Back in 1966, after decades of whaling (including the Whaling Olympics of the 1930s), humpback numbers in the northern Pacific ocean were at most 1,400 individuals. An article in Nature this week shows that there are now 20,000 humpbacks in that region, the most recorded since 1966. This is great news. However, to know just how happy we should be, we need to know the pre-whaling Pacific humpback population. For comparison, a study in Science in 2003 showed that there were 240,000 humpbacks in the North Atlantic prior to whaling. It's all about the baseline.
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Yes, the comparatively low number now vs the baseline is due to historical whaling, but also, now it's about lack of forage. If there were the same amount of forage available now as in 1492, we'd see 240K humpbacks again, but I'm sure that the population will be self limiting due to this factor, if it isn't already.
Erik, Orion Grassroots Network
I think people differ greatly on this issue. For example, if it were completely unidentifiable as my own, I would have no problem with a picture of my naked ass being posted on the Internet. Others would be absolutely horrified by the prospect.