Porpoise

After a longstanding absence, the first Harbor Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) in over a century was sighted inside the San Francisco Bay Delta Estuary in 2011. Porpoises are historically significant to the Bay, as bones found in Emeryville Shellmound suggest they served as an important food source for Ohlone tribes. Not only did porpoises hold significance in the past, but they could prove crucial to the future of Bay Area wetlands as well. Coastal estuaries are often too shallow for many large marine predators, which can lead to an overabundance of herbivorous species that consume primary producers such as algae, the backbone of any ecosystem. With the return of the harbor porpoise which thrive in these conditions, there is hope that San Francisco Bay’s wetlands and estuaries could be teeming with life once more.