Construction of a whale sanctuary and museum in the Westman Islands has begun by company Merlin Entertaintments. Two white whales will occupy whale pens at the harbourfront.

The two white whales are called Little White and Little Grey and will be flown in from Shanghai to Keflavik Internatonal Airport in March 2019. The third whale, Jun Jun, had also been scheduled to come to Iceland but died at the Shanghai whale centre last year.

According to Mayor of the Westman Islands, Elliði Vignisson, this wildlife conservation project could be very productive for the islands creating new jobs and increased tourism.