Recently, Skjálfandi Bay and the Northeast of Iceland were considered as a Hope Spot! This is the first time that a region in Iceland is considered as such. A Hope Spot is defined as any special place that is important to the health of the ocean— is recognised as Earth's blue heart! With this attribution, hope spots are about recognizing and empowering people around the world in their efforts to protect the ocean.
As you drive into Húsavík you'll quickly notice everything revolves around whales here. Whilst whale watching boats depart all day long from Húsavík harbor to head out into Skjálfandi Bay in search for the giants of the ocean, the lively port area invites to linger, watch the world go by or to explore the whale themed wall paintings, statues and decorations.
Today we celebrate "World Oceans Day". This day is there to remind on the importance of the oceans to all life on Earth. The oceans cover over 70% of our planet and are home to most of earth's biodiversity - and we have only yet explored a small amount of it.
Did you know: when you join us on our "GG2 Big Whale Safari and Puffins" on our RIB speed boats, you'll be treated with a short stop by Puffin Island to watch these colourful clowns of the sea swimming and diving in the shallow waters just off the island.
Today we celebrate "Sjómannadagurinn" - or the seaman's day - here in Iceland. This day honours the role fisherman as well as other seaman and their families have played in Icelandic history. It was first celebrated in 1938, but in 1987 "Sjómannadagurinn" became a public holiday and therefore a day off for all sailors.
Another month has passed successfully and as June has arrived - and therewith our high season, we're adding more scheduled daily departures to our timetable. May has been a fabulous month with many amazing whale sightings:Humpback whales have been feeding in the bay continously, but also minkes were seen quite frequently.
Watching whales in the wild is a a once-in-a-lifetime experience and so is heading out on a boat into a bay surrounded by wild and pristine nature. Our whale watching tours are not just a great experience for the older, but also a perfect opportunity to show and teach the younger among us about our beloved planet and the secrets of our oceans.
Today, 25th of May, we celebrate International Plastic Free Day, which is reminding on the amount of plastic used every day, filling up landfills or polluting our oceans. Over 380 million tons of plastic are produced yearly, of which at least half is single use plastic.
Since the beginning of May the bay has been getting livelier by the day. Humpback whales have come in numbers and also the amount of birds seen on the water is steadily increasing. Among many other species, also one of the most nomadic birds, the arctic tern, has returned.
Most of the whale species that we get to see here in Skjálfandi Bay are not resident to the waters around Iceland, but migrate large distances between their breeding grounds in subtropical or tropical waters and their feeding grounds close to the poles.
