Harbor Porpoise

The word porpoise is from Middle English porpeys, purpeys, borrowed from Anglo-Norman porpeis, purpeis, Old French pourpois, porpois, pourpais, porpeis (“porpoise”), from Vulgar Latin *porcopiscis (“porpoise”, literally “pig-fish”), from Latin porcus (“pig”) + piscis (“fish”). Compare (in transposed order) obsolete Italian pesce porco and Portuguese peixe porco; also Latin porcus marinus (“sea hog”), akin in formation to German Meerschwein, English mereswine.

• Singular: porpoise

• Plural: porpoises

This porpoise often ventures up rivers and has been seen hundreds of kilometers from the sea. The harbor porpoise may be polytypic, with geographically distinct populations representing distinct races. The body of a harbor porpoise is compact and strong, with a short, blunt snout and a medium-sized triangular dorsal fin. Their backs are dark gray, with softer, intermediate gray tones on their sides. Their stomach and throat are white, and they have a dark gray chin patch. Females are a little bigger than males. Up to 24 years, but 10–15 is more common in most regions examined.

Unlike most other porpoises, they do not approach boats to bow ride, and they can be very shy, not coming to the surface near vessels. When they surface to take a breath, they don't splash. Their backs arched, they rolled from fluke to beak. The harbor porpoise's vocalizations consist of short clicks that can last anywhere from 0.5 to 5 milliseconds and up to 2 seconds. The frequency of each click ranges from 1000 to 2200 hertz. In addition to being used for communication, the clicks are also used for echolocation.

The harbor porpoise is known for its swift, silent surfacing rather than its acrobatic leaps. It swims at a speed of 7 to 10 km/h; however, it can accelerate when pursued. This porpoise was diving; it typically dives between 20 and 60 meters, but while hunting, it can go as far as 200 meters. The harbor porpoise's vision was adjusted for low light, and they had excellent hearing.

The primary food source for harbor porpoises, which are carnivores, is small schooling fish such as herring, sprat, capelin, sand eels, cod, whiting, squid, and crabs. This porpoise's function in the ecology is to preserve equilibrium in coastal food webs as a mid-level predator. Large sharks, killer whales, and gray seals (which are occasionally predatory) are their primary predators. This porpoise prefers shallow, cold to moderate waters that are rich in tiny fish. They are most often seen singly, in pairs, or in groups of up to 10, although there are reports of aggregations of up to 200 harbor porpoises. Most seasonal movements appear to be inshore-offshore and may be influenced by prey availability or the presence of ice-free waters.

The use of mitigation strategies for fisheries bycatch, such as area and time closures, off the coast of California and in the inland seas of Washington State, successfully decreased the mortality rate of harbor porpoises and eventually increased their number. The primary cause of harm to porpoises is the use of gill and tangle nets for static fishing. Worldwide, bycatch in bottom-set gill nets is thought to be the primary cause of anthropogenic mortality for harbor porpoises. Incidental bycatch, which has been documented from the Black Sea, Baltic Sea, North Sea, off California, and along the east coast of the United States and Canada, claims thousands of lives every year.

Threats

• Bycatch in fishing nets (especially gillnets) — the #1 cause of death.

• Noise pollution disrupting echolocation.

• Chemical pollutants (PCBs, PFAS) weakening immunity and reproduction.

• Habitat degradation from shipping, construction, and coastal development.

• Prey depletion due to overfishing.

• Ship strikes (less common than in larger cetaceans).

• Climate change altering prey availability.

Conservation Status

• IUCN Red List: Least Concern (LC)

Conservation Efforts

• Many countries have protected zones and gillnet acoustic deterrents (pingers) to reduce bycatch.

• Rescue and rehabilitation centers.

• Awareness campaigns against illegal pet trade.

Unlike dolphins, harbor porpoises are shy and timid and avoid vessels, yet they can surface silently and run away from disturbances. Most of the time, this porpoise lives alone or in pairs; occasionally, small groups of three to ten porpoises gather to feed. The harbor porpoise seldom looks for human interaction. There are no records of dolphins acting playfully with humans. However, strandings can happen, but they usually involve stress and require expert rescue. It is preferable to leave harbor porpoises alone because they are not hostile but also do not interact with humans. They prefer to be either alone or in small groups and are known to be very shy of boats and humans, the latter of which present multiple threats to the very existence of these little porpoises.

Harbor porpoises are found in the coastal waters of the sub-Arctic and predominantly cool temperate waters of the North Atlantic and North Pacific, although they are also found off the north-west coast of Africa. They frequently visit shallow bays, estuaries, and tidal channels less than 200m in depth and have also been known to swim up rivers. The majority of sightings occur within 10km of land, and although there is some evidence of north-south migrations, most harbor porpoise appear to have preferred habitat encompassing a broad area.

During The Recollections of Queen Arianna (TROQA) saga in the 2600s and 2700s, the "Sky People," or Terrans from Earth, brought the harbor porpoise to two exoplanets that resembled Earth: Reinachos from Cygnus and Berbania from Ursa Major. Despite the death of our planet, conservation efforts are helping this species recover from endangerment or near extinction. The porpoise became an invasive species as a result of human interactions for game hunting and rewilding. In two exoplanets that resembled Earth, the harbor porpoise lived in conditions and climates identical to those of Earth.

• Movement Pattern: Full Migrant

• Individual Type: Nomadic/Grouping

• Population Trend: Increasing

• Population: ???

• Locomotion: Aquatic

• Habitat: Warm Littoral; Cold Littoral; Warm Intertidal; Cold Intertidal; Kelp Forest; Coral Reef; Barrier Reef; Guyot; Neritic Zone (Warm); Neritic Zone (Cold); Pelagic Zone (Warm); Pelagic Zone (Cold); Benthic Zone.

• Earth: see also

  • Extant (resident): Belgium; Bulgaria; Cabo Verde; Canada; China; Denmark; Estonia; Faroe Islands; Finland; France; Georgia; Germany; Gibraltar; Greenland; Iceland; Ireland; Japan; South Korea; Latvia; Lithuania; Mauritania; Morocco; Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Portugal (Azores); Romania; Russian Federation; Senegal; Spain; Sweden; Tunisia; Türkiye; Ukraine; United Kingdom; United States; Western Sahara

  • Presence Uncertain: North Korea

• ???

You will need to adhere to two principles in order to tame the whale. To continue feeding the blue whale is the first step. The second is to get rid of or divert the animals that are around the blue whale. To stay near to the blue whale, using a rapid water mount would be beneficial. Blue whales were shot to tranquilize them, feed them while they were asleep, and continuously overdose on opioids.

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• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harbour_porpoise

• https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/17027/50369903

• https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/17027/219010660

• https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/porpoises

• https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/harbor-porpoise

• https://uk.whales.org/whales-dolphins/species-guide/harbour-porpoise/

• https://porpoise.org/about-porpoises/harbour-porpoise/

• https://www.deviantart.com/ognimdo2002/art/Harbour-Porpoise-990649591