Warming seas are luring whales into dramatic “feeding frenzies” inside the Arctic Circle, according to new research highlighting how climate change is reshaping marine life in the far north.
The study found that baleen whales are exploiting a newly accessible fish “bonanza” in the Greenland Sea, pushing their feeding range to the Arctic Circle and even farther north.
Published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, the findings suggest that although global warming is harming many species, a small number may be finding unexpected opportunities in rapidly changing ecosystems.
Professor Mads Peter Heide-Jørgensen of the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources said the research shows that higher ocean temperatures and shrinking sea ice have helped baleen whales become widespread along East Greenland’s coast, reaching as far north as 70°N.
That shift, he said, has produced regular mixed “feeding frenzies” involving fin whales, humpback whales and common minke whales — species that, in the past, were only rarely seen in coastal East Greenland waters.
Heide-Jørgensen and colleagues from Greenland, Denmark and Iceland documented the emerging spectacle, offering a fresh glimpse of how quickly the natural world is responding to a warming Arctic.
Researchers warn, however, that the arrival of large numbers of whales could trigger significant changes throughout the region’s food web.
The Arctic and North Atlantic, with the exception of a so-called “cold blob” south of Greenland, rank among the fastest-warming areas on the planet.
For example, sea surface temperatures east of Greenland have risen by around 2°C since the 1990s.
The ice edge in summer retracted far to the north after the mid-2000s, dramatically reducing the extent of pack ice along Greenland’s east coast.
The research team conducted the first systematic survey by plane of baleen whales up to 30 miles off the East Greenland coast in August 2015 and in 2024.
They added further airborne observations in the summer of 2022, testimonies from Inuit hunters between 2023 and 2025, and records from ships taking part in North Atlantic Sighting Surveys from 1987 onwards.
They also analyzed tracks from 15 satellite-tagged baleen whales taken at intervals between 2019 and 2025.
The team then built a mathematical model to find patterns within this sea of data, using historical measurements from key factors such as sea-surface temperature, salinity, and icepack concentration to explain the variation.
They say the combination of data gives a “unique record” of changes in the abundance of baleen whales in the Greenland Sea over the past three decades.
The picture was uniform: between 1987 and 2024, there has been a marked change in the occurrence of baleen whales along the East Greenland coast north of 60 °N and west of 29 °W.
For example, ship-based surveys didn’t observe any humpback whales until 2006, while seven sightings were recorded in 2007, 26 by 2015, and more than 150 by 2024.
Similarly, sightings of minke whales from the survey vessels were few until 1995, but between 10 and 20 were encountered year-on-year after 2001.
Ship-based sightings of fin whales also increased sharply from 1987 to the present day.
In August 2025, a ship’s crew reported meeting “exceptionally large” aggregations – of up to 50 individuals simultaneously – of baleen whales along the east coast around 69 °N, north of the Arctic Circle.
Likewise, the systematic airborne surveys documented an almost continuous distribution of all three species at the same time between 60°N and 70°N in 2015 and 2024.
Prof. Heide-Jørgensen and his colleagues estimate that altogether, no fewer than 4,000 humpback whales, 6,000 fin whales, and 6,000 minke whales visited the Greenland Sea in the summer of 2024.
He said: “There is little doubt that the three baleen whale species summering in East Greenland coastal waters do so primarily to feed.”
The team found that the trio of species visit the region mainly to hunt for capelin – a cold-loving fish and known to be one of their most important prey further south.
Capelin have recently been shown to have shifted their feeding grounds since the mid-2000s from the relatively warmer waters north of Iceland towards the Greenland Sea.
The research team concluded that baleen whales have caught up with the shift and “moved in for the kill.”
They said there have never been any commercial capelin fisheries in the region, so competition with humans doesn’t seem likely for now.
Prof. Heide-Jørgensen said: “East Greenland is undergoing a major ecological regime shift.
“Ice-associated species such as narwhals are increasingly sharing their habitat with, or being displaced by, temperate baleen whales that generally avoid ice-covered waters.”
He added: “This marked change in species composition demonstrates how climate-driven changes are reorganizing the East Greenland marine ecosystem, potentially with long-lasting consequences.”
