Atlantic white beaked dolphin (Lagenorhynchus albirostris)
Group formation: Social groups/fission fusion (size 5-50)
Size: males 3 m, females 2.3 m, calf 1 m
Weight: 180-350 kg, calf 40 kg
Age: unknown
Gestation: 11 mths
Sexual maturity: 7-12 yrs
Diet: fish, such as herring, mackerel, squid
Distribution: endemic to North Atlantic Ocean, cold temperate to subpolar waters from northern coast of France in the east, north to southern Greenland, Iceland, and Svalbard.
Norway: offshore along the Norwegian coast, Barents Sea, does not overlap with Atlantic white sided dolphins, not often seen inside the Vestfjord (we have seen it only once in 10 years!).
Population: > 100 000
Conservation Status: Least Concern ver 3.1, Pop. trend: unknown
Threats: whaling (Faeroe Islands, eastern Canada, Greenland), plastic pollution, man-made noise impacts (seismic surveys, military sonar), entanglement in fishing gear, over fishing.