Avoid politics in delisting whales

Hawaii without humpback whales? In the 1960s, it wasn’t so hard to imagine. Intensive hunting over two centuries reduced the humpback population to an estimated 1,400 in the North Pacific — the brink of extinction. In 1970, the federal government designated the humpback as endangered, a protective status the species holds today.

Thankfully, things have changed. The population appears to have recovered; today more than 21,000 whales ply the waters between Alaska and Hawaii. They have become not only an ecological treasure but an integral part of the tourist economy, generating tens of millions of dollars each year for tour boat companies.

Now a group of Hawaii fishermen has raised a delicate question: Are the North Pacific humpback whales still endangered? The group, the Hawaii Fishermen’s Alliance for Conservation and Tradition, says no, and has petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service to designate the North Pacific whales as a distinct population, and then remove it from the federal endangered species list.

The alliance’s reasons have little to do with humpback whales, and should be taken with a grain of salt. It wants to raise a larger point: That the growing number of species on the endangered list — and the subsequent regulatory burdens on state and federal agencies — has diverted resources from the study and management of fisheries that actually feed people.

Commercial fishermen need more and better data about the ocean resources they harvest, and the Endangered Species Act (ESA) gets in the way, the alliance says.

"There are food species that need to be managed," says Philip Fernandez, the alliance’s president.

Fair enough. It’s certainly true that properly informed management of fish stocks — including sensible limits on harvesting — benefits the long-term interests of both the fishing industry and the marine environment. Our appetite for seafood is insatiable; finding a proper balance between the fishing industry and environmental interests is a difficult political challenge.

But there is no compelling reason to believe that targeting the ESA will solve this problem. Moreover, the endangered species list is more than a list. It is a powerful incentive that has prompted legislation to save some of our most iconic species, including the bald eagle, the whooping crane and the Hawaiian nene goose.

It’s important to remember that the recovery of the North Pacific humpback, like other endangered species, was not preordained. It required intensive, sustained efforts, including strict controls such as the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and an international ban on whaling.

Additionally, the whales’ winter breeding grounds, including the Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary and the Papahanaumo-kuakea Marine National Monument, are strictly regulated to provide similar protections.

These regulations stem from an abundance of caution applied to species identified as endangered, a caution that might be diluted if the whale is delisted.

Of course, it’s possible the humpback no longer belongs on the endangered species list. The National Marine Fisheries Service chose to review the alliance’s petition based on "substantial scientific and commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted," according to the service.

If so, the delisting should be on the basis of rigorous scientific analysis, not politics or the needs of fisheries management.