East Greenland Draws 14,500 Whales as 2C Warming Shifts Capelin North
Updated
Updated · A-Z Animals · Aug 20
East Greenland Draws 14,500 Whales as 2C Warming Shifts Capelin North
3 articles · Updated · A-Z Animals · Aug 20
Summary
Summer 2024 estimates put about 4,000 humpbacks, 6,000 fin whales and 4,500 minke whales in the Greenland Sea, with scientists calling the influx unprecedented in modern records.
A roughly 2C rise in sea-surface temperatures since the 1990s and shrinking summer pack ice pushed capelin northwest into newly open waters, and the whales followed the prey into East Greenland.
Surveys show how fast the shift has unfolded: ship-based counts logged zero humpbacks before 2006, 26 by 2015 and more than 150 sightings in 2024; crews in August 2025 reported mixed feeding groups of up to 50 whales.
The boom may aid baleen whales recovering from commercial whaling, but it adds competition and habitat pressure for ice-dependent species such as narwhals, bowheads and ringed seals.
Researchers say the reorganization exposes how quickly Arctic food webs are moving and may leave older marine protected area maps out of step with where animals now feed and migrate.