Humpback Whales Are Losing Their Protection in Canada

Canada has recently made a motion to remove Humpback Whales from the list of threatened species. Ordinarily, this would suggest that the whales' populations had recovered enough for them to survive on their own without protection. However, this is not the case.

via Wikipedia - used under Creative Commons License

The federal government of Canada has stated that Humpback Whale populations have increased enough to downgrade their status from "threatened" to "special concern." However, the grim reality of this movement is that the reclassification occurred at the same time as the government's decision to put an oil pipeline through the area of the ocean where Humpback Whales live. Changing their status and removing all government protection means that they can build the pipeline legally. They are also going to expand another pipeline that is in the same region.

The Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline will carry oil from Alberta to the west coast, which will then be exported to Asia. It is a $7.9 billion project, and Humpback Whales will be direct victims of it. By removing all federal protection for the whales and their environment, it will now be legal to displace the whales from their established feeding grounds and disrupt their environment with oil tankers. Additionally, whale mortality due to accidents involving tankers or spills will no longer be a consideration.

via Wikipedia - Public Domain

It is difficult to judge the current population of Humpback Whales. Currently, the goal for their population is merely to maintain and monitor it as it grows. If they are downgraded and protection is removed, it will be impossible to tell statistically if the populations are suffering due to the oil pipelines. And if that is the case, it will be even more difficult to do anything about it. Environmentalists assert that even if populations are recovering now, removing their protection will only cause them to decrease again.

Humpback Whales are very loyal to their specific feeding grounds. In Canada, their "critical habitat" lies near Kitimat, British Columbia, which is where the western end of the Northern Gateway will be. These waters are currently considered some of the most quiet waters in the region, so any disruption by noise or ships will act as a detrimental change to the whales' environment.

This sly political move has thrown environmental groups into an uproar, but this isn't the first time that the government has been criticized for slacking on environmental issues. The Canadian government is expected make a final decision regarding the Northern Gateway pipeline this June.

SOURCES

Humpback Whale Removed From 'Threatened' Species List. (n.d.). Huffington Post British Columbia. Retrieved , from http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/04/22/humpback-whale-threatened_n_5192092.html

Connelly, J. (n.d.). Canada pushes whales aside to green light oil pipeline. Seattle PI. Retrieved , from http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2014/04/21/canada-pushes-whales-aside-to-green-light-oil-pipeline/

Mathews, K. (n.d.). Canada Plans to Eliminate Humpback Whale Protections. Care2. Retrieved , from http://www.care2.com/causes/canada-plans-to-eliminate-humpback-whale-protections.html

MacDuffee, M., & Genovali, C. (n.d.). Down-Listing Jeopardizes Humpback Whales.Huffington Post British Columbia. Retrieved , from http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/chris-genovali/humpback-whales-downgraded_b_5207894.html#slide=2883569