Tromsø Herring-Whale Fjords
Kvænangen & Tromsø Fjords, Arctic Norway · Arctic & Subarctic · polar
About this place
Investigate Orcinus orca cooperative carousel-feeding acoustics and humpback commensalism in overwintering herring fjords.
For kids: Watch clever orcas herd silver fish into giant spinning bait-balls under pink Arctic twilight!
Tromsø Herring-Whale Fjords · 360° Habitat Camp
What to look for
- Deep ice-free herring fjord — Clupea harengus overwintering basin. Centre the ice-free Norwegian Atlantic Current fjord trough
- Glaciated Lyngen-style peaks — Acoustic fjord amphitheatre. Scan the steep metamorphic fjord walls shelving into 300 m water
- Pastel 'Mørketid' polar twilight — Civil twilight atmospheric scattering. Observe the low-angle solar refraction band along the southern horizon
Source: Similä & Ugarte (1993), Canadian Journal of Zoology — Carousel feeding & underwater tail-slaps by Norwegian killer whales.
Ask together: Why do herring swim tighter together in a ball when flashing white bellies circle around them?
Field quiz
Kids' question: How do Norwegian orcas stun fish after herding them into a tight ball?
- With a powerful underwater slap of their wide tail flukes!
- By tickling them with seaweed
- By shouting very politely
Answer
With a powerful underwater slap of their wide tail flukes!
Adults' question: How do lunge-feeding humpback whales interact with carousel-feeding orcas in Norwegian fjords?
- Humpbacks eavesdrop on orca herding calls and lunge straight through the compacted bait-ball
- Humpbacks chase orcas out of the fjord completely
- They take turns guarding herring nests
- They only feed in separate months
Answer
Humpbacks eavesdrop on orca herding calls and lunge straight through the compacted bait-ball
360° photo: Jojoo64, CC BY-SA 4.0
See it live: Live check: Norwegian Fjord Coast Cam
- By day
- Fishing ospreys, white-tailed sea eagles, & coastal fjord gulls Check live MET Norway wind and barometric conditions sweeping across the Scandinavian fjord coast.
- By night
- Nordic blue twilight or dark coastal pine silhouette & sea breeze High-latitude twilight extends diurnal raptor foraging windows during the brief Nordic breeding season.
Other language: Русский