Something is holding down the herring population of Alaska's Prince William Sound, and marine scientists are suspecting that it may be humpback whales.rnHumpbacks, once hunted to near extinction, are thriving in waters that were affected by the Exxon Valdez, the supertanker that ran aground and leaked nearly 35,000 tonnes of crude oil in 1989. Although, there were huge catches of herring in 1990, 1991 and 1992, by 1993, just 25% of the expected adults were returning to spawn. State regulators closed commercial fishing in 1993, and it has stayed closed most of the time since then.
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