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Whale Watching 1

Last Update September 15, 2026
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About This Course

Introduction 

A course that reviews the basic topics to guide whale watching tours in Northern Norway, complemented with conferences to hear the latest updates from local researchers. 

The course is divided in three: knowledge from nature and social context, guiding skills and sciences and collaboration.

Workflow 

One week before the training, registered participants will have access to digital learning references so they can start learning on their own.

The course will take place during the given dates at Polaria. There, participants will review their knowledge.

On the final day of the course there will be a theoretical exam. Passing the exam is mandatory to receive the recognition.

You can learn more about the recognition here.

Lectures and Workshops 

See the curriculum section 

Exam

A theoretical exam will allow the guide to demonstrate their knowledge. Guides are not expected to know everything, but the most important things and where to find the details.

 
 
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Learning Objectives

The basic knowledge to work as a Whale Watching Guide in Northern Norway.
The positive and negative impact that whale watching has on the ecosystem and how to improve it as a guide.
How to collaborate with colleagues in the field and respect the local guidelines.

Target Audience

  • Guides at the beginning of their career who want to make sure they have the absolute minimum knowledge to start guiding.
  • Guides who have guided before but want to reinforce their knowledge and connect with peers from the region.
  • Companies who want to complement the in-house training of their guides.

Curriculum

13 Lessons15h

Arctic Marine Ecosystem

Discover what makes Arctic marine ecosystems so special, their biggest challenges, and the role whale watching can play.
Arctic Marine Ecosystem

Marine Mammals in Northern Norway

Northern Norway is home to many fascinating species, some of which can be seen during whale watching tours.

Toothed Whales

Get an updated review of the ecology of toothed whales, with a special focus on the Norwegian orcas, but also other relevant species for whale watching. Using the latest published scientific literature, you will learn the main facts from the different ecological disciplines about these animals.

Baleen Whales

Review the ecology of baleen whales, with a special focus on humpback whales, which have become an increasingly important species for whale watching in Norther Norway, as well as other relevant species like the fin whale. Using the up-to-date scientific literature, you will learn the main facts from the different ecological disciplines about these animals.

Fishing and Whaling

This is a delicate but important matter that guides might have to address during their tours. Get the real information about this practice and its economic impact in the region, and explore whether it still makes sense today and, if not, what can be done about it.

Sea Birds in Northern Norway

In some tours, you might not see whales, but in all of them there will be sea birds! Meet the local icons and learn about their crucial role in the regional ecosystem.

Whale Watching Guiding Skills

Learn how a guide can effectively establish trust and leadership in a heterogeneous group and how they can communicate complex scientific terms through engaging stories. This lecture also covers how guides and their guests should behave in the presence of whales, how to manage guests' expectations without discouraging them, and how to interact with peers and the captain in an assertive way.

Guiding on Vessels

Like the previous lecture, this one aims to show the perspective of big vessel guides while going through the essentials of that type of guiding.

Guiding on RIB Boats

This lecture gives a sneak peek into the perspective of guides working on RIB boats, which is enriching not only for first-timers but also for guides working on big vessels, so they can understand their peers' perspective.

On Board Certificates

Review the list of certificates that guides require legally according to their role on board. This is to make sure you have the ones you need (if applies) and to learn how you can move forward in your career as a guide.

Guidelines and Code of Conduct

This session reviews the existing guidelines for whale watching, as well as a proposed code of conduct to frame the behaviour of guides in the field, and how we can interact with each other in an effective, enriching, and respectful way.

Collaborative Project

Whale watching tours can make big contributions to scientific research, for which it is necessary to develop a methodology to collect data and have someone to coordinate it. Now we have both and we want to open the invitation for all companies and guides to contribute to it.

Norwegian Orca Survey

Eve Jourdain, the funder and director of Norwegian Orca Survey, is coming to Tromso to give the latest updates on her reasarch. NOS generates real-world impact by transforming field observations and biological samples into scientific knowledge that supports conservation and policy.

Your Instructors

Tromsø Guideforening

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5 Students
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Carolin Kornelia Fenzel

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1 Course
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Master student in Marine Biology and whale watching guide in Northern Norway with focus on science communication, conservation and awareness.  

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Connor McGarry

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Marine biologist from Australia focused on marine mammals in polar regions. He completed his thesis on foraging ecology of Southern elephant seals and spend some time on the Antarctic Peninsula collecting observational data on ice-loving seals. He spent three years being part of the Australian Right Whale Study collecting data on Southern right whales. The last two years he has been working as a guide with Brim Explorer in Norway  
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Eve Jourdain

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Eve Jourdain is a marine ecologist and founder of the Norwegian Orca Survey (NOS). She has led long-term research on Norwegian killer whales since 2013, focusing on their ecology, behaviour, diet, population dynamics, and conservation. She holds a PhD in marine ecology and is affiliated with the University of Oslo, where her research integrates field observations, photo-identification, ecological modelling, and physiological markers to better understand killer whale populations and inform marine conservation.

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Lorenzo Ragazzi

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Biologist and neuroscientist with background in animal physiology, behaviour and neuroscience. MSc in Arctic Animal Physiology at UiT, studying diving physiology and neurobiology in marine and diving animals, including hooded seals and eider ducks. PhD in neuroscience and behavioural neuroscience at UiT and the University of California, San Diego. Currently working at UiT, combining research, teaching and practical experience in comparative medicine and animal research.

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Lucia Karoline Mandelkow

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Biology Student, Head of Whale Department at Destination Tromsø, 8 years as a guide (5 as a whale guide).

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Luís Dias

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Luís Dias is a marine biologist based in northern Norway, originally from Portugal. He works as an ocean skipper and whale-watching captain, combining his scientific background with hands-on experience at sea. Luís has held academic positions as a professor at the University of Madeira and as a researcher at the Universities of the Azores and Algarve. He has also worked as a travel and tourism consultant, developing nature-based tourism experiences that connect people with the ocean through science and education. Alongside his professional work, Luís is a dedicated nature and underwater photographer and an avid birdwatcher, reflecting a lifelong commitment to wildlife and the natural world.

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Samuel Llobet

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Samuel works on research on marine mammal ecology at the Norwegian Polar Institute, specializing in acoustics in the polar region. He's participated in different types of fieldwork in Antarctica and the Arctic, from boat and aerial-based surveys of marine mammals and seabirds to capturing and marking seals or recording underwater sounds. He's an enthusiastic photographer.  

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1,500.00 kr3,000.00 kr

50% off
Level
All Levels
Duration 15 hours
Lectures
13 lectures

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