Photo/Illutration A photo of a finless porpoise taken from the Tobamaru ferry in Toba, Mie Prefecture, on Jan. 22 (Provided by Isewan Ferry)

TOBA, Mie Prefecture—The number of wild finless porpoises descending on Toba Port here seems to have increased this year, a boon for both a ferry operator and picture-taking passengers.

According to Isewan Ferry, which features finless porpoise viewing in advertisements for its cruises, the mammals come to the port every year from January to April.

This year, they were seen from Jan. 17.

On March 3, two of them were spotted by passengers on the ferry just after it departed.

“Hey, look over there,” one passenger said as the porpoises’ white bodies rose to the surface. “There it is.”

The ferry operating company has even taken pictures of the porpoises from the second floor of the ferry’s terminal building this year.

“It is rare that we can see them so frequently,” a company official said.

According to Toba Aquarium, which conducted a two-year research project from 2015, up to 20 finless porpoises can be spotted between Toba Port and Sakatejima island, which is 600 meters away, each year.

“Finless porpoises have a habit of searching for food near cliffs and the river mouth here,” said Ikuo Wakabayashi, head of the aquarium’s research department. “This year appears to be a good year because many of them have come here.”

Wakabayashi said various factors could be behind the increase, including shifts in the environment and climate change.

“We’d like to continue observing trends of the finless porpoises and their habitat,” the researcher said.

Related News