Assessment of Harbour Porpoise Bycatch along the Portuguese and Galician Coast: Insights from Strandings over Two Decades.

ABSTRACT: The Iberian harbour porpoise population is small and fisheries bycatch has been described as one of its most important threats. Data on harbour porpoise strandings collected by the Portuguese and Galician stranding networks between 2000 and 2020 are indicative of a recent mortality increase in the western Iberian coast (particularly in northern Portugal). Overall, in Portugal and Galicia, individuals stranded due to confirmed fishery interaction represented 46.98% of all analysed porpoises, and individuals stranded due to probable fishery interaction represented another 10.99% of all analysed porpoises. Considering the Portuguese annual abundance estimates available between 2011 and 2015, it was possible to calculate that an annual average of 207 individuals was removed from the population

SUBMITTER: Torres-Pereira A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10451651 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature