Dall’s and Harbor Porpoise. Dall’s porpoise and harbor porpoise frequent inland and coastal waters of Washington and Oregon. Harbor porpoise favor coastal waters such as shallow bays, estuaries, and tidal channels and are frequently sighted within Puget Sound. Dall’s porpoise distribution and abundance varies considerably at both seasonal and inter-annual time scales as oceanographic conditions vary. Little is known about current population trends for both species, and available Stock Assessment Reports are not current. Both Harbor and Dall’s porpoise are of manageable size for field teams to remove from the site for health assessments, euthanasia if necessary, or thorough necropsies. Harbor porpoises rarely survive rehabilitation, and this should be taken into consideration when determining if intervention is necessary.
