# Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Identification of 14 Distinct Population Segments of the Humpback Whale and Revision of Species-Wide Listing
> **US Fish and Wildlife Service** · Final rule. · Published 2016-12-21 · Effective 2016-12-21 · 81 FR 93639
## Document
- **Document number:** 2016-30483
- **Category:** endangered-species
- **Sub-agency:** US Fish and Wildlife Service
- **Federal Register citation:** 81 FR 93639
- **CFR reference:** 50 CFR 17
- **Publication date:** 2016-12-21
- **Effective date:** 2016-12-21
- **Interior docket:** Docket No. FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0126
## Abstract

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), in accordance with the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), are amending the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife (List) by removing the current species-level listing of the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), and in its place listing the Cape Verde Islands/Northwest Africa, Western North Pacific, Central America, and Arabian Sea distinct population segments (DPSs) as endangered and the Mexico DPS as threatened. Humpback whales in the remaining DPSs will no longer be protected under the Act. This amendment is based on a previously published determination by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce, which has jurisdiction for this species.

## Source
- [Federal Register document](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/12/21/2016-30483/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-identification-of-14-distinct-population-segments-of)
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