The Micmac (Mi'kmaq) [1], Tlingit [2, 3] and Inuit from Makkovik [4] are reported to have consumed dolphins, likely to have included white-beaked dolphins along the Atlantic coast and Pacific white-sided dolphins along the Pacific coast. The Micmac [1] hunted dolphins in canoes made of birch bark; two men were required for the hunt. The Tlingit [3] used guns to hunt dolphin. Pacific white-sided dolphin was used by the Nuxalk a minor source of food [5].
References
1. Stoddard NB: Micmac Foods, vol. re-printed from the Journal of Education February 1966. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Halifax Natural Science Museum; 1970.
2. Jacobs M, Jr., Jacobs M, Sr.: Southeast Alaska Native Foods. In: Raveu's Bones. edn. Edited by Hope A; 1982: 112-130.
3. Krause A: The Tlingit Indians: Results of a Trip to the Northwest Coast of America and the Bering Straits. Seattle: University of Washington Press; 1956.
4. Mackey MGA, Orr RDM: An Evaluation of Household Country Food Use in Makkovik, Labrador, July 1980 - June 1981. Arctic 1987, 40(1):60-65.
5. Kuhnlein HV: Traditional and Contemporary Nuxalk Foods. Nutrition Research 1984, 4:789-809.
Dolphins are small toothed whales, and in the northern hemisphere, include the white-beaked dolphin (Lagenorhynchus albirostris) and the Pacific white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens). They are in the same family as the killer whale (Orcinus orca) and the pilot whales. Dolphins are often confounded with the porpoise family members, even though they are not closely related and quite different in morphology and behaviour. Dolphins are larger than porpoises and have an elongated snout. Because of their small size, dolphins are faster growing, reproduce earlier in life, and can breed each year, unlike other larger whales. They are most often found in small groups feeding on fish, squids, and invertebrates, and can dive up to 300 m deep.
Reference
LeDuc R: Delphinids, overview. In: Encyclopedia of marine mammals. edn. Edited by Perrin WF, Wursig B, Thewissen JGM. San Diego: Academix Press; 2002: 310-314.