Brazil humpback whales rebound to 35,000 in South Atlantic

Humpback whales have made a major recovery off Brazil, with about 35,000 now living in the South Atlantic after the species was driven close to extinction in the 1980s.

The warm waters off Brazil are the largest breeding ground for Southern Atlantic humpbacks. Males compete for mates there, while females give birth and nurse their calves.

The Abrolhos archipelago, off the coast of Bahia state, has become a key research site. Scientists from the Humpback Whale Institute collect samples and use tail markings to identify individual whales and trace family links and migration routes.

Humpback populations have grown since a worldwide moratorium on commercial whaling in 1986. Brazil banned whaling the following year and later made the Abrolhos breeding grounds a protected area. In 2014, the humpback whale was removed from Brazil's list of threatened species.

Researchers now use Happy Whale, an artificial intelligence platform, to compare tail photographs. The platform has identified 8,300 Brazilian humpbacks. Research published in May found that one humpback identified in Brazil was later seen more than 15,000 kilometres away off Australia's east coast.

Milton Marcondes, research coordinator at the Humpback Whale Institute, said the findings show Southern Hemisphere populations are more interconnected than previously thought.

The whales still face threats from maritime traffic, fishing nets and warming seas linked to climate change, which threatens the krill they eat. In October, Mission Blue designated the Abrolhos archipelago a "Hope Spot" for its biodiversity and importance to marine conservation.