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Killer whale tourists flock to peaceful fjord
30th December 2002 – Reuters
TYSFJORD, Norway - The whale calf, maybe a month old, follows its mother, slapping its tail on the surface of the sea just before disappearing under the dark turquoise water.
The bay of Tysfjord, some 260 kilometres (160 miles) north of the Arctic Circle, shows Norway has more to offer killer whale enthusiasts than Keiko - the "Free Willy" movie star recently released from a sea aquarium and now living in Norway's waters.
It is nature tourism on a small scale, and the area's tour operators plan to keep it that way.
"The whole ecotourism concept here is based on wild nature. Keiko is Seaworld (marine amusement parks)," said George McCallum, a Scottish wildlife photographer who spends three months each year in Tysfjord.
The region's whale-watching promoters also see no controversy in offering whale-watching tours in Norway, the only country in the world which hunts whales commercially.
Apart from the sound of the tour boat's engine, the fjord is silent until the next whale surfaces and puffs air from its spout, prompting delighted shrieks from a group of Norwegian teenagers.
Even without the whales, peaceful Tysfjord would be a magnificent sight.
In early December, the sun never rises above the horizon but at midday its rays paint the snow-covered mountains to the east with pastel blues and pinks and bathe the western peaks in shades of orange.
A few small fishing boats dot the quiet bay, dozens of seagulls hover above the silvery flakes of herring left glimmering in the water after the whales' latest attack. Above, an eagle glides in the gentle breeze.
But it is the killer whales, or orcas, that tourists come for in the middle of winter when the temperature drops to zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) or below and daylight lasts a mere four or five hours.
From early October to late January, Tysfjord with 2,300 inhabitants is home to 600-700 orcas - the biggest concentration anywhere in the world.
The area's small tourist industry cooperates with whale researchers who say the animals are either curious about the people coming to see them or indifferent.
"If killer whales are disturbed by the presence of a boat they will never stay there," said Tiu Simila, a Finnish biologist who has been studying killer whales since 1987. "These killer whales are really used to boats, both small fishing boats and car ferries."
WHALE FAME
The black and white whales, members of the dolphin family with dorsal fins measuring up to 1.5 metres (five feet), started arriving in 1987.
They followed the six million tonnes of herring that have inhabited the fjord for the winter months for the past 15 years.
The herring had previously spent the winter east of Iceland, but opted for Norway after changes in Atlantic Ocean currents.
The orcas of Tysfjord, Norway's second deepest fjord which reaches 900 metres (2,953 feet) at its deepest point, have a unique way of killing herring, a method called carousel feeding.
The whales swarm around a shoal of fish, forcing them towards the surface and then start whacking them with their tail fins - a deadly weapon considering the whales weigh on average four tonnes and are six to eight metres long.
Killer whales usually pose no danger to humans and most are simply curious about those braving the five degrees Celsius sea temperatures to take a closer look.
"I wasn't frightened at all. It was just out of this world," said Melanie Lindsey after jumping in. She and husband Christopher went snorkelling with the animals which put on an elegant underwater dance.
There is no average day, because the whales do not follow daily routines, but in December tourists can expect to see around 50 whales from as close as a few metres (yards).
The Lindseys, from Surrey in England, spent three days whale watching and said the experience made them more sceptical about keeping whales in captivity.
Tourists visiting Tysfjord can choose to see the whales from a boat for up to 80 people or from a smaller Zodiac inflatable which can carry 12 people who also have the option of diving in.
KEIKO NOT WELCOME
Keiko is spending the winter in a fjord hundreds of kilometres south of Tysfjord.
The killer whale, captured near Iceland as a calf, performed in amusement parks in Canada and Mexico for nearly two decades.
He was returned to Iceland in 1998 after the "Free Willy" movie sparked a campaign to release him.
Keiko turned up in Norway at the end of the summer, but scientists say he is having a hard time adapting to the wild after his years in captivity.
Some Keiko enthusiasts suggested he could find a new winter home in Tysfjord but the region's tourism people turned down the idea.
"He would die here during the fishing season when we have 470 fishing boats. Wild killer whales know how to avoid them, but Keiko is a pet, not a wild killer whale," said McCallum.
Some tourists find it shocking that Norway allows whale hunting.
"My first reaction was that we're definitely not going there," said Christopher Lindsey, referring to Norway. But then he thought that supporting whale-watching could hopefully make Norwegians understand the value of nature conservation.
But the guides in Tysfjord say hunting whales in a sustainable way is just as natural as hunting
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