Ocean Blog

NOAA is investing $17 million from the Inflation Reduction Act to protect the visitor and community center of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary from the impacts of climate change, including upland flooding, powerful storms and sand inundation. The center is located along the shoreline of KIhei.

Four spear fishermen entered the ocean near the public beach access at Hokulia in Kailua-Kona at 1:30 p.m. on July 24, but three hours later when they exited the water one of the fishermen could not be found and was later located unresponsive on the ocean floor.

The Hawaiian Islands Cetacean and Ecosystem Assessment Survey is the only comprehensive study of its kind in the islands and takes place from July through December 2023.

A coalition of native Hawaiian and marine wildlife advocates submitted complaints on Tuesday to two state agencies that urge the further investigation of “apparent violations of law” at the Kanaloa Octopus Farm in Kailua-Kona and the ending of its lease at a state-owned facility.

We want to hear from our readers about what you think the State Department of Land and Natural Resources should do to handle commercial manta ray tours in the future.

Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary is seeking applicants to fill 16 primary and 15 alternate seats on its advisory council.

New laws will provide resources for conservation, enact measures to assist with management and enforcement, and preserve the environment for future generations.

An international team of scientists, led by a University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa researcher, has created an innovative approach to selecting key coral species that will best maintain ecosystem functions critical for reef health.

Using drone photography, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa researchers in the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology are now able to determine the age-structure of free-ranging dolphin groups.

Update: The National Weather Service has extended a small craft advisory until 6 p.m. on Wednesday. The forecast calls for east winds of 15 to 25 knots with seas of 5 to 8 feet.

A local ʻohana of ocean-lovers, scientists, fishers and watermen and women have formed Fish Pono–Save Our Reefs, an organization with the vision of bringing awareness to the importance of replenishing herbivore fish populations to foster healthy coral  reefs. 

The 2023 Transpac competition from California to Oʻahu begins on Tuesday with the first wave of 16 sailboats crossing the starting line in the vicinity of Point Fermin in San Pedro.

After a three-day delay due to weather, at 4:15 a.m. Sunday morning, the voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa departed Statter Harbor in Juneau, Alaska, to officially start a four-year circumnavigation of the Pacific.

Families gather for World’s Oceans Day in Downtown Hilo’s Kalākaua Park on Saturday.

The endangered Hawaiian monk seal Malama, who was treated for malnutrition at Ke Kai Ola’s Marine Mammal Center on the Big Island and found dead on March 12 on O’ahu, was killed by blunt force trauma — and it was believed to be an intentional killing, according to NOAA Fisheries.

World Ocean Day is June 8. In Big Island Now Poll #14 we ask: What is your favorite creature that lives in the ocean around Hawaiʻi?

The Hawaiian monk seal pup Pualani, who was born in mid-April on Kaimana Beach in Waikīkī, will be relocated after she is weaned from her mama Kaʻiwi.

University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa researchers published their discovery in Science that scalloped hammerhead sharks hold their breath for warmth while diving deep to hunt for prey.

The University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program and its partners have been awarded over $5 million to tackle the issue of marine debris, particularly derelict fishing gear that is abandoned, lost or discarded in the ocean.

U.S. Coast Guard crews are searching a location about 500-miles south of Kailua-Kona on the Big Island for a cruise ship passenger from Australia who on Tuesday night went overboard in waters about 500 miles south of the Big Island in Hawaiʻi.