Harbor Porpoise
(Phocoena phocoena)

Harbor porpoises tend not to show themselves on the surface much, but can be observed in shallower water. They are easily identified by their blow, which is a small puff that sounds sort of like a sneeze. They have dark backs, light bellies, a rounded snout, and a short rounded dorsal fin. They seem to move with a rolling motion, and rarely do acrobatics. In fact, they tend to avoid boats and rarely surf on the bow. Adults weigh from 125-145 pounds on average and grow to lengths ranging from 4' to 6'. They are currently listed as a 'threatened' species in the western Atlantic. The greatest threat to them is the gillnet, in which they easily get entangled. As many as 3,500 harbor porpoises are being drowned in coastal gillnets in US waters each year with Canadian gill-net fishermen killing another 1,000 porpoises annually.