Harbor porpoises have rebounded in a big way off California. Their populations have recovered dramatically since the end of state set-gillnet fisheries that years ago entangled and killed them in the nearshore waters they frequent. These coastal set-gillnet fisheries are distinct from federally-managed offshore drift-gillnet fisheries. They have been prohibited in inshore state waters for more than a decade. The new research indicates that the coastal set gillnets had taken a greater toll on harbor porpoise than previously realized.
The return of harbor porpoises reflects the first documented example of the species rebounding. It’s a bright spot for marine wildlife, the scientists write in a new assessment published in Marine Mammal Science.
“This is very good evidence that if we can eliminate the deaths in fishing nets, marine mammal populations can come back in a big way,” said Karin Forney, a research biologist with NOAA Fisheries’ Southwest Fisheries Science Center who is based in Monterey Bay.
Read more at: NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region
Harbor porpoises swim near the Golden Gate in San Francisco Bay, where the porpoises have become more abundant in recent decades. (Photo Credit: Bill Keener/The Marine Mammal Center)