Humpback Whale
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Humpback Whale Conservation Status

Humpback Whale conservation status (Megaptera novaeangliae)
The Humpback Whale has been included in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species since 1965 and is today listed as Vulnerable (VU). Animals are placed in this category when they are believed to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild in the medium-term future.

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species place threatened and extinct species into six different groups.

• Extinct (EX)
• Extinct in the wild (EW)
• Critically endangered (CR)
• Endangered (EN)
• Vulnerable (VU)
• Lower risk (LR)

The 1986 and 1988 assessments listed the Humpback Whale as Endangered (EN), but happily enough the species could be listed as Vulnerable (VU) after the 1990 assessment. The 1994 and 1996 assessment kept it listed as VU. In 1996, a majority of the studied stocks of Humpback Whale had managed to increase to at least 50% of their number three generations ago (during the 1930s). The stocks living in the Southern Hemisphere had reached lower numbers than the stocks living in the Northern Hemisphere, because Soviet ships continued to hunt in the Southern Hemisphere during the 1960s and 1970s when most other countries had already stopped hunting Humpback Whale due to conservational concerns.

The Humpback Whale is still hunted as food by some, but international trade is no longer considered a major threat to the Humpback Whales conservation status. Sub-national and national trade does however continue to be a potential threat, and since the Humpback Whale population now shows signs of recuperation, several countries may decide to start hunting Humpback Whale again. Water pollution and noise pollution can harm Humpback Whales, but they seem to be quite tolerant to whale watching ships and similar human activities. Ship collisions, net entanglement and industrial noise continue to be a problem.