The SeaDoc Society is a program of the Wildlife Health Center at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Tax ID# 94-6036494.

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Help us track Pacific White-Sided Dolphins

dolphinsYou can help us build a research database of Pacific white-sided dolphins in the Salish Sea.

While killer whales have captured the attention and focus of researchers in this region, we know relatively little about the Pacific white-sided dolphins. Is the population healthy? How many animals do we routinely see?

Pacific white-sided dolphins are individually identified from natural markings on the dorsal fin, just like killer whales are.

Thanks to private donations, SeaDoc is funding Erin Ashe, a PhD student at St. Andrews University, to study Salish Sea Pacific white-sided dolphins by using the same photographic-identification techniques used to study killer whales.

If you have photographs of Pacific white-sided dolphins (especially good dorsal fin shots) and are willing to share them for this study, please send them to Erin Ashe at dolphins@oceansinitiative.org.

Please remember, though, it is ILLEGAL to approach within 100 meters of a Pacific white-sided dolphin (or any other marine mammal) in both the United States and Canada, even for the purpose of taking pictures.

dolphin id tag

While photographs of the dorsal fin most useful, any photos can be helpful to the study.

Extra credit:

When were the dolphins seen? (Date and time)
Where were the dolphins seen? (place name and latitude and longitude if available)
About how many dolphins were in the group? (This can be a best guess.)
Where there calves (small babies) in the group?  If so, how many?
Do you know if dolphins are new to this area? Have you seen dolphins here before?
Where there other cetacean species in the area?
Any additional comments:

As always, we still want you to also send your BC cetacean sightings and photos to the BC Cetacean Sighting Network at http://wildwhales.org/. The BC Cetacean Sighting Network is hosted by the Vancouver Aquarium and maintains long-term data on the abundance and distribution of cetaceans in the Pacific Northwest.

Keep up with periodic updates on the dolphin project at http://www.oceansinitiative.org/dolphins/

Thanks!

 

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Why our work matters

Healthy ecosystems support economic prosperity. The Salish Sea provides abundant natural capital that contributes substantially to the financial prosperity of the region. Unhealthy ecosystems cost money because we lose the opportunity to benefit from them. The Salish Sea's deteriorating health threatens our economic well being and quality of life. SeaDoc uses science to find solutions to the problems facing the fish, wildlife and people of the Salish Sea.

How you can help:

Tell people about the work we're doing. Sign up for our email newsletter and share what you learn with your friends. Become a fan on Facebook and "like" and comment on posts that interest you. (The more people who like or comment on a post, the more people Facebook will show it to.)

Make a donation: Most of SeaDoc's work is supported by private donations from people like you who care about the health of our coastal ecosystems. Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing the science that will give us objective information about designing a healthy ecosystem that benefits both people and wildlife. Click here to learn more about donating to SeaDoc.

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