“It is becoming increasingly clear that there are a lot more humpbacks in the North Atlantic than we thought,” says Philip Clapham, a researcher with the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, Massachusettes to “Science”. He is engaged in the photo identification of humpbacks. Last year the Eastern Pacific grey whales were the first stock of mammals ever to be removed from the US Endangered Species List. The stock is considered to be higher than its pre-exploitation level.
A study by Oxford University zoologist, Peter Evans, published in March this year, shows that the number of sightings of minke whales, sperm whales, killer whales and humpbacks off the British coast are increasing. Evans says that the recovery is slow but significant.