Australia’s humpback populations have recovered so well from years of devastating whaling that they could be delisted as a threatened species in a conservation success story scientists yesterday hailed as “a symbol of hope.”
Humpback whales were commercially harvested around the Australian coast between 1912 and 1972, with tens of thousands of the animals killed, decimating the species.
However, their recovery has been remarkable, spawning a thriving whale watching industry.
Photo: AFP PHOTO / ARI S. FRIEDLAENDER / NATIONAL MARINES FISHERIES SERVICE
A new paper, “Embracing conservation success of recovering humpback whale populations,” said Australian numbers were increasing at 9 percent per year off the nation’s west coast and 10 percent for the east coast.
As of 2012, they had grown to more than 63 percent (east coast) and 90 percent (west coast) of those recorded before the whaling era.
Australia-based Murdoch University’s Cetacean Research Unit, which contributed to the paper published in the Marine Policy journal, said it was a rare success story.
“For the first time in over a generation, the iconic humpback whales of Australia have become a symbol of both hope and optimism for marine conservation,” it said. “Optimism in conservation biology is essential to encourage politicians, policymakers and the public to solve conservation problems.”
The paper, which also involved scientists from Oregon and North Carolina in the US, said the animals were now no longer at risk of extinction and proposed they be delisted as a threatened species under Australian law, where they are listed as vulnerable.
The once over-exploited whale has already had its conservation status downgraded in other regions, including the North Pacific population off British Columbia, Canada.
Marine scientist Michelle Bejder, who led the review, said removing humpbacks from the threatened list would allow conservation funding to be redirected toward other species more at risk.
“Hopefully other animal species may be afforded a similar chance of recovery success to that of the humpback whales,” she said. “Blue whale populations have been depleted greatly and remain endangered, while very little scientific data is available on Australian snubfin dolphins and Australian humpback dolphins.”
Bejder said management efforts must now balance the need to maintain humpback whale recovery within a marine environment experiencing increased coastal development and rapid growth in industrial and exploration activities.
“Increased interactions with maritime users are likely to occur,” Bejder said, including acoustic disturbance from noise, collisions with vessels, entanglements in fishing gear and more interactions with the booming whale watching industry.
“Adaptive management actions and new approaches to gain public support will be vital to maintain the growth and recovery of Australian humpback whales and prevent future population declines,” she added.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese