Norway

Extent of whale and dolphin watching

With its stunning fjords and its gateway to the Arctic, Norway offers unique whale watching opportunities for visitors year round, with opportunities to see sperm whales, killer whales and humpback whales as well as other species.

Target species, peak times of year and locations

Sperm whales can be observed throughout the whole year in the “Bleik-canyon” outside Andenes, where it is also possible to observe humpback whales, minke whales, killer whales, pilot whales, white-beaked dolphins and harbor porpoises year around.  However, the peak tourist season is the summer. In the Norwegian spring, other locations along the northern Norwegian coast can also host large numbers of humpback and killer whales, and sometimes fin whales as they follow the spring spawning herring that overwinter in Norway’s fjords from November to January. The fjords outside Tromsø became a whale and dolphin hot spot during the herring seasons in 2012-2013 to 2016-2017, while the fjords around Skjervøy (further north) were visited by a large number of killer and humpback whales during the 2017-19  herring seasons.  

Between May and September, blue whales, fin whales, humpback whales, minke whales, and belugas can be observed around Svalbard with day trips originating from the port of Longyearbyen. Additionally, high arctic species such as narwhals, belugas and bowhead whales might be observed on longer expeditions from Longyearbyen (lasting 7-10 days). 

Additional information about whale watching in Norway can be found on the following websites:

• Visit Norway
• Visit Andoy
• Visit Tromsø
• Visit Svalbard
• Norwhale
  

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Regulations and guidelines

Three sets of whale watching guidelines have been developed since 2009 in northern Norway.  In chronological order, these are:

• Whale watching guidelines by Ocean Sounds, a non-profit organisation dedicated to marine mammals science and conservation. These include posters in both English and Norwegian. These can be found here; 
• Whale watching guidelines by Visit Tromsø, the destination management organisation of the Tromsø area. These also include posters in both English and Norwegian, and can be viewed here.  
• Whale watching guidelines by NorWhale, a network of whale watching operators and destination companies after initiative from the consortium Arctic-365. These guidelines include species specific posters and leaflets in both English and Norwegian, available here. 

After several episodes of irresponsible behaviour by whale watchers, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries   introduced strict whale watching regulations in 2019.  These are intended to protect whales in their natural habitat as well as promote co-existence of whale watching and fisheries.  These are available in Norwegian here with an abbreviated official English translation here.

Please note that all guidelines ban/strongly discourage disturbing, trying to attract, provisioning or touching the animals. Ocean Sounds and Visit Tromsø guidelines ban/strongly discourage all in-water activities with cetaceans. NorWhale guidelines regulate snorkelling with orcas in winter, while snorkelling with other whale species and at other times of the year is not recommended. NorWhale discourages all other activities in the water (free diving, diving and swimming). 

In November 2021, the municipality of the area where most of winter whale watching occurs has encouraged all actors to follow the guidelines on best practice issued by Visit Tromsø.

In general:

• Commercial whale watching operators are encouraged to include educational programs in their tours, highlighting the fragility of the marine environment and inspiring respect and environmental friendly attitudes and behaviours.
• Operators are encouraged to use boats to capacity, as well as larger boats when possible to reduce the overall number of boats observing whales.
• A maximum of 3 boats are advised to simultaneously observe each situation, for the sake of whales and also to enhance the “wilderness experience”.
• Boats are encouraged to cooperate so that if there are too many boats with one (group of) whale(s), the maximum boat time per encounter is 30 minutes. Boats waiting for their turn should remain more than 500m away from whales where possible, or at an appropriately remote distance from the situation depending on the local topography. 
• Approach whales slowly, at less than 5 knots when within 300m, and at constant speed, from the side and slightly to the rear.
• Move parallel to the direction of moving whales, not directly from behind where whales may feel chased, neither head-on, nor intercepting the path. 

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Research on whale watching in Norway

Whale watching activities outside Andenes, Vesterålen, Lofoten and Troms have facilitated many research activities relevant to tourism. The results of such activities are published in various scientific journals, including Tourism in Marine Environments, Journal of Ecotourism, Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, and books (see references below).

The non-profit organisation Ocean Sounds in Nordland (Lofoten) has been  active since 2005 in conducting research and disseminating scientific results about whales and whale-human interactions in a variety of media and fora, including journals,conferences, reports, school projects, newspapers, radio and TV (see this site for more information).

UiT The Arctic University of Norway has conducted several studies in collaboration with other research institutes. These includes the WhaleTrack project concerning the whale migration.

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