Bruinvis - populatie, dieet en contaminanten (BO-11-018.02-004, BO-11-011.04-004)

Harbour porpoises are a protected species, for which a national protection plan has been made, based on the current knowledge on the population size and distribution. In this plan a number of knowledge gaps have been identified that are filled by this project. Despite their status, a lot of animals are stranded on the beaches. Section on their bodies should reveal the cause of death and analyses of their stomach content provides a lot of information on their diet. We also perform analyses of contaminants in their body tissues. In addition to this work, the preparation of the NE-Atlantic SCANS III survey will be done, which is planned for 2016.