It has been announced that the magnificent humpback whale could soon be removed from the endangered species list. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have proposed that humpbacks be split into 14 population segments; 10 of these populations will then be removed from the endangered list and another two will be downgraded to ‘threatened’ status. Two populations in the Arabian Sea and Northwestern Africa will remain classed as endangered.
Once removed the 10 populations will continue to be protected under the US Marine Mammal Protection Act; however, experts have said the change will enable conservationist to dedicate their efforts and provide better protection for the whale populations in need.
“As we learn more about the species – and realize the populations are largely independent of each other – managing them separately allows us to focus protection on the animals that need it the most,” Eileen Sobeck, assistant NOAA administrator for fisheries, said in a statement.
The change was proposed after the state of Alaska and the Hawaiian Fisherman’s Alliance, petitioned to the NOAA that the humpback populations in their regions had increased and stabilized. However, it should be noted that each organization would significantly benefit economically from the delisting and could therefore be biased. Once the Endangered species Act (ESA) protection is removed, authorization for offshore drilling in Alaska will become significantly easier, and the Hawaiian Fisherman’s Alliance will face less opposition on fishing grounds.
Conservationist and the Center for Biological Diversity, have also expressed concern about the species delisting; expressing that many of the populations’ estimates are outdated, some by as much as a decade. Ultimately, they have suggested that the decision is premature. Regina Asmutis-Silvia, executive director and senior biologist for Whale and Dolphin Conservation North America, told the Guardian, “Humpbacks are a really complicated species to really review for declaring these distinct population segments.”
Additionally, other dangers common for whales need to be considered “We could be having as many if not more animals getting entangled each year than can reproduce,” said Asmutis-Silvia. She estimates that off the coast of New England, 3% of the population could be lost annually to entanglement, whilst 15% of the whales have been hit by a boat.
The humpback whales were first deemed endangered in 1970, under the Endangered Species Act. Numbers reduced due to overexploitation for resources such as whale oil, fertilizer and pet food. In 1991, a recovery plan was initiated to increase the humpback whale populations to 60% of the pre-whaling population or to the current environmental carrying capacity. The plan was then later changed to increasing the humpback whales populations by 50% within 20 years. Today, it is estimated that the total worldwide population of humpback whales stands at approximately 90,000.
To date, only 1% of species has been removed from the endangered list, among this percentage, only one Marine Mammal has been removed—the gray whale in 1994. Therefore, this move could potentially serve as a milestone for conservation efforts and provide the necessary hope to save the species remaining on the list.
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