Humpback whale population recovery following the whaling moratorium is a conservation success story, though residual threats from entanglement, ship strikes and climate change maintain welfare concerns.
Humpback recovery demonstrates that international conservation action can produce dramatic welfare and conservation improvement - from individual welfare perspective, the increase from 10,000 to 100,000 animals means 90,000 more individuals living their lives. But recovery is not complete restoration - the population still carries entanglement scars, experiences ship strikes and faces climate pressure on prey. Each entangled whale represents genuine welfare emergency. The lesson from humpback recovery is that sustained, long-term policy commitment produces real outcomes - and that welfare improvements at population scale are achievable when political will exists. Maintaining the moratorium and addressing residual threats ensures recovery translates to lasting welfare improvement.