Aileen with Daisy - the orphan harbor porpoise

Harbor Porpoise Project History

Biota Maxima’s Harbor Porpoise Project is using acoustic monitors to assess the trend of the harbor porpoise population in the Salish Sea.

Acoustic instruments are being used globally to monitor populations of harbor porpoises and other cetaceans. T-PODs and C-PODs have been used to estimate density of harbor porpoises in the Baltic and North Sea (Kyhn 2012, Tougaard 2009, 2014, Bailey 2010, 2014) and they have been used to estimate densities of other cetacean species (Marques et al, 2009). Behavior modification and displacement due to construction noise have been recorded by groups using acoustic instruments in the North Sea (Tougaard 2009, 2014) and Canada (Culik 2001). C-PODs have been used to study the dramatic decline in harbor porpoise in the Baltic Sea in recent decades, where the population is considered critically endangered (Benke 2014). The vaquita is also critically endangered and acoustic instruments are being used to assess the population decline which is attributed to gill net fishing (Gerrodette 2011).

One of Biota Maxima’s missions is to identify scientific tools and to develop information to aid in the protection of rare and imperiled species. A key to recovery of these species is the understanding of threats and limiting factors while these factors still can be overcome. To do this, we have been researching harbor porpoise habitat needs and other factors that limit the current population. As a result of our studies, we think the harbor porpoise may actually fill the role of a Sentinel Species for the Salish Sea.

Read Biota Maxima's publications related to the Harbor Porpoise Project.

The long term research needs for harbor porpoise conservation were documented during the Salish Sea Harbor Porpoise Workshop initiated by Biota Maxima (Formerly Pacific Biodiversity Institute), co-sponsored by Cascadia Research Collective and the Sea Doc Society, held on February 7, 2013, in Anacortes, Washington. This workshop created a Statement on Salish Sea Harbor Porpoise Research and Management Needs that is regularly referenced by Washington resource managers.

In 2008, Aileen Jeffries, initiated a project to monitor harbor porpoise population and trends in the Puget Sound. The long-term goal of this project is to set a baseline for the population that can be used to realistically assess the stability of the species in the Salish Sea and to assess the need for marine reserves. Another goal of the project is to determine if the harbor porpoise is, in fact, an appropriate Sentinel Species for the Puget Sound. Aileen's research results from December 2010 to the present are summarized with Biota Maxima's publications.

Historically, the population has been assessed through aerial surveys. They provide a snapshot of what is visible from the air at intervals that have been one to eight years apart. In order to collect more detailed information, Biota Maxima’s project is designed to collect porpoise occurrence and distribution data with use of passive acoustic monitors (PAMs). The current PAM being tested is the C-POD, which is deployed in several places in Western Europe and North America to monitor cetaceans. We are deploying C-PODs at selected locations to measure harbor porpoise presence/absence continuously. Our data over successive years from the C-PODs is indicating trends in their current distribution in the northern Puget Sound. This will add to the scant body of knowledge of the harbor porpoise’s habitat use, its current range and population trends.

The presence of two porpoise species in the Puget Sound, harbor and Dall's porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli), is a complicating factor for acoustic monitoring of the harbor porpoise. Since we have visual observers at Burrows Pass and Admiralty Inlet, we can demonstrate that Dall's porpoise have not been seen in the Burrows Pass area and are rarely seen at the Admiralty site.

In 2009, we were granted access to acoustically record an orphan harbor porpoise which had been rescued by the Marine Mammal Rescue Center, Vancouver, British Columbia. Aileen Jeffries recorded high-frequency acoustic signals (clicks) from the porpoise to test and compare the signal recorded by the C-POD monitor to that of a powerful hydrophone, the Reson T4034. Read about Aileen’s work with Daisy, the rescued harbor porpoise.

At present we have five C-PODs that are being deployed. Our long-term goal for this initiative is to develop a geo-spatial model that can help predict the optimal habitat for the harbor porpoise based on biophysical data and knowledge of the behavioral ecology of the animal. We also intend to identify areas suitable for Protected Marine Reserve Areas.

References
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Baird, R. 2003a. COSEWIC Assessment and Update Status Report on the Harbour Porpoise Phocoena phocoena (Pacific Ocean Population) in Canada. COSEWIC Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. 22 p.

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