PREFACE 



In March 1972, the Naval Undersea Center (NUC), San Diego, CaUf. in cooperation with the National 

 Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Tiburon, Calif, published a photographic field guide— The Whales, Dolphins 

 and Porpoises of the Eastern North Pacific. A Guide to Their Identification in the Water, by S. Leatherwood, 

 W.E. Evans, and D.W. Rice (NUC TP 282). This guide was designed to assist the layman in identifying the 

 cetaceans he encountered in that area and was intended for use in two ongoing whale observer programs, 

 NUC's Whale Watch and NMFS's Platforms of Opportunity. The rationale of these programs was that since 

 oceanographers, commercial and sport fishermen, naval personnel, commercial seamen, pleasure boaters, and 

 coastal aircraft pilots together canvas large areas of the oceans which scientists specializing in whales 

 (cetologists) have time and funds to survey only occasionally, training those persons in species identification 

 and asking them to report their sightings back to central data centers could help scientists more clearly 

 understand distribution, migration, and seasonal variations in abundance of cetacean species. For such a 

 program to work, a usable field guide is a requisite. Because the many publications on the whales, dolphins, and 

 porpoises of this region were either too technical in content or too limited in geographical area or species 

 covered to be of use in field identification, and because conventional scientific or taxonomic groupings of the 

 animals are often not helpful in field identification, the photographic field guide took a different approach. 

 Instead of being placed into their scientific groups, species were grouped together on the basis of similarities in 

 appearance during the brief encounters typical at sea. Photographs of the animals in their natural 

 environment, supplemented by drawings and descriptions or tables distinguishing the most similar species, 

 formed the core of the guide. 



Despite deficiencies in the first effort and the inherent difficulties of positively identifying many of the 

 cetacean species at sea, the results obtained from the programs have been encouraging. Many seafarers who 

 had previously looked with disinterest or ignorance on the animals they encountered became good critical 

 observers and found pleasure in the contribution they were making. The potential for the expansion of such 

 observer programs is enormous. 



Because of these initial successes and the large number of requests for packets from persons working at 

 sea off the Atlantic coast of North America, this guide was planned. Many of the errors and deficiencies of the 

 Pacific Guide have been corrected, and the discussions of the ranges of many of the species have been expanded 

 with considerations of the major oceanographic factors affecting their distribution and movements. While the 

 present volume, like the Pacific Guide, is intended as an aid to the identification of living animals at sea, new 

 materials have been provided to aid in the identification and reporting of stranded specimens, a major source of 

 data and study material for museums. This new dimension is expected to assist the U.S. National Museum, 

 various regional museums, and other researchers actively collecting cetacean materials for display and study 

 in the implementation of their stranded animal salvage programs. Through a cooperative effort of this kind, the 

 best possible use can be made of all materials that become available. 



As a part of continuing research, this guide will be revised whenever possible. Suggestions for its 

 improvement will at all times be welcome. 



Funds for the preparation of this guide were provided by a grant to Stephen Leatherwood from the Platforms 

 of Opportunity Program, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

 Administration, Tiburon, Calif., Paul Sund, Coordinator. 



