First published in Landings, June, 2015. The majestic humpback whale has been considered endangered for nearly 45 years. As a result of new research and a comprehensive status review, scientists now understand that there are many distinct populations of humpback whales and a majority of them are actually thriving. As a result, NOAA Fisheries is recommending that many of them be taken off the Endangered Species Act (ESA) list. “Because of a lot of science, we have reevaluated and now believe...