The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service announced Tuesday that nine of the world's 14 distinct humpback whale populations have recovered enough to be removed from the Endangered Species List.
Since the global ban on commercial whaling was introduced almost 50 years ago, the populations have grown steadily, the agency said. Previously, the National Marine Fisheries Service lumped all humpback whales together into one population that was endangered. Of the 14 populations, five will be classified as endangered or threatened; one that remains endangered is the Western North Pacific population, which spends the winter near Okinawa and the Philippines. Some environmentalists told The Associated Press it's too early to take some populations off the list, as they continue to face a range of threats, including fishing gear and oil and gas development.
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