Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.2009, Qupperneq 193

VEIÐISØGA OG ÚTBREIÐSLA AV SKJÓRUTUM SPRINGARA (LAGENORHYNCHUS ACUTUS) 191
í FØROYUM
1584 (Bloch, 1996; 1998; 2007; Bloch et al„
1996).
According to Faroese laws, it is allowed
to take other smaller dolphin species than
pilot and bottlenose whales (Anon., 2000).
The species taken are white-sided dolphin
(Lagenorhynchus acutus), white-beaked dol-
phin (L albirostris), bottlenose dolphin (Tur-
siops truncatus), and harbour porpoise (Pho-
coena phocoena). For the smaller species, no
taxes were paid, and therefore only occa-
sional remarks exist for the catch and none
prior to 1872 for the white-sided dolphin.
The reporting has improved with time and
the catch data from the last 50 years is con-
sidered more complete than previous
records. The white-sided dolphin occurs
often in mixed schools with pilot whales
and/or bottlenose dolphins (Bloch, 1998).
The stock identity of the species has
been studied by Jacobsen et al. (2003) con-
cluding that the Faroese and Scottish white-
sided dolphins do not diverse genetically,
while Mikkelsen and Lund (1994) seem to
find differences in skull measurements be-
tween the eastern and western North At-
lantic.
The Faroese area is an important feeding
and breeding area in summertime for many
of the North Atlantic cetacean species
(Bloch et al., 2001), but the white-sided dol-
phin seems to have only feeding area around
the Faroes and not a breeding area (Bloch et
al„ 2003). The white-sided dolphin shows a
pelagic distribution in Faroese waters in
summertime as well as more south and west
in the North Atlantic (Kinze et al„ 1997;
Northridge et al„ 1997), but it occurs more
southerly than many other cetacean species
(Fig. 1; Skov et al„ 1995; Bloch et al„ 2001;
Fig. 1 . The North Atlantic distribution of white-sided
dolphin pods, Lagenorhynchus acutus taken a) from
Skov et al. (1995) and b) from Bloch et al. (2001).
Reid et al„ 2003). The drives of white-sided
dolphins occur mostly in summertime, but
with a tendency to have also a spring peak,
which is supported by the fact that most
strandings occur in March-April in Ireland