The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States has decided to remove from the list of endangered species nine of the fourteen groups of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) that exist.
They had entered the list in 1970 because, in the previous years, their number had reached the lowest level in history due to the action of man, specifically commercial hunting . Fortunately, the population that exists today allows the majority of them to be removed from that list.
“This news is a true ecological success, ” explained Eileen Sobeck, deputy administrator of the NOAA fisheries service in a press release. “Whales, including humpbacks, play an important role in our marine ecosystem,” he added.
Sobeck also explained that “separating the management of the different humpback whale populations, which are very different from each other, has made it possible to adapt conservation approaches according to the needs of each of the groups .”
Undoubtedly, this success has had a lot to do with the International Whaling Commission (IWC), responsible for the management of hunting and the conservation of whales and that, in 1982, decreed the end of commercial hunting through an international moratorium about whaling. That moratorium is still in effect today.
Although this is good news, we must not forget that there are still four populations of them considered in danger of extinction and one more on the list of threatened animals .
Image: NOAA
