A marine park will be formed at Camden Sound, Australia, in an effort to protect the Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae). Once hunted to the brink of extinction, the humpbacks have already bounced back considerably thanks to conservation efforts and they are now much sought after by whale-watchers, particularly off parts of Australia, Canada, and the United States.

“The Government recognises the Kimberley as one of Australia’s special places,” said Premier Colin Barnett as he unveiled the plans for the park. “That is why we are protecting Camden Sound, making it a marine park, and developing and implementing our Kimberley Science and Conservation Strategy. This strategy will balance the need to develop industry and create wealth with the expectation that the environment and special places will be protected. This remarkable area warrants protection as a first step in the broader conservation of the Kimberley.”

Environment Minister Donna Faragher added that Camden Sound is the largest calving area for humpbacks in the southern hemisphere.

“More than 1000 humpback whales can be found in the Camden Sound ‘maternity ward’ during the calving season,” Faragher said. “They are part of the biggest population of humpback whales in the world – numbering about 22,000 – that migrate from Antarctica every year to give birth in the waters off the north of our State.”

Faragher said the park will be created in consultation with the local indigenous community and all stakeholders with an interest in the area.

Allowing for consultation, including a public comment period of three months, a marine park could be established as early as mid-2010.

Camden Sound

Camden Sound is a bay in the Indian Ocean situated in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The sound is a highly bio-diverse region; home to animals such as dugongs, crocodiles, sea-snakes, sharks, rays, and three species of sea turtle. Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphins, Bottle-nosed dolphins, and the newly recognized Snub-fin dolphin can all be found within the borders of the proposed marine park. The sound is also visited by several species of whale, including False Killer whale, Bryde’s whale, Minke whale, and Dwarf Sperm whale. The corals reefs in the region are still fairly unharmed and varied the extensive mangrove forests found along the shores acts as nursery areas for fish and invertebrates.

Humpback whales born in Camden Sound stay there for several months after birth to grow big and strong enough to survive the long journey to the chilly Arctic waters where the humpbacks feed during the summer.

According to the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS), Greenland intends to ask permission to hunt a quota of 50 humpbacks over five years. The request will be put forward at an international key meeting on Tuesday where the 40 year long moratorium on whaling will be discussed.

“The WDCS urges member states and the Czech presidency [of the European Union] not to put at risk the EU’s reputation for commitment to the conservation of the world’s whales,” WDCS spokesman Nicolas Entrup said in Lisbon, Portugal.

On Tuesday, the annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) will commence on Madeira, a Portuguese island.

Humpback whale
The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is a baleen whale found in all the major oceans (not including the Mediterranean and the Baltic Sea) in a wide band running from the Antarctic ice edge to 65° N latitude. It is known for its knobbly head and its habit of frequently breaching and slapping the water; a practise which has made it especially popular among whale watchers. The purpose of the famous humpback whale song produced by the males remains unclear, but it is believed to play a role in reproduction. This whale song lasts for 10-20 minutes and is repeated for hours at a time.

The introduction of the explosive harpoon in the late 1800s and increasingly better ships made it possible for whalers to drastically accelerate their take, which soon led to a sharp decline in most whale populations, including the humpback whale. An estimated number of 200,000 humpbacks where taken during the 20th century, reducing the global population by over 90% and bringing the North Atlantic population down to a mere 700 individuals. When the ban on commercial humpback whaling was introduced by the IWC in 1966, the global population consisted of an estimated 5000 whales.

Today, the Humpback has made a promising comeback. In 2008, it was moved from the “Vulnerable” section on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and has since then been listed as “Least Concern”, although two subpopulations remain endangered.

According to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), over 50,000 humpbacks can be found in the Southern Hemisphere, while the North Pacific Ocean is home to 18,000-20,000 individuals and the North Atlantic population comprises about 12,000 specimens.

The main threats to the humpback whales are today entanglement in fishing equipment, ship collisions, and noise pollution.