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OAKLAND, C.A.
The National Marine Fisheries Service's proposed plan for monitoring humpback whales ignores one of the fastest-growing threats to this iconic species: entanglement in fishing gear. Along the West Coast, a record 31 humpbacks were caught in fishing gear in 2015, according to new federal data.
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The draft monitoring plan is required before the Fisheries Service can finalize its proposal to remove Endangered Species Act protections from most populations of humpback whales.
Humpbacks are recovering, thanks to the power of the Endangered Species Act, but the job isn't done. Entanglement in fishing gear is one of several serious and growing threats these whales face, so it's premature to end protections now," said Kristen Monsell, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity. "At the very least, this monitoring plan needs to address the rising number of West Coast whale entanglements."
The Fisheries Service last year proposed to divide humpbacks into 14 distinct populations and remove Endangered Species Act protections from 10 of them, including one group that migrates and feeds along the West Coast. The Act requires that the federal government implement a system, in cooperation with the states, to monitor delisted species for at least five years. If a decline in the species or an increase in threats is detected, the system is supposed to halt that decline or threat increase. The release of the draft post-delisting humpback monitoring plan signals that the Fisheries Service intends to finalize its proposed rule.
Yet the draft plan has no mechanisms for tracking entanglements -- other than opportunistic sightings -- or for facilitating identification of what type of fishing gear is wrapped around whales, making it difficult to prevent future entanglements. Also, California, where the vast majority of whale entanglements have been reported, is not a collaborator on the monitoring plan. In addition to entanglements, humpback whales in California face increasing threats from climate change, ocean noise and offshore aquaculture.
The Fisheries Service is well aware of the West Coast whale entanglement issue and has been working with stakeholder and environmental groups to monitor and address the problem, with a working group issuing recommendations in October calling for better data collection and expansion of lost-gear recovery programs. The latest entanglement data from the agency from 2015 show that the numbers more than doubled the previous record-setting total from 2014. Most whales reported entangled (52 of the 62 reported, 49 of which were confirmed by the agency) suffered an unknown fate, while officials reported that four whales were partially or completely disentangled, four self-released, and two were killed. Dragging heavy fishing gear can injure or kill the whales, depleting their energy or cutting into flesh, which can cause infections or prevent mobility.
"This is a problem we should solve before we consider relaxing protections for humpback whales," Monsell said. "We shouldn't be in a hurry to declare that humpbacks have been saved when so many threats are on the rise."
At the Center for Biological Diversity, we believe that the welfare of human beings is deeply linked to nature — to the existence in our world of a vast diversity of wild animals and plants. Because diversity has intrinsic value, and because its loss impoverishes society, we work to secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction. We do so through science, law and creative media, with a focus on protecting the lands, waters and climate that species need to survive.
(520) 623-5252LATEST NEWS
'1.5ºC Is Dead': Climate Movement Holds Funeral for Paris Agreement Target
Almost a decade ago, parties to the Paris treaty agreed to work toward limiting temperature rise this century to 1.5ºC—but 2024 was the hottest year in human history, and countries around the world show no signs of reining in planet-wrecking fossil fuels anywhere near the degree that scientists warn is necessary to prevent catastrophic climate breakdown.
"Crossing 1.5ºC for a whole calendar year is a wake-up call for the world," said Olympic gold medalist and XR U.K. spokesperson Etienne Stott, highlighting another alarming record from last year. "If we want to avoid crossing further tipping points we need a complete transformation of society."
Extinction Rebellion and other climate groups held a funeral for the Paris agreement's 1.5°C temperature target in Cambridge, England on May 10, 2025. (Photo: Derek Langley)
Scientists from universities in the United Kingdom and Germany warned in a peer-reviewed paper published in the journal Earth System Dynamics last month that humankind is at risk of triggering various climate tipping points absent urgent action to dramatically reduce emissions from fossil fuels.
"There are levers policymakers can pull to rapidly phase out fossil fuels, but this requires standing up to powerful interests," Stott said Saturday. "Activists need to build power, resilience, and the world we want to see in our communities; but we also need to keep seeking the spark that will cause the worldwide transformation we need to see."
In addition to the Cambridge and U.K. arms of Extinction Rebellion, Saturday's action was organized by Cambridge Greenpeace, Cambridge Stop the War, and the Organization of Radical Cambridge Activists (ORCA).
Varsity, the independent student newspaper at the University of Cambridge, reported that the marchers "rallied at Christ's Pieces, where they heard from one of the organizers, who emphasised the harm caused by exceeding 1.5ºC of warming."
"The march then proceeded up Christ's Lane and down Sidney Street, led by a group of 'Red Rebels,' dressed in red robes with faces painted white, followed by 'pall bearers' carrying coffins painted black, with the words 'Inaction Is Death' in white," according to Varsity. "The procession was completed by a samba band who drummed as they walked, followed by protesters carrying a large sign reading 'Don't silence the science,' along with many other smaller placards."
Members of the "Red Rebel Brigade" led a procession around Cambridge, England as part of a funeral for the Paris agreement's 1.5°C temperature target on May 10, 2025. (Photo: Derek Langley)
Photos from organizers show participants displaying banners with messages such as "No Future on a Dead Planet," and additional messages painted on the black coffins: "1.5ºC Is Dead," "Act Now," "Ecocide," "RIP Earth," and "Web of Life."
"Politicians have broken their promises to keep global temperature rises to a livable 1.5ºC," declared Zoe Flint, a spokesperson for XR Cambridge. "For decades, people around the world have been resisting environmental devastation in their own communities and beyond—often facing state repression and violence as a result."
"With dozens of political protesters now in prison in this country, that repression has come to the U.K. too," Flint noted. "But when those least responsible for climate breakdown suffer the worst effects, we can't afford to give up the fight."
Parties to the Paris agreement are set to gather next in November at the United Nations climate summit, COP30, in Belém, Brazil.
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