Abstract

Considerable numbers of cetaceans are killed incidentally every year during fishing operations on the Portuguese coast. Although a small number of marine mammals are caught by trawlers and fishing traps, the highest mortality rates occur in the gillnet fishery. The common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) and the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) have been the major victims and the numbers of cetaceans caught are particularly high in the central areas of the Portuguese coast. However there is little reliable biological information available on the incidental taking of cetaceans on the Portuguese coast, and there is an urgent need for a monitoring programme there.