The harbor porpoise is a small porpoise (to 6 feet long) whose body is dark above and paler underneath. These marine mammals are edible and formerly were hunted for food. In modern times they have been hunted with rifles. The meat can be boiled and eaten with different vegetables such as cabbage, potatoes and onions.
Binomial name
[Phocoena phocoena (Linnaeus)]
kw’aant’
k̓ʷa:nt̓
Noun
dolphin
Details
Ethnobiological notes
The word for porpoise has been extended to refer also to dolphins. Pacific white-sided dolphins are slightly larger than harbor porpoises, and are black with an elongate white or grey stripe on each side and white below. They travel in large pods and are good jumpers.