Aussie humpback whales doing swimmingly

Australia's humpback populations are rapidly recovering from the damage caused by whaling and could soon be delisted as a threatened species, scientists say.

Commercial whaling for humpbacks officially ceased in 1966, although numbers continued to be decimated by illegal Soviet whaling operations in the southern hemisphere until 1972.

A review of the species's recovery has found the east and west coast Australian populations are increasing at remarkable rates, some of the highest documented worldwide, and show no sign of diminishing.

This means the animals are now no longer eligible to be listed as a threatened species under Australian Commonwealth law and should be considered for delisting.

The once over-exploited whale has already had its conservation status downgraded in other regions including the North Pacific population in British Columbia, Canada.

Marine scientist Michelle Bejder, who led the review, said delisting the whale in Australia would free up conservation funding for other species that faced a greater risk of extinction.

"Blue whale populations have been depleted greatly and remain endangered, while very little scientific data is available on Australian snubfin dolphins and Australian humpback dolphins," she said.

Humpback whales are classified as a "matter of national environmental significance" because they are a migratory species, so even if they were delisted, they would still be protected under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.