Mammoth rebound for humpbacks
Print Edition
THE humpback whale became the unofficial symbol of the conservation movement in the last century.
Decades ago, the iconic mammal was on the verge of extinction.
The international community banned whaling the species in 1966, and the US government listed it as endangered four years later.
US officials on Monday proposed removing most of the world’s humpback whales from the endangered species list, noting their recovery after 45 years of protection and restoration efforts is a remarkable achievement.
Important success
“To be able to bring a species to a point where their population is doing well and they no longer meet those requirements to be on the endangered species act, I think that is a really important success for us as a nation,” said Donna Weiting, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s protected resources office.
“So I think it’s quite a big deal,” she said at a news conference.
The agency is proposing dividing humpback whale populations into 14 categories and removing ten of them from the endangered list. Of the remaining four, two would be listed as threatened, and the other two would stay on the endangered list.
But even if the animal is taken off the endangered list, this doesn’t necessarily mean it will be hunted again.
All the whales remain protected under the Marine Mammals Protection Act, and the United States is still an active member of the International Whaling Commission, which banned commercial whaling in 1966, said Angela Somma, chief of NOAA Fisheries’ endangered species division.
Just a few places in the world allow humpback whale hunting, and that’s for aboriginal subsistence only, according to the commission’s website. Three nations‚ Japan, Norway and Iceland, still allow the mammals to be killed for scientific research.
Humans hunted humpbacks in much higher numbers before their listing as endangered in 1970.
Global population
Officials say protection and restoration efforts have since increased the whales’ numbers in many areas. Marta Nammack, NOAA Fisheries’ national Endangered Species Act listing coordinator, estimates the global population of humpbacks at around 90,000.
Rebecca Noblin, Alaska director for the Center for Biological Diversity, said the whales’ consideration for removal from the list is a good sign, but it might be premature.
Whales continue to be vulnerable to factors including climate change and ocean acidification, which affects their prey stock, she said.
“It would really be beneficial to continue to have the protections of the Endangered Species Act as the oceans change,” she said.
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