Before the United Nations established a moratorium on the use of high seas drift nets in 1993, Pacific white-sided dolphins were frequently caught in the nets of Japanese and Korean squid fisheries. Today the species is better protected, and the total North Pacific population is estimated to approach one million. They are often seen swimming with seals and sea lions, and sometimes with other cetaceans, especially the northern right whale dolphin, perhaps because they are all pursuing the same prey. Females are mature and ready to reproduce when they are about 10 or 11 years old, and gestation lasts about 10 months. A newborn calf is about a meter long.
Links:
Mammal Species of the WorldRights Holder: Smithsonian Institution
