Agency: Humpback whales' recovery is national success story

Source: AP

By CALEB JONES

HONOLULU (AP) — The humpback whale became the unofficial symbol for the conservation movement in the last century.

The iconic mammal that can be found across the planet was on the verge of extinction. The international community banned whaling the species in 1966, and the U.S. government listed it as endangered four years later.

On Monday, federal officials proposed removing most of the world's humpback whales from the endangered species list, noting their recovery after 45 years of protection and restoration efforts is a remarkable achievement.

"To be able to bring a species to a point where their population is doing well and they no longer meet those requirements to be on the endangered species act, I think that is a really important success for us as a nation," said Donna Weiting, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's protected resources office.

FULL story and more photos at link.



FILE - In this July 11, 2008 file photo, a trio of humpback whales break the surface of the water as they work together in a group behavior known as "bubble feeding" off the coast of Cape Cod near Provincetown, Mass. The federal government is proposing removing most of the world\'s humpback whale population from the endangered species list. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries announced on Monday, Apr. 20, 2015 that they want to reclassify humpbacks into 14 distinct populations, and remove 10 of those from the list. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/3dbcc16d19274a869fc25c64156540e3/agency-proposes-lifting-protections-most-humpback-whales