Humpback whales are recovering from near-extinction due to commercial whaling. However, entanglement, ship strikes, and climate change remain major threats.
Ship strike causes catastrophic trauma and immediate or delayed death. Entanglement in pot lines can last months, causing exhaustion, infection, starvation, and eventual drowning. Whale watching boat traffic at feeding grounds disrupts critical foraging. Acoustic masking from shipping noise interferes with communication between mother and calf. Warming oceans shift krill distributions, requiring longer migrations.