Federal fisheries officials are removing most humpback whales from the endangered species list, saying that international conservation efforts over the past 40 years have proven successful for most populations.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration made the announcement during a teleconference on Sept. 6, saying international conservation efforts to protect and conserve whales over the past 40 years has been successful for most for 9 of the 14 newly identified distinct population segments.
Humpback whales, well known for their long pectoral fins, can be up to 15 feet in length. They are a favorite of whale watchers, known for breaching (jumping out of the water) and for slapping the surface of the ocean with their pectoral fins, tails or heads. While the whales’ body color is primarily grey, some individual whales have a variable amount of white on their pectoral finds and belly.
Four of those distinct population segments will remain protected as endangered, and one is now listed as threatened.
The impact of commercial whaling severely reduced humpback whale populations from historical levels, to the point where back in 1970 the United States listed all humpback whales as endangered. NOAA Fisheries went to work on a national and international level to identify and apply protections for the humpbacks, and in 1982, the International Whaling Commission imposed a whaling moratorium, which NOAA said was a major role player in the recovery of humpbacks.
Eileen Sobeck, assistant NOAA administrator for fisheries, hailed NOAA’s decision as “a true ecological success story. Whales, including the humpback, serve an important role in our marine environment,” Sobeck said. “Separately managing humpback whale populations that are largely independent of each other allows us to tailor conservation approaches for each population,” she said.
NOAA officials noted that two of four populations still on the endangered list are found in U.S. Coast, while the Western North Pacific population feeds in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands. The Mexico population, which feeds off the West Coast of the Lower 48 and Alaska, is listed as threatened.
NOAA also filed two separate, complementary regulations to maintain protections for whales in waters off Alaska and Hawaii by specifying just how close approaching vessels can legally get to the whales.
Regardless of their status under the Endangered Species Act, all humpback whales remain protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, in U.S. waters and on the high seas.
