In Australia, humpback whales are listed as vulnerable under the EPBC Act. The EPBC Act established the Australian Whale Sanctuary and gives high levels of protection to cetaceans in Commonwealth waters. The Australian Whale Sanctuary encompasses the area of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) outside state waters and generally extends 200 nm from the coast, but further in some areas to cover the continental shelf and slope. It also includes the waters around the Australian Antarctic Territory and external territories including Christmas, Macquarie, Heard and McDonald Islands.
Within the Australian Whale Sanctuary it is an offence to kill, injure, take, trade, keep, move or interfere with a cetacean. The EPBC Act also makes it an offence for Australians to carry out any of these actions beyond the outer limits of the Australian Whale Sanctuary, that is, in international or foreign waters. Other than in the case of killing or taking for live display, permits may be issued by the Australian Government Minister for the Environment and Heritage to carry out these activities (e.g. for the purpose of research).
Humpback whales are protected in all States and Territories under general native species and/or threatened species protection and management legislation.
A number of measures currently exist to manage interactions with all species of whales. These include administrative guidelines under the EPBC Act relating to interactions between offshore seismic operations and whales, and both Commonwealth and State regulations to manage whale watching activities.
Within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park activities that will interfere with cetaceans are regulated through the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan 2003.
International measures
The humpback whale is afforded a degree of international protection through listing on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), on Appendix II of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), and as vulnerable under the World Conservation Union’s Red List (IUCN).
In addition, Australia participates in several other international agreements that directly or indirectly relate to the conservation of marine mammals. Specifically, Australia was a founding member of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), is the host country of the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), and a key player in Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings (ATCM).
Whales are protected from commercial whaling by IWC member states as part of the current moratorium and by the IWC’s Indian Ocean Sanctuary and Southern Ocean Sanctuary. Sanctuaries do not protect whales from whaling under special permit and are reviewed every ten years.
Australia is also working within the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) to establish a Memorandum of Understanding for the conservation and management of marine mammals in the South Pacific region, under the Convention on Migratory Species.
Threats
Identified Threats
The resumption of commercial whaling and/or the expansion of scientific whaling
The impacts of commercial hunting on humpback whale populations have been well documented. While currently banned under the IWC moratorium on commercial whaling, the potential for commercial whaling to recommence exists and pressure may well increase as populations recover.
An additional area of concern is the potential expansion of de facto commercial whaling under the guise of scientific whaling. The IWC Convention allows member states to issue special permits to kill whales for research purposes and then process these animals for sale. Since 1986, Japan and Iceland have issued special permits for several whale species as part of their scientific whaling research programs. The recent expansion of these programs in the Northern Hemisphere involve the killing of various baleen whales including minke, Bryde's, fin, sperm and sei whales. In addition, since the implementation of the Southern Ocean Sanctuary in 1994, Japan has continued to harvest minke whales there under special permits. It is quite possible that humpback whales will be included in future research programs.
Habitat degradation
Humpback whales use habitat seasonally and can typically be found along various parts of the Australian coastline for up to nine months of the year (April to December). Anthropogenic activities have the potential to degrade habitat important to the species. These activities may degrade habitat by operating at times that coincide with the presence of whales, or they may occur when whales are absent, but degrade habitat suitability on a permanent or semi-permanent basis. These activities may include:
acoustic pollution (e.g. commercial and recreational vessel noise, and seismic survey activity);
entanglement (e.g. in marine debris, fishing and aquaculture equipment);
physical injury and death from ship strike;
built structures that impact upon habitat availability and/or use (e.g. marinas, wharves, aquaculture installations, mining or drilling infrastructure);
changing water quality and pollution (e.g. runoff from land based agriculture, oil spills, outputs from aquaculture); and
changes to water flow regimes causing extensive sedimentation or erosion or altered currents in near shore habitat (e.g. canals and dredging).
The species’ dependence on inshore areas means that individual animals may be subject to the impacts from any or all of these activities. Habitat degradation may result in reduced occupancy and/or exclusion of individual whales from suitable habitat, compromised reproductive success, and mortality. It is possible that impacts on a sufficient number of individual whales could lead to broader impacts at the population level, e.g. by reducing recruitment to such an extent that species recovery is impeded. This would be more likely to arise where activities that cause habitat degradation occurred intensively and/or cumulatively, or over a large portion of their range.
It should be noted that at the time of the writing of this plan, both migratory populations of humpback whales were increasing at the optimum biological rate suggesting that to date habitat degradation has not had a negative impact on population or species recovery. Nevertheless, ongoing monitoring and management are required to ensure that habitat degradation does not become a significant issue.
Potential threats
Climate and oceanographic change
Most of the world's leading scientists agree that global warming caused by human activity is occurring. The exact implications of these changes are unknown, but it is predicted that there will be reduced productivity of Southern Ocean ecosystems and unpredictable weather events caused by increasing ocean water temperatures, changing ocean currents, rising sea levels and reductions in sea ice.
The potential impacts of climate and oceanographic change on humpback whales are twofold:
Habitat availability
Humpback whale migration, feeding, resting, and calving site selection may be influenced by factors such as ocean currents and water temperature. Any changes in these factors could affect humpback whale population recovery by rendering currently used habitat areas unsuitable.
Food availability
Changes to climate and oceanographic processes may also lead to decreased productivity and different patterns of prey distribution and availability. Such changes would certainly effect dependant predators such as humpback whales.
Prey depletion due to over harvesting
Humpback whales rely on krill as the main food source and require adequate supplies to accumulate energy reserves essential for migration and breeding. Depletion of krill through over harvesting may be a potential future threat for Australian populations of humpback whales. However, it should be noted that:
the krill fishery is managed through the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) on an ecosystem basis which takes into account the needs of predators such as whales; and
while the fishery is likely to grow, fishing currently occurs well within the current precautionary limits.
Actions to achieve the objectives
Monitor population status and assess habitat
Implement a program to measure population abundance, trends and recovery for Australian populations of humpback whales
Included within this activity is the need to:
gather information on population structures using methodologies including genetic analyses, comparisons of photo identification and telemetry studies;
establish models for measuring recovery and species status, incorporating a range of indicators (e.g. current and pre-whaling population estimates, population structure, use of habitats etc); and
continue to collect long-term data sets using standardised survey methodologies for humpback whales in a statistically robust manner.
Implement a program to better define the characteristics (spatial, temporal, and physical) of calving, resting, feeding, and migratory areas
Included within this activity is the need to:
determine the values and characteristics of important migratory pathways and aggregation areas (calving, resting, and feeding) particularly in areas where human use is likely to impact upon the species;
gather information on movements, migrations, and feeding grounds – e.g. through the use of satellite tracking and other survey methods; and
examine the historical and potential future use of humpback whale habitat with a view to defining these areas and assessing human use activities to ensure impacts are appropriately managed and regulated.
Protect the species from threats
Prevent commercial whaling and move to ban scientific whaling
Australia should maintain its position on promoting high levels of protection for humpback whales in all relevant international agreements including the IWC, CITES, CMS, fisheries-related agreements, and Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings (ATCM).
Australia should continue to support a ban on directed take of humpback whales.
Protect habitat important to the survival of the species
Ensure that in areas important to the survival of the species environmental assessment process and research activities are in place to determine the level of impact and threat of human activities, and implement management measures to ensure the ongoing recovery of the species. This should include, but not be limited to, the following actions:
assess and manage acoustic pollution – including the development and application of administrative guidelines under the EPBC Act such as the “Guidelines on the application of the EPBC Act to interactions between offshore seismic operations and larger cetaceans”;
encourage best practice approaches that will reduce the likelihood of humpback whales being entangled in marine debris, fishing and aquaculture equipment. If entanglements occur, manage the impact of individual entanglements through the application of national standards for disentangling large cetaceans;
ensure that humpback whale habitat requirements are considered in the establishment and management of marine conservation areas and reserves;
manage the potential impacts of tourism – e.g. through the application of consistent Commonwealth and State tourism and whale watching regulations; and
assess and manage physical disturbance and development activities (such as ship‑strike, aquaculture, pollution, recreational boating, naval activities, and exploration and extraction industries) – including the application of environmental impact assessment and approvals and the development of industry guidelines and State/Commonwealth government regulations.
Implement education programs to inform marine users (e.g. whale watchers, fishermen, and shipping crews using important habitat) about best practice behaviours and regulations when interacting with whales.
Monitor and manage the potential impacts of prey depletion due to over harvesting
Improve knowledge of humpback whale feeding ecology in order to determine if or when prey depletion becomes a threat.
Australia should support regional ecosystem approaches to krill management through its involvement in CCAMLR and other fora.
Monitor climate and oceanographic change
Develop an understanding of the effects of climate and oceanographic change on humpback whale populations to determine if species survival and recovery are being, or are likely to be affected.
Major benefits to other native species or ecological communities
As the humpback whale is both a coastal and oceanic ranging species, marine mammal protection regimes may have benefit for other cetaceans found within Australian waters, including the large whales - blue, Bryde’s, minke, fin, sei, southern right and sperm whales. Conservation measures pertaining to calving and resting habitats may also benefit small cetaceans and other species in coastal waters.
Implementation of this plan is unlikely to have negative impacts on any other native species or ecological community.
Duration and cost of the recovery process
It is anticipated that the recovery process will take longer than the life of the plan (2005-2010), which should be reviewed after five years. A recovery plan for the species should remain in place until such time that the populations of humpback whales utilising Australian waters has improved to the point that the populations are considered secure.
The cost of this plan will be met through various direct and indirect funding activities undertaken by the Australian Government, State and Territory governments, researchers, conservation groups, marine based industries and the Australian public. Costing of specific actions will be determined at the time of activity.
Role and interests of Indigenous people
Many marine mammal species have cultural significance to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people. Recognising this cultural connection to whales is important. No record has been found of whale hunting before the arrival of Europeans, although it is likely that some use was made of whales that washed ashore. Indigenous people must be considered if plans for development or use of an area are expected to impact upon indigenous ownership or native title interests. Agreements between government and Indigenous people are essential and serve to increase the involvement of all parties with a stake in the welfare and recovery of whales.
Affected interests
Organisations likely to be affected by the actions proposed in this plan include the following:
Australian Government:Australian Fisheries Management AuthorityAustralian Maritime Safety AuthorityDepartment of Agriculture, Fisheries and ForestryDepartment of DefenceDepartment of Foreign Affairs and TradeDepartment of Industry, Tourism and ResourcesDepartment of the Environment and HeritageGreat Barrier Reef Marine Park AuthorityIndigenous Land CorporationIndustry and Non-Government Organisations:Aquaculture industryCommercial fishers and associationsCommercial shippingConservation groupsEnergy distribution networksIndigenous Land Councils and communitiesLocal communitiesOil and gas exploration and production industryRecreational boating clubs and associationsRecreational fishers and associationsStrandings/volunteer networksUniversities and other research organisationsWhale-watching industry and associations
State/Territory Governments:Department of Conservation and Land Management, WADepartment of Environment and Heritage, SADepartment of Primary Industries, Water and Environment, TASDepartment of Primary Industry, QLDDepartment of Sustainability and Environment, VICEnvironment Protection Agency, QLDFisheries agenciesMuseumsDepartment of Environment and Conservation, NSWParks and Wildlife Commission, NTParks VictoriaShipping, oil and gas exploration and development agencies
Social and economic impacts
It is not anticipated that this plan will have significant economic and/or social impacts in the short or long-term.
Organisations/persons involved in evaluating the performance of the plan
The Threatened Species Scientific Committee (TSSC) with the assistance of relevant scientists, managers and other stakeholders should evaluate the performance of this plan and report the results of their review to the Australian Government Minister for the Environment and Heritage.