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Humpback whale less under threat from extinction
Geneva (AFP) Aug 12, 2008 Two whale species, the humpback and the southern right, are less under threat from becoming extinct, a new study released on Tuesday showed. However, smaller cetaceans, including a species of porpoise, were facing a greater risk of extinction, said the study, which was carried out by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). "Humpbacks and southern right whales are making a comeback in much of their range mainly because they have been protected from commercial hunting," said Randall Reeves, of the (IUCN). "This is a great conservation success and clearly shows what needs to be done to ensure these ocean giants survive," added Reeves. But nearly a quarter of cetacean species remained threatened, with 10 percent listed as endangered or critically endangered, including a species of porpoise, the study showed. The vaquita or a porpoise found in the Gulf of California was expected to be the next cetacean species to go extinct, as only about 150 are alive in the wild now, said the IUCN. The IUCN is a global environmental network of over 1,000 governments and non-governmental organisations. Its Red List is a list of threatened species widely used as an index of species endangerment. Its assessment, which looked at cetacean species including whales, dolphins and porpoises, found that the humpback whale had improved from 'vulnerable' to 'least concern', meaning a low risk of extinction. The southern right whale had also improved to 'least concern'. Justin Cooke, a specialist in cetaceans with the IUCN, acknowledged that the reclassification of humpback whales might prompt renewed pressure from whaling nations to resume hunting them. "It's quite possible that they will use this was support for their case, but one can't determine that because a species is under less threat from extinction that it's automatically okay to start hunting them," he said. In June, Greenland sought permission to add 10 humpback whales to its annual subsistence hunting quota but the International Whaling Commission turned down the request. Japan said in July that it was ready to spare humpback whales from its Antarctic hunt for another year if international whaling talks make progress. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
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Navy exercise used to study whales 
Washington (UPI) Aug 5, 2008 The U.S. government used the Navy's annual Rim of the Pacific exercise this year to conduct large-scale research on the effects of sonar on whales. |
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