Harbour Porpoise

Phocoena phocoena

Main Characteristics

Harbour Porpoises are the smallest whales in Icelandic Waters and amont the smallest whales world wide. Their doby is small and stocky body, dark-grey above, but lighter coloured on the sides and white on the underside. The flippers are dark, and a dark stripe extends from the flipper to the eye. The medium-size, triangular dorsal fin is set at mid-body. The flippers are small, rounded at the tips and oval in shape and the fluke curved with a median notch. They have 19 to 28 pairs of teeth in both upper and lowe jaw.

Behaviour 

The smallest of all whale species can only be seen briefly when coming up to breath. They are rather shy and tend to stay away from the boats. Occurring mostly solitary or in pairs, they occasionally form small groups of up to 6 individuals.    

Hunting and Population Size

Harbour Porpoises have been hunted for centuries because of the near shore habitat. Though still abundant locally, they are no longer as numerous. The biggest threat is the entanglement in fishing net, habitat destruction and high ship traffic. The population in the North Atlantic is estimated to be around half a million animals.

To learn more about Harbour Porpoises visis Wikipedia or The American Cetacean Society