 The U.S. government proposed removing most of the world’s humpback whale populations from the federal endangered species list today, saying that many of the marine mammals have recovered in the 45 years since they were first listed. “We’re happy to announce a conservation success story,” said Donna Wieting, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Office of Protected Resources, in a telephone press conference today. Successful conservation efforts recognized in revised ESA Humpback Whale listing 
 
 Reclassification into 14 distinct population segments will provide more tailored management approach 
 
 
 
 NOAA's proposal to reclassify humpback whales into 14 distinct population segments will offer fisheries managers a more tailored conservation approach. If the proposal is approved (which is expected to happen next year), only two of these populations will remain on the endangered list; another two will be considered threatened. (Credit: NOAA) 
 
 The two populations proposed as threatened – the Central America and the Western North Pacific – at times enter U.S. waters. Two other populations that do not enter U.S. waters – in the Arabian Sea and off Cape Verde Islands/Northwest Africa – would remain listed as endangered. Humpbacks no longer protected by the federal Endangered Species Act will continue to be guarded by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which offers many of the same protections, Wieting says. “As we learn more about the species -- and realize the populations are largely independent of each other -- managing them separately allows us to focus protection on the animals that need it the most.” 
 
 
 
 
 
 Approximate locations of proposed humpback whale distinct population segments: 1. For general information on humpback whales, go to: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/whales/humpback-whale.html 
 
 
 
 To read the the proposal’s Federal Register notice, go to: https://federalregister.gov/a/2015-09010 
 
 Humpback Whale Images Slideshow and Facts vs. Fiction Information: http://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/stories/2015/02/02_11_14humpback_fact_vs_fiction.html 
 
 
 
 Humpback whale B-roll: https://vimeo.com/111689294 
 
 
 
 NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. (Credit: NOAA) 
 
 NOAA Fisheries proposed today to reclassify the humpback whale into 14 distinct population segments under the Endangered Species Act, providing a more tailored conservation approach for U.S. fisheries managers.
– NOAA says it's a whale of a success story: Most of the world's humpback whale populations, including all those that enter US waters, are no longer endangered, according to the agency. NOAA, which says 45 years of protection have helped whale populations rebound, wants to reclassify the species into 14 populations, only two of which would be classed as endangered, NBC News reports. The Central America and western North Pacific populations, which sometimes enter US waters, would be classed as threatened under the NOAA proposal, while the Arabian Sea and Cape Verde Islands populations would still be considered endangered. All 14 populations would remain protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. "This is good news for whales and whale conservation and should be cause for celebration, not a reason to run screaming from the room," the whale program director for the International Fund for Animal Welfare tells Science. "It shows that when we take appropriate steps to protect whales, they can recover." A senior biologist for Whale and Dolphin Conservation North America, however, tells the Guardian that the proposal seems premature. The species is too complicated to split into just 14 populations, she says, and they still face multiple threats, including boat strikes and entanglement. (A daring crew from the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary used a knife on a pole to free a 45-ton whale entangled in fishing line.)