The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced on Tuesday, Sept. 6, that it has taken most populations of humpback whales off of its list of endangered species.
Despite reaching dangerously low levels in the past, 14 whale populations are now well on their way to recovery thanks to conservation efforts by national and international organizations over the last 40 years.
The NOAA said it considers the rebound of the marine mammals as an ecological success story. It shows how worldwide protection efforts have succeeded in helping the humpbacks be saved from the brink of extinction.
"Whales, including the humpback, serve an important role in our marine environment," Eileen Sobeck, the agency's assistant administrator for fisheries, said.
"Separately managing humpback whale populations that are largely independent of each other allows us to tailor conservation approaches for each population."
While the NOAA no longer categorizes the humpbacks as an endangered group, animal conservation experts believe the threat to the animals' survival is not yet over.
Numbers of the marine mammal in Central America are still at an alarmingly low level, with only 411 individual whales left in the wild. This prompted the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to tag the animals as endangered.
In Mexico, whale populations are reportedly down to only 3,200 individual animals. Despite having been removed from the endangered list, whales in the region are still considered threatened because a large number of the marine mammals are still dying as a result of getting entangled in commercial fishing gear.
Many Central American and Mexican whale populations travel along the California coast twice every year during their breeding season. The Central American whales are known to look for food along the West Coast, while the Mexican variants look for food along the West Coast and Alaskan waters.
Jackie Dragon, a representative of the conservation group Greenpeace, welcomed the news about the humpback whales' recovery, but said that populations of the animal are still too low compared to those before the start of commercial exploitation.
She explained that while it is good to celebrate the recovery of the whales, people need to stay vigilant in their conservation efforts.
With the removal of the humpback whales from the endangered list, federal agencies are no longer required to consult the NOAA regarding policies that could affect the marine mammals' populations.
However, NOAA reiterated that all species of humpbacks in U.S. waters and high seas are still protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
