Minke Whale
The minke whale is the second smallest of the baleen whales, reaching 8-10 metres in length, weighing up to 10 tons. The males, smaller than females, are about 7-8 metres in length. The North Atlantic minke whales have white diagonal stripes across their flippers, unlike their relatives in the South, which have plain black flippers.
The minke whale spouts 3-4 consecutive times before deep diving. It can stay submerged for up to 20 minutes, though the usual time is around 3-5 minutes. The minke whale doesn’t fluke, but often bends its back before vanishing. Sometimes, it leaps out of the water.
The minke whale’s diet consists of plankton, krill and small surface fish, but it is believed that around 1-6% of its diet is based on various stockfish, such as cod.
The minke whale is thought to be the most abundant whale species in Iceland and there are estimated to be around 174.000 minke whales in the Central and Northeastern Atlantic.