How the change works
- 01 / Public decision
Protection and cooperation
- 02 / Physical change
Less avoidable mortality
- 03 / Possible outcome
Recovery over a long time
For long-lived animals, reducing collections and protecting habitats and routes means leaving time for reproduction to reconstitute populations.
Research and local documents ↓What the evidence tells us
Zerbini and colleagues estimate in 2019 that humpback whales in the southwestern Atlantic reached about 93% of their pre-exploitation abundance, with a range of 73— 100%.
A population on the road to recovery
93 % of the historical referenceCentral estimate
7 % of the historical referenceShare up to the reference
Southwestern Atlantic humpback whales. Modeled estimate: range 73— 100% of the level before exploitation.
Open the source ↗Read values and method
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Central estimate | 93 % of the historical reference |
| Share up to the reference | 7 % of the historical reference |
Southwestern Atlantic humpback whales. Modeled estimate: range 73— 100% of the level before exploitation.
Putting the choices into practice
Time
The challengeRepeated hunting
The responseDecades of Protection
Perimeter
The challengeAll whale populations lumped together
The responseAn identified population
Estimate
The challengeA number without uncertainty
The responseModel with an uncertainty interval
The diagram compares choices and conditions for putting them into practice. Measured outcomes and their limits are discussed in the evidence.
Research and local documents ↓Conditions and limits
It's an estimate modeled for a population, not a census of all the whales. Collisions, networks, noise and environmental changes remain threats to be addressed.
Other possible benefits
Conservation of large marine species and responsible observation of fauna.
Research and local documents
- Local document and reported findingZerbini et al., 2019 · Assessing the recovery of an Antarctic predator from historical exploitation ↗
Research on the case, mechanism, or measures discussed in the sheet.
- Local project or policy documentInternational Whaling Commission · Commercial Hunting Moratorium ↗
1982 decision, fully effective since 1986. The international framework and the recovery of the individual population are separate information.
