Humpback Whale - Megaptera novaeangliae

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Humpback Whale - Megaptera novaeangliae

[Public Domain] 15 Feb 2004 Dylan O'Donnell
CATEGORY : Species
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Humback whales could be counted in tens of thousands from land not more than 60 years ago. Today that number is in the low hundreds. This is one of the reasons whaling stations like the one in Byron Bay were closed and international fishing laws designed to protect the species from extinction.

Despite a global ban on whaling, restrictions on krill harvested from the sea needs to also be enforced to ensure the species will have enough food to grow.

In its heyday, Australia earned around 1 million pounds (32 million dollars by todays standards) from whale by-products such as oil. Today, Australia earns roughly 70 million dollars through the whale watching and associated industries.

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