Agency proposes taking humpbacks whales off endangered list

By Caleb Jones
Star Advertiser
Associated Press

POSTED: 07:52 a.m. HST, Apr 20, 2015
LAST UPDATED: 08:56 a.m. HST, Apr 20, 2015

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ASSOCIATED PRESS
A humpback whale jumps out of the waters off Hawaii in this undated photo.
(AP Photo/NOAA Fisheries)

The federal government on Monday proposed removing most of the world’s
humpback whale population from the endangered species list, saying they
have rebounded after 45 years of protections.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries wants to
reclassify humpbacks into 14 distinct populations, and remove 10 of those
from the list.

“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.

Humpbacks were listed as endangered in 1970, four years after the
International Whaling Commission banned commercial whaling.

The whales have rebounded in the North Pacific since the listing, which
requires federal approval for federally funded or authorized activities
that could harm whales or their habitat.

Last year, the state of Alaska filed a petition to remove some North
Pacific humpback whales from protection under the Endangered Species Act.
That population, estimated at more than 5,800, feeds in Alaska in the
summer and breeds in Hawaii in winter.

Environmental groups have said North Pacific whales continue to be
vulnerable to factors including increased shipping, climate change and
ocean acidification, which affects the prey stock.

The NOAA said in a release announcing its proposal that protection and
restoration efforts have led to an increase in humpbacks in many areas.

Under the plan, two of the populations would be listed as threatened, in
Central America and the Western North Pacific. The agency said these whales
at times enter U.S. waters.

The other two populations — in the Arabian Sea and off Cape Verde and
northwest Africa — would remain listed as endangered.

Humpbacks are found around the world. They weigh 25 to 40 tons and can grow
up to 60 feet long, according to NOAA’s website. The whales are primarily
dark gray with some white spots, and their pectoral fins can get as long as
15 feet.

If the proposal passes, the humpback populations that are removed from the
endangered list would still be protected under the Marine Mammal Protection
Act.

The public has 90 days to comment on the recommended changes.