porpoise in the North Sea (Jansen et al. 2010), and the waters off the coast of Scotland and north east England are one of the four global areas of peak abundance.
194. The species occurs mainly in waters of 50-100m in depth (Reid et al. 2003) and sightings are common throughout the year, with peaks between June and October (Reid et al. 2003). White-beaked dolphin breed mainly between May and August, although some breeding occurs in September and October (Anderwald and Evans 2010). The gestation period is approximately 11 months (Culik 2010).
195. Scientific evidence supports the assumption that white-beaked dolphin from around the British Isles and North Sea represent one population, with movement between Scottish waters and the Danish North Sea and Skagerrak (Banhuera-Hinestroza et al. 2009). A single MU is appropriate for this species comprising all UK waters; the BI MU (IAMMWG 2013). The abundance of white-beaked dolphin in the BI MU is 15,895 (CV=0.29; 95% CI= 9,107-27,743), which is derived from the SCANS-II abundance estimate for continental shelf waters (Hammond et al. 2013).
196. The SCANS II survey provides a wider European population estimate of 16,536 (95% CI 9,245 – 29,586, Hammond et al. 2013). The wider population estimate from SCANS II does not include a genetically distinct North Norwegian population (Northridge et al. 1997).
12.5.3.2.2Diet
197. White-beaked dolphin are typically found in relatively small groups of less than 10 individuals. They have a varied diet including mackerel, herring, cod, whiting, haddock, sandeels, gobies, flatfish and octopus (Reid et al. 2003).
198. The diet of white-beaked dolphin within the North Sea is dominated by gadoids, notably whiting and cod (Jansen et al. 2010); however, in Scottish waters they also consume cephalopods (Santos et al. 1994).
12.5.3.2.3 At sea distribution
199. The numbers of white-beaked dolphin encountered in the southern North Sea are relatively low, with no density estimated for the SCANS II survey block B (Hammond et al. 2013). Within the East Anglia THREE site, the JNCC Cetacean Atlas indicates that there are few white-beaked dolphin sightings within the East Anglia Zone (Reid et al. 2003).
Preliminary Environmental Information May 2014
East Anglia THREE Offshore Windfarm
Chapter 12 Marine Mammal Ecology Page 58
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