Harbor Porpoiseš

Phocoena phoc

Photograph by Leonard Medlock on 9/11/08 Jeffrey's Ledge Pelagic. These animals are behaving in their most typical fashion, swimming away from the boat. They are visible because the surface of the ocean is unusually flat.

Porpoises
According to Kinze, Porpoises are related to dolphins, but in a separate family Phocoenidae. There are 6 special in the family. Porpoises are chiefly coastal and only a single member lives in the North Atlantic.

Elusive Inshore Mammals
"The Harbor Porpoise inhabits coastal water including fjords, bays, estuaries. and harbors".š They are actually very common in the Gulf of Maine where they are usually seen very quickly when they happen to surface near the boat and immediately swim away. They occur in small groups or even as solitary animals.

Where To See
You may catch a glimpse of these delightful little creatures on any whale watch. They are best seen when the water is calm as they can hide behind even very small waves. Look quickly as they will not stay around long. Usually what happens is that the naturalist sees a splash by the boat and by the time they announce "Harbor Porpoise" they are long gone.

Range
Northern hemisphere in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In the Atlantic from Cape Hatteras to West Greenland including the Gulf of St. Lawrence, but not Hudson Bay. On the European side they are found near IIceland, and the Faeroe Islands, and from western Africa north to the Barents Sea. Not found in the Mediteranean. In the Pacific from Monterey Bay and central Japan to the Chukchi Sea, including the Aleutian chain, Sea of Okhotsk and northern Sea of Japan.

Photographed by Jason Lambert on the Jeffrey's Ledge Pelagic on 9/11/08.

These Harbor Porpoise were unusually cooperative and surfaced close to the boat. The more typical behavior is to avoid boats. Had these animals been further from the boat they would have been missed behind the small waves.

š2002 Folkens, Pieter Guide to Marine Mammals of the World Alfred A. Knopf New York