Humpback whales taken off the endangered species list
Australia’s humpback whale population, once hunted close to extinction, has soared since commercial whaling ceased and is being removed from its threatened species list.
The species has staged a remarkable recovery since the early 1900s when fewer than 1500 remained. Now the population is estimated at 40,000 and growing, Sussan Ley, the environment minister, said, announcing their removal from the list. ‘‘This is not about removing safeguards for humpbacks, which are still a protected migratory species, but it is a recognition of the success of the outstanding conservation efforts that are in place,’’ she said.
Conservationists warned, however, that although humpback numbers have bounced back they still face serious threats. Vanessa Pirotta, a marine scientist from Macquarie University, Sydney, said delisting did not mean that the authorities could rest on their laurels. ‘‘Some of the threats that whales face globally include ship strike, entanglement in fishing gear, acoustic pollution, marine pollution and, of course, climate change,’’ she told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
If sea ice retreats because of climate change, habitats for Antarctic krill, the primary food source for humpback and other whales will be reduced. Humpbacks grow up to 18m in length and can weigh 40 tonnes. May is the start of whale-watching season as humpbacks migrate up to 10,000km from Antarctica to calve on the Great Barrier Reef.
They return to the Southern Ocean from September.
Commercial whaling during the 19th and early 20th century drove species, especially the humpback and southern right, to the edge of extinction. More than 30,000 humpbacks were killed by whalers in Australia and New Zealand before whaling stopped in 1963. Humpback whales were afforded international protection in 1965 because of the alarming slump in global numbers.
The removal of the humpback from the threatened species list follows a public consultation and assessment by the independent Threatened Species Scientific Committee.