Phocoena phocoena (Linnaeus, 1758) Harbour porpoise |
photo by
FAO |
Family: | Phocoenidae (porpoises) | |||
Max. size: | 200 cm TL (male/unsexed); max.weight: 70 kg | |||
Environment: | pelagic; marine, oceanodromous | |||
Distribution: | Mediterranean and Black Sea, Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and the Arctic: Phocoena phocoena phocoena: Baffin Island, Labrador, Newfoundland, Gulf of St. Lawrence, North Carolina, Greenland, Iceland, Faroes, Russia, Portugal, Baltic Sea [Baltic Sea population: IUCN 2010 (Ref. 84930): CR, C2a(ii).], Gulf of Finland, Gulf of Bosnia, British Isles, Tunisia, Spain, Morocco, Senegal; Phocoena phocoena relicta: Black Sea, Sea of Azov, Bosporus (Turkey), Sea of Marmara, northern Aegean Sea; Phocoena phocoena subsp.: Russia, Aleutian Islands (Alaska), Sea of Okhotsk, Japan, Bering Strait; Phocoena phocoena vomerina: Pribilof Islands, USA, Canada (Ref. 1522). | |||
Diagnosis: | ||||
Biology: | Found in shallow water, most often nearshore, although they occasionally travel over deeper offshore waters (Ref. 1394). Uses echo-location for orientation and foraging by emitting high frequency click sounds (Ref. 96345). Feeds on a wide variety of fish and cephalopods; small, non-spiny schooling fish (such as herring and mackerel) (Ref. 1394). | |||
IUCN Red List Status: | (LC); Date assessed: 19 May 2020 Ref. 123251) | |||
Threat to humans: | ||||
Country info: | Reported as Phocoena phocoena phocoena (Ref. 1522). Directed fisheries have occurred in this area (Ref. 1394). International trade monitored (Appendix 2) restricted since 02.04.2000 (Ref. 8412). C: Refs. 1522, 1394, M: Ref. 1394. |