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Killer whales, Norway

When Norway’s billions-strong stock of herring arrive in the fjords northeast of Tromsø, orca and migrating humpback follow to feed. The result is spectacular November whale watching – especially if you travel on a small sailing ship. Plus, it just so happens that November is a good time to see the Northern Lights, so you can celebrate two natural bonanzas at once.

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Killer whale watching in Norway

When Norway’s billions-strong stock of herring arrive in the fjords northeast of Tromsø, orca and migrating humpback follow to feed. The result is spectacular November whale watching – especially if you travel on a small sailing ship.

In the fjords off Sorkjosen in Northern Norway, one billion herring are having a get-together. As with any good party, there are lots of gatecrashers. Humpbacks, pods of orcas, and sometimes even fin whales descend from late October for an all-you-can-eat buffet upon one of nature’s largest migrating biomasses. Hunting in spectacular, organised fashion, whales churn the herring to the surface to feed. If you’re lucky, lighting and special effects are provided by the aurora borealis.

I was worried I was dreaming but then I looked back at my photos and remembered that I wasn’t.

- Responsible Travel’s own Tessa O’Hara, who went to see the whales in November

But whales aren’t the only ones crashing this party. You can be there, too – on our whale watching sailing vacation in Norway.

“I’d recommend it to anyone even if you’re not whale obsessed,” says Responsible Travel’s own Tessa O’Hara, who went on a winter trip to see the whales. “Just being in the environment with the light is really magical – everything is otherworldly. It’s totally out of everything else you’d ever experience day to day.”

On our vacations you’ll take a sailing boat out into the fjords to follow the whales on a short, breathless trip, with just a handful of other passengers. Trips such have an incredible success rating in sightings that four nights on the water is ample time to see your fill of whales, plus a good chance of seeing the Northern Lights, too.

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Herring season

The herring might be out and about but November is low season for tourists up here in Troms og Finnmark, Norway’s northernmost, and least populated, county. The first snow has fallen. At the start of the month, the sun sets by around 2pm. By the last week of November, polar night has begun. The light is indirect and diffuse and the sun won’t rise again until the middle of January. “You’re there at a time of year when the sun is rising but never that high in the sky, so you get this peachy golden pinky glow reflecting off the snow,” says Tessa. “It’s like you’re living inside a big marshmallow or something; a really soothing, romantic light.”

Hunting tactics

In the twilight, there is plenty of activity. Huge fishing trawlers patrol the fjords to scoop up the fish – followed by opportunistic whales, who appear beside the trawlers as soon as they start pumping the herring on board – as though they have a sixth sense for it (or perhaps herring-attuned hearing).

The whales are intelligent, opportunistic hunters, and have even been known to learn new techniques from each other. The orcas in this area have perfected carousel feeding, where they swirl under the shoal and drive them to the surface, after which they have nowhere to go but into waiting mouths.

Humpbacks arrived in the area around 15 years ago, and have followed the feeding ever since, sometimes even swooping in to take over the orca’s hard work – a phenomenon that hadn’t been reported anywhere else until the BBC and National Geographic witnessed it here in 2015. Humpbacks like herding herring by blowing ‘bubble nets’ into their shoals.

How to see orca and other whales

Sailing boats don’t need to follow the trawlers to find the whales, they simply look for the spouts. The placid fjords, eerily lit by the soft cold light of the ‘blue nights’, erupt with them – whales spout more frequently when they’re feeding – and the shallows are the best places to see. Boats can find themselves surrounded by whales, perhaps 15 humpbacks, and twice as many orcas at once.

“Sometimes you’re just surrounded by them – the number of animals was a lot higher than I’ve seen on other trips,” says Tessa, who has plenty of experience watching whales all over the world. “I’ve never seen that many orca or humpback. I’ve seen humpbacks before when they’re migrating but they’re not in a big group – but when they’re feeding they’re in a big group.”

The whales can be seen spy hopping – orcas are known to stick their heads vertically out of the water to look at their surroundings – and breaching – both orcas and humpbacks in particular love to jump, and fin whales have been seen doing it too, though less frequently in feeding season.

“You’d see the water ripple and bubble and then these humpbacks would be breathing at the surface. You can see every nodule and whisker – all the up-close details, and you get a whiff of fishy breath,” says Tessa.

Herring loss

The unassuming herring underpins much of life up here. If they don’t arrive, neither do the whales. The shoals move, and with them, the fishing boats. This little fish once supported the entire population – in the 19th century, Norwegians would eat the silvery fish for breakfast, lunch and dinner. These days, much of the catch is exported and you won’t find any served on board your boat.

In the 1950s and 1960s Norwegians became so good at fishing herring that the stocks basically vanished. They’re now in recovery. Norway fishes to strict quotas but thanks to the huge population of fish, some half a million tonnes of herring can still be legally netted each year. As for the rest – they’re fair game for whales. Whale hunting is still practiced in Norway – but on minke whales, not orcas, humpbacks or fin whales. Responsible Travel opposes whale hunting, and urges visitors not to try whale meat during their trips, which fuels the industry.

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What species of whale can I see?

Orca

The orca’s dapper black and white tuxedo of colouring is actually clever camouflage that breaks up the appearance of its body in the water. Orcas are social animals that live in family groups with up to 40-50 members. They hunt in their pods, using a variety of techniques. Evidence suggests that a single pod may specialise in hunting just one type of prey, and pass on its technique down the generations, so your herring-chasers probably won’t attempt to take on the other whales in the feeding frenzy. That said, orcas have been known to attack even enormous fin whales – hence their other name – killer whales.

Humpback whales

Migrating some 25,000km every year, the humpback whales you see in Norway’s fjords have probably come all the way from the Caribbean to eat. And eat they will – a humpback whale can demolish up to 2,500kg of fish a day, thanks to its cavernous mouth. Their heads are spotted with barnacle-like tubercles, which are actually hair follicles, and they have the longest pectoral fins of any whale. Scientists tend to recognise individuals by the scars and white patterning on their tails.

Fin whales

The second-largest whale, growing around 20m long, the fin whale is slender and speedy. It practises lunge feeding to accumulate as many fish in its bristly mouth as possible. It was previously known as the ‘herring whale’ – though you will see fewer fin whales than humpbacks and orcas if you follow the herring to the fjords. Unlike thriving humpbacks, fin whales are considered vulnerable to extinction, having been widely hunted for much of the 20th century.

What does this trip entail?

There are so many whales to see in this area that you can get your fill in a quick, intense trip of around five days – short enough so that you won’t get cabin fever.

This is a small group trip – with no more than nine guests and just two crew. Once you leave port you will spend all your time at sea, with nights at remote anchorages free from light pollution where, weather permitting, you have the best chance of seeing the aurora.

Expect lots of seafood on board, including local fish from the fishermen. Whilst herring isn’t normally on the menu, invasive species like Pacific salmon and king crab, might be. You might also enjoy local reindeer meat, sourced direct from Sámi herders.

You’ll live in close quarters. Sailing boats have very little space below deck and you can expect to share a bathroom and toilet on board with other guests. The nights are long, and it can be very cold on deck, so pack plenty of layers to ensure you don’t get cold toes when you’re up on deck looking at the twin wonders of whales and Northern Lights. Also pack some entertainment for life snuggled up below deck – games, cards, a good book.

“The evenings are full of chatting about what you’ve seen, having spent the whole day in the freezing cold seeing whales,” says Tessa, “We played a lot of cards. And, when it gets dark enough – it takes a while – we’d take turns to go for walk and look for the Northern Lights.”

Responsible whale watching in Norway

These whales are very used to boats, tending to follow the small local fishing boats to get to the herring – they’ve been known to jump into fisherman’s nets to get to the fish. There are also many whales in the area, meaning that you can observe whales for a short time, and then move on to another pod and not outstay your welcome. Our trips do not chase whales or operate at speed. By using wind power over an engine, you’re even less obtrusive to wildlife.

Best time to go

The best time to go whale watching in northern Norway is November. The whales arrive around late October. Whilst they stay in the region ’til mid January, it’s just too dark and cold once December arrives.“In the middle of winter there is not enough light to go out, so November is a good time to go,” says Tessa. In November, there are just a few short hours of daylight, but it’s not pitch black the rest of the time. Instead you can enjoy ‘blue nights’ where the light from the sun doesn’t shine directly onto the land, and indirect light colours the snow, the sky and the water in blue hues, and pinks and yellows at dawn and dusk. The Northern Lights are generally viewable from September to March.