Biodiversity · Coast

Dolphins & porpoises

Two small, shy marine mammals live close to the shore along the coast of Goa and north Karnataka: the Indian Ocean humpback dolphin and the Indo-Pacific finless porpoise.

Meet them

Indian Ocean humpback dolphin

Sousa plumbea

A grey dolphin with a hump below its fin, found in shallow coastal water and river mouths. Listed as Endangered. (The similar Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin lives further east, in China and Southeast Asia.)

Photo: pavlaki1968, CC BY 4.0

Indo-Pacific finless porpoise

Neophocaena phocaenoides

A small, round-headed porpoise with no dorsal fin, which makes it hard to spot. Listed as Vulnerable.

An important marine mammal area

Scientists have named the waters from southern Maharashtra through Goa to Karwar the Sindhudurg–Karwar Important Marine Mammal Area. It covers 4,327 km² along about 260 km of coast. Both species appear to live there all year.

The main threat is accidental capture in fishing nets. Between 2014 and 2019 about 6 to 15 deaths a year were recorded in the area. Strandings also reach the Uttara Kannada coast: a female humpback dolphin washed up at Murudeshwar on 11 April 2020.

Watching dolphins responsibly

Published studies do not yet document dolphins off Honavar itself, but they are seen along this coast. If you spot them from a boat, slow down, keep your distance, never chase or circle them and switch off the engine if they come close. If you find a stranded dolphin or porpoise, call the Forest Department and keep people and dogs away.

Research behind this page (2)

See all published research on Honavar's biodiversity.