripple effects does it create?

With over 70 people coming to our summit listening to the many great speakers - it was a dream come true! We hope to repeat the summit for next year, and will update this page with news as soon as we have decided. Below you can read more about this first event.

The summit lasted two full days, with an evening event the night before in norwegian towards our locals. This was prof. Audun Rikardsen presenting his love for both the ocean, the animals and photography.
READ THE FULL PROGRAM

From March until maybe mid May - there are "Gatherings" of Spermwhales off Andøy. On several trips with our guest at this periode, and also on several research trips that we have made - there were up to 12 spermwhales at the most. We were therefor very happy that on Thuesday evening, we went out at sea with our summit guests - and there were a lot of blows everywhere.

More update to come...

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

prof. Philip Hammond

Philip Hammond is emeritus professor at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. His primary interest is in population dynamics and ecology, in particular the applied aspects of how seals and cetaceans interact with human activities. Research foci include investigating habitat use, foraging ecology and diet of marine mammals, estimating abundance, survival and reproductive rates, and modelling population dynamics. He co-founded the Scottish east coast bottlenose dolphin project in 1989 which continues to study the dynamics of a small coastal population in a changing environment. He co-initiated the series of SCANS cetacean surveys to estimate abundance and model distribution of cetaceans in European Atlantic waters, coordinating the first three surveys in 1994, 2005/07 and 2016.

dr. Jonathan Gordon

Jonathan Gordon is a biologist, based in the UK, who has studied, campaigned for and admired marine mammals for over 4 decades. Sperm whales, have been a particular and enduring interest. His PhD was one the first attempts to study live sperm whales, and since then he has worked with this species on a variety of projects in many parts of the world. Much of this work has involved whale watching and included: studies to measure impacts of whale watching on whale behaviour, using whale watching as a source of data for biological studies, transferring knowledge and equipment from research to make whale watching more efficient and less disruptive and campaigns to promote whale watching as an alternative to consumptive explication. Inevitably, this “career” has brought him to Andenes several times and he’s had the pleasure of working with Tiu and the Whale2Sea team helping them to establish this initiative.

prof. Audun Rikardsen

Audun Rikardsen is a professor in marine biology at the University of Tromsø. His research work has focused both on fish and whales with an emphasis on studies using telemetry. Audun is also an award winning nature photographer and has participated in several TV documentaries and films as has written popular science articles and books.

dr. Eve Jourdain

is a marine ecologist dedicated to advancing our understanding of killer whale behaviour, ecology, and social dynamics. She is the founder and director of the Norwegian Orca Survey, where she works to document and protect Norway’s killer whale population through science, outreach, and collaboration. Eve has been leading long-term research on Norwegian killer whales for more than a decade. Through her work with the University of Oslo, she integrates field observations, drone-based methods, and cutting-edge biological markers from tissue samples to uncover how these apex predators forage and interact within their ecosystems. Her commitment to combining rigorous research with public engagement has made her a leading voice in killer whale science. Eve is delighted to join the conference as a keynote speaker and share new insights from her ongoing work.

Norwegian Orca Survey