Conservation efforts seen as successful
Some humpback whale populations are no longer endangered. Map courtesy NOAA.
A humpback whale in the Stellwagen National Marine Sanctuary. Photo courtesy NOAA.
Staff Report
FRISCO — With humpback whales rebounding after 40 years of conservation efforts, federal biologists this week said they want to revise the marine mammals’ endangered species status, taking some of the geographically separate populations off the endangered species list.
Reclassifying humpbacks into 14 distinct population segments would enable tailored conservation approach for U.S. fisheries managers. Currently, humpback whales are listed as endangered throughout their range, but 10 of the 14 populations don’t need the highest level of protection anymore, according to NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service.
The federal proposal is in response to petitions by the Hawaii Fishermen’s Alliance for Conservation and Tradition to delist the North Pacific humpback whale and the state of Alaska to remove the Central North Pacific (Hawaii) stock of humpback for the list of endangered and threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.
“The return of the iconic humpback whale is an ESA success story,” said Eileen Sobeck, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries. “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.”
Like almost all whale species, humpbacks were decimated during the industrial whaling era but their numbers have grown since the United States first listed them as endangered in 1970.
Under the NOAA propsal, two populations would remain listed as endangered and two would be listed as threatened. The remaining 10 populations would still be protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
The two populations proposed as threatened – the Central America and the Western North Pacific – at times enter U.S. waters. Two other populations that do not enter U.S. waters – in the Arabian Sea and off Cape Verde Islands/Northwest Africa – would remain listed as endangered.
Conservation advocates say the move may be premature, given emerging threats like climate change and ocean noise from proposed new offshore oil drilling and naval training exercises.
“It’s heartening to see that some humpback whales are recovering, but it’s premature to remove protections …” said Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Since commercial whaling ended, humpbacks have enjoyed protection, but they’re still drowning in fishing gear and getting hit by ships.”
Sakashita said it’s not clear whether humpback whale populations have recovered to the goals set in the original endangered species listing, which called for rebuilding populations to 60 percent of the historical carrying capacity for the North Atlantic and North Pacific populations.
NOAA Fisheries is opening up a 90 day public comment period for this proposed rule. During this time, NOAA Fisheries welcomes public comments and any new information to ensure that our final determination is based on the best available scientific and commercial information.
Comments:
- Electronic Submissions : Submit all electronic comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D= NOAA-NMFS-2015-0035, click the “Comment Now!” icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
- Mail: Submit written comments to Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
For general information on humpback whales, go to: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/whales/humpback-whale.html
To read the the proposal’s Federal Register notice, go to:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2015-09010.pdf
The notice indicates that there are more than 2,000 humpback whales each in the West Indies, Hawaii and Mexico groups and the populations are increasing moderately. There are thought to be about 500 Central America humpbacks left, and that population’s trends are unknown.
