Postmortaal onderzoek van bruinvissen (Phocoena phocoena) uit Nederlandse wateren, 2017: biologische gegevens, gezondheidsstatus en doodsoorzaken

This annual report present the results of post-mortem examinations of porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) in 2017. One of the main objectives of the research is to quantify human-induced causes of death. In 2017, 55 dead harbour porpoises were examined: 25 males and 30 females, including 22 adults, 26 juveniles and 7 neonates. Most of the harbour porpoises examined died as a result of infectious diseases (36%), bycatch (20%) or grey seal attacks (18%). The proportion of animals dying of infectious diseases was higher in 2017 than in previous years.