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Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae ) 



Humpback whales occur in all of the world's oceans and, 

 at certain times of the year, can be found in waters off 

 Alaska, Hawaii, and the east and west coasts of the U.S. 

 mainland. All populations were seriously depleted by commercial 

 whaling and, in 1966, the International Whaling Commission 

 prohibited further exploitation. In addition, the humpback 

 whale has been designated as "endangered" under the Endangered 

 Species Act of 1972. 



Although commercial exploitation has been prohibited 

 and no longer constitutes a threat to the species, subsistence 

 hunting off Greenland and other human activities still pose 

 threats in some areas. These activities include commercial 

 and recreational boating, offshore oil and gas development, 

 sport and commercial fisheries, and certain coastal development. 



Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska 



Glacier Bay and surrounding waters in southeast Alaska 

 provide summer habitat for a portion of the North Pacific 

 population of humpback whales. Between 1967 and 1977, about 

 20-25 whales were observed each summer in Glacier Bay. In 

 1978 and 1979, however, fewer whales entered the Bay and 

 many of those that did enter remained for shorter periods of 

 time than previously. It was thought that increasing 

 vessel traffic might be at least partially responsible for 

 the whales leaving and avoiding the Bay and, in 1979, the 

 National Park Service established interim regulations to 

 restrict vessel traffic and initiated consultations with the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service to determine whether 

 additional actions might be necessary to assure that humpback 

 whales were not adversely affected by vessel traffic or 

 other activities in Glacier Bay National Park. 



In October 1979, the Marine Mammal Commission convened 

 a workshop to review available information concerning the 

 possible reasons why the whales left and were avoiding the 

 Bay and to identify critical gaps in the available data. In 

 December 1979, the National Marine Fisheries Service issued 

 a Biological Opinion as required under Section 7 of the 

 Endangered Species Act. The findings in both instances were 

 recommendations that the National Park Service undertake 

 studies to: 1) characterize the food and feeding behavior 

 of humpback whales in Glacier Bay and surrounding waters; 2) 

 assess the acoustic characteristics of the Bay and vessels 

 operating in the Bay; and 3) compare the behavioral responses 

 of whales to vessels in the Bay and in other areas of southeastern 

 Alaska. 



