Harbor Porpoise
Phocoena phocoena
Also known as: Common Porpoise, Harbour Porpoise, Sea-Hog, Eastern Pacific Harbor Porpoise, Vomerina
Habitat
Aquatic
Diet
VertFishScav
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
52.5 kg
About This Species
This small cetacean surfaces briefly and unobtrusively in coastal and shelf waters across the Northern Hemisphere, often revealing only a low, triangular dorsal fin with a quick roll before diving again. It tends to avoid boats and rarely bow-rides or breaches, so calm conditions and a stationary or slow-moving vantage point improve the odds of a sighting. Estuaries, headlands, and tidal channels with strong currents concentrate the small fish it feeds on and are worth watching at different times of day.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Keep well back and let the animal set the distance, since harbor porpoises are notably shy and easily disturbed by close or fast-moving vessels, which can interrupt feeding and displace them from an area.
- Marine mammal protection law applies across its range in the waters of Europe, North America, and Asia, but the specific rules on approach distance and vessel speed differ by country and sometimes by region within a country, so follow local guidance rather than a general rule of thumb.
- Never pursue, encircle, or attempt to swim with the animals.
Seasonal Activity
284,344 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Cetacea
- Family
- Phocoenidae
Traits
- Diet
- VertFishScav
- Foraging
- Aquatic
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 52.5 kg
Photo
Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.