Group formation: Social groups/fission fusion (size 30-500)
Size: males 2.8 m, females 2.4 m, calf 1.2 m
Weight: 180-230 kg
Age: males 22 yrs, females 27 yrs
Gestation: 11 months
Sexual maturity: males 7-11 yrs, females 6-12 yrs
Diet: Atlantic Herring (Clupea harengus), Atlantic Mackerel (Scomber scombrus), Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua), Smelts
(Osmeridae Sand Lances (Ammodytidae spp. several types of squid (Teuthida spp)i Silver Hake (Merluccius bilineans),
Red Hake (Urophycis chuss)v and Cephalopods, mostly Long Fin Squid (Loligo pealei/)
Distribution: endemic to the North Atlantic Ocean, cold temperate to subpolar waters from about 350N in the west and the Brittany
coast of France in the east, north to southern Greenland, Iceland, and southern Svalbard. They have been sighted year round in
the deep waters in the North Sea. They move to northem latitudes during warmer months and closer to shore in the summer and
offshore during the winter. They are oceanic dolphins located near the continental shelf, slope, canyon waters; and concentrate in
areas of high seafloor relief; more densely in deeper areas and sometimes near the coast including fiords or inlets Little is known
about the northern limitations of their distribution.
Norway: along the Nomegian coast mostly in the north, does not overlap with Atlantic white-beaked dolphins, regular visitors to
the Vestf]ordenv especially June-September (with mackerel), often seen with pilot whales.
Population: > 100 000
Conservation Status: Least Concern ver 3.1, Pop. trend: unknown
Threats: whaling (Faeroe Islands, eastern Canada, Greenland); plastic pollutionv pollution, man-made noise impacts (seismic
surveys, military sonar), entanglement in fishing gear, over fishing.
Here is a video from 2014 the first ever to reveal Atlantic white sided dolphins hunting for mackerel in Norw'ay"