HARBOUR PORPOISE RESEARCH - SAN JUAN ISLANDS, WASHINGTON
Habitat Utilization, Distribution, and Behavior
HARBOUR PORPOISE
Phocoena phocoena
(Linnaeus 1758)
The harbuor porpoise, with an average size of 1.5-1.6
m and weight of 45 to 60 kg, is one of the smallest cetaceans in the world.
Unlike the more gregarious Dall's porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli), which
can be seen riding the bow wakes of boats, harbor porpoises often avoid
oncoming vessels.
Harbour porpoises were once common throughout the San Juan Islands, Washington,
but over the past 20-30 years, their numbers have been declining. Some
theories suggest the decline may be due to increased development pollution
within the main sound, increased boat traffic, or incidental catch of
porpoise in gill net operations.
Although there have been a few studies of the west coast harbor porpoise
population, little research has been done on harbour porpoises of the Pacific
Northwest. I feel there is a need to know what type of environment is
important to harbor porpoises in order to help sustain their population.
Therefore the objectives of my study are to: locate areas of concentration
of harbour porpoise in the San Juan Islands; determine if their distribution
is correlated with certain environmental variables such as water depth,
bathymetry, tidal rips, water temperature, turbidity, boat traffic, associated
bird and mammal species, presence of prey species, etc.; and to record
respiration rates and behaviors of individuals and groups.
Harbour porpoises are observed from both boat transects and shore-based
operations. Each boat transect is 8 km long and is run at approximately
11 km/hr. Transects are located in waters surrounding the northwestern
San Juan Islands. Due to the difficulty in observing this small cetacean,
transects are only run when the visibility is good and wind speed is less
than four knots.
During the summer 1991 field season, harbour porpoise were located on 70%
of the 33 surveys completed, with a group size ranging from one to three
animals. Behaviors observed included traveling, milling, porpoising, and
pop-splashing (porpoise belly flops). Porpoise were most often observed
traveling (72% of the time), were found at an average depth of 130 m and
at an average surface temperature of 12 .7 Celsius.
From shore-based observations, milling was the most common behavior observed
(70% of the time) with as many as eight individuals in a group. Cow/calf
pairs were observed on several different occasions. Respiration data was
recorded for groups, individuals, and cow/calf pairs. By using respiration
data to determine the amount of time porpoise spend at the surface, a
correction factor will be developed to be used for aerial censuses of
harbor porpoises. Based on these aerial censuses, researchers can then
estimate the San Juan Island harbor population and better determine trends
in population size over the years.
During the summers of 1992 and 1993, I plan to continue gathering data
on harbour porpoises and would like to extend my study area to include
a greater portion of waters surrounding the San Juan Islands.
I would like to thank Save The Whales, National Marine Mammal Lab, Washington
Department of Wildlife, and The Whale Museum for their help in providing
equipment and/or financial support during the 1991 summer season.
By Kim Raum-Suryan
Kim Raum-Suryan is a graduate student at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories,
U.C. Santa Cruz.
