Habitat: Pelagic Main role: Predator Trophic level: 4,36
Diet: Their diet is dominated by fish: mostly sandeel, but also herring, mackerel and gadoids such as whiting, haddock, and Norway pout.
Threats: Minke whales are sensitive to entanglement in fishing gear and boating accidents. Fishing can deplete their food resources.
Habitat: Pelagic Main role: Predator Trophic level: 4,8
Diet: Porpoises prey on whiting and sandeel.
Threats: Sensitive to entanglement in fishing nets and fishing depletion of food resources.
Diet: They prey on whiting and cephalopods.
The cetaceans group includes the following species: Minke whale, Porpoise, White-beaked dolphin and Atlantic white-sided dolphin.
Cetaceans are only caught a little bit by the drift and fixed nets fishing fleet.
Minke whales are the most commonly and regularly occurring baleen whales in the North Sea, most abundant in the west. Minke whales are curious animals. Minke whales usually swim alone, but you sometimes spot them in groups of 2 to 3 whales.
Porpoises are the most abundant and widely distributed in Northern and central North Sea. Porpoises live either alone or in groups of three to five animals; sometimes more.
The white-beaked dolphin is a social animal, most commonly found in groups of less than ten. They are mostly distributed in the western part of the North Sea. Adults can reach 2.3 to 3.1 meter long and weigh 180 to 354 kg. They use sonar clicks to communicate.
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