Nine of 14 distinct populations
to be removed from endangered list
Four populations still listed as
endangered, one as threatened
Associated Press in Honolulu
Tuesday 6 September
2016 22.48 BSTLast modified on Wednesday 7 September
201601.10 BST
Federal authorities are taking
most humpback whales off the endangered species list, saying they have
recovered enough in the last 40 years to warrant being removed.
The National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS) said on Monday that nine of the 14 distinct populations of
humpbacks would be removed, while four distinct populations remain listed as
endangered and one as threatened.
“Today’s news is a true
ecological success story,” said Eileen Sobeck, assistant NOAA administrator for
fisheries. “Whales, including the humpback, serve an important role in our marine
environment.”
Last year the NMFS, an office of
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), proposed
that humpbacks be split into 14 population segments,
allowing for 10 populations to be removed from the endangered list.
It said populations of the
animals had steadily grown since the international community banned commercial
whaling nearly 50 years ago.
When Noaa made its proposal in
April 2015, Regina Asmutis-Silvia, executive director and senior biologist
for Whale and
Dolphin Conservation North America, noted that the public should be
interested in the issue because of the humpback whale’s role in the ecosystem
and economy.
No comments:
Post a Comment
You only need to enter your comment once! Comments will appear once they have been moderated. This is so as to stop the would-be comedian who has been spamming the comments here with inane and often offensive remarks. You know who you are!