Porpoise Kill Unlikely

I would like to clarify a point brought up in the Feb. 19 letters section by Heather Goulet, who “wondered how many thousands of porpoises were sacrificed for this commercial ‘miracle’ ” (“Don’t Forget Porpoises”).

The quote is in reference to large blue fin tuna caught off Southern California. She will be happy to know that no porpoises or dolphins should have been taken in conjunction with this because blue fin tuna are never found in association with porpoises or dolphins.

Incidental catches of porpoises and dolphins do occur with yellow fin and skipjack tuna fishing in the eastern tropical Pacific. Goulet was obviously aware of this fact and believed that the same was true for blue fin tuna.

STEPHEN J. CROOKE

Long Beach

The writer is an associate marine biologist with the California Department of Fish and Game.