Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the level of persistent chlorinated hydrocarbons and heavy metals in different tissues of four harbour porpoises caught at Danish coasts and of one beached Whitebeaked dolphin, and to compare the results with the levels in adjacent geographical regions. The investigations were also performed in a search for a possible explanation for the change in geographical distribution of the harbour porpoise in the North Sea area during the last 3 – 4 decades in connection with the many diseased animals taken in pond nets (ANDERSEN, 1972 & 1974).