Humpback whale populations increase, may be removed from endangered species list

Most of the world’s humpback whale population may be taken off the federal endangered species list, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries.

NOAA said it wants to reclassify humpbacks into 14 different populations and remove 10 of those from the list.

The agency sites protection and restoration efforts as reasons leading to an increase in the humpback population.

Two populations in Central America and the western North Pacific would still be listed as threatened, NOAA said. The agency also said two populations in the Arabian Sea and Cape Verde would remain endangered.