Honolulu (AP) The humpback is making a comeback.

A new study sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration says the north Pacific's Humpback Whale population has recovered from the brink of being hunted nearly out of existence. By 2006, it was back up to somewhere between 18,000 and 20,000. Before hunting was banned worldwide in 1966, there were
fewer than 1,500 Humpbacks.

Jeff Walters runs a whale sanctuary in Hawaii. He says the results from the four-decade study don't constitute “a complete success.” but he says it's a “very encouraging” sign in the recovery of the species.

Some think the recovery could spark a debate over whether humpbacks should continue to be considered endangered.