Abstract

(…) The present note evaluates, through postmortem findings, the effect of the attachment of satellite transmitters to the dorsal fin of two wild porpoises that were later lethally bycaught in Danish straits during other fisheries. These animals were a subadult female porpoise (ID No. 2002–24287), which was bycaught in a gill net fishery 84 d after attachment with a prototype transmitter, and a subadult male porpoise (ID No. 2006–06421) that was bycaught 343 d after attachment with a more hydrodynamic transmitter. The female harbor porpoise was tagged near Korsør on 5 April 2002 and subsequently bycaught in southern Kattegat near Kullen in Sweden 84 d later, after having traveled at least 1,777 km (21 km/d). The male harbor porpoise was also tagged near Korsør on 2 May 2006 and later bycaught in northern Kattegat close to Hals (Denmark) 343 d later, after having traveled at least 3,089 km (15 km/d). More detailed information about the movement patterns of Danish harbor porpoises is provided by Teilmann et al. (2007, 2008) and Sveegaard et al. (2011). (…)