Before the conference on endangered species: Canada’s humpback whales are coming back

The UN Biodiversity Conference starts this week. Many animal and plant species are threatened. But there is good news from the host country Canada: the number of humpback whales has increased enormously.

This chant touches Canadian whale researcher Jackie Hildering even after decades of working with the sea giants: “When you allow someone to immerse themselves in the sound world of whales, when you hear how they communicate – then there is something that penetrates our consciousness and that Makes people stop. And they get goosebumps.”

The humpback whale expert from the British Columbia Marine Research Society regularly gets these goosebumps when she goes out to sea. It’s also a source of goosebumps of joy, says Hildering – because she’s not the only one who has noticed for two years: the threatened giants are coming back to the region in increasing numbers.

Breather from Corona Pandemic

According to the Pacific Whale Watch Association, researchers documented a real baby boom off the coast of Vancouver last year: with 21 calves, it was twice as many as in the previous year – the highest annual number in the region to date.

It is possible that this was also a result of the breather that nature had due to Corona. The whales would have had plenty of food in the last two years. Whale researcher Hildering has hope: “In British Columbia, on Canada’s west coast, there has only been no whaling since 1967 – that’s 55 years ago. And as a whale watcher, I can confirm that we have a second chance with them.”

Fishing ban is having an effect

Not only the fishing ban helped. Canada has also placed tourist whale tours under special scrutiny: “How close you can get the boat, you can’t touch them, you can’t feed them. You can’t swim with them, you have to report if they’re tangled or a ship collided with them. These are very good developments,” says Hildering.

After all, whale tourism not only brought disadvantages – but also created a lot of understanding for whales and thus promoted species protection.

More than 20,000 animals

The whale population is an important barometer for the state of the oceans, says David Boyd, the UN Special Envoy for Human Rights and the Environment in Vancouver: “In recent years we have seen an unbelievable revival of the humpback whale population here on Canada’s west coast. A species that which was hunted to near extinction and is now back to pre-commercial whaling levels.”

Thomas Doniol-Valcroze, a whale expert from Canada’s government agency for fisheries and oceans, says 27,000 humpback whales have been counted in the Canadian Pacific alone: ​​”Ten years ago we didn’t see a single humpback whale here, near Vancouver, where I live. The people had to go out on a ferry to do it. Five years ago, a few came back. And now you see about 20 every day in summer and fall.”

Worse position in other species

Other populations such as fin whales and blue whales are recovering more slowly. Still others are in a deep crisis. For example the North Atlantic Right Whale – one of the first to be affected by commercial whaling.

Despite decades of protective measures, this large whale species is suffering from human impact in the sea, says Doniol-Valcroze. “Everyone thought he was slowly recovering. And by 2010, these whales were actually getting better and better. There were almost 500. But then the North Atlantic right whale got into a real crisis, also due to climate change.”

species on the verge of extinction

The population of the species, which migrates between the US and Canada, has fallen to its lowest level in 20 years at just 336 individuals. Even a single death threatens the survival of this population. But fishing, shipping, noise, plastic and pollution make the migration paths of the North Atlantic Right Whale a deadly obstacle course. That showed up again recently Report of the environmental protection organization WWF.

Despite a lot of good news, the world is still a long way from a happy ending for the whales, says UN Special Envoy Boyd. That’s why he’s not the only one hoping for the biodiversity conference in Montréal: “If we humans stop harming nature, nature will be incredibly resilient in many ways. When I see these humpback whales off the Canadian coast, it’s moving to know that they are recovered from the brink of extinction.”

Goal: place 30 percent of all areas under nature protection

A goal that according to the opinion of numerous countries – including Germany – should be in the final declaration of the conference could contribute to this: According to this, 30 percent of the world’s land and sea areas are to be converted into nature reserves.