The regulations affect vessel speed limits and travel routes in certain areas. Humpback whales are the most acrobatic of whales, heaving their massive selves by leaps and turns out of the water. Humpbacks are both cosmopolitan found in all oceans and endangered. Only about seven percent of their pre-whaling numbers remain. Coastal feeders who love shorelines, bays, and fjords, they are naturals for Alaska, which boasts nearly 34,000 miles of tidal shoreline.
Humpbacks feed here on krill, shrimp, and various fish, including capelin.
Humpbacks feed heavily because, unlike most birds and mammals, they do not feed year round. Humpbacks must store enough fat in summer to last the rest of the year. Adults average 40 to 50 feet long, females being the larger. Adults weigh in at about three-quarters of a ton per running foot. An adult humpback has from 600 to 800 baleen plates in its mouth.