Ocean Blog

The Hawaiʻi State Department of Land and Natural Resources said it has hired Visionary Marine of Honolulu to do the salvage operations of the luxury yacht that grounded in Honolua Bay.

The owners of a grounded 94-foot yacht have hired a private contractor to salvage the vessel, according to the Hawaiʻi State Department of Land and Natural Resources.

“Based on recordings of whale song, our research reveals that nearly the entire Hawaiian archipelago is visited by humpback whales during the winter and early spring months,” says the paper’s lead author Marc Lammers, research ecologist with the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. “We documented an abundance of koholā in Papahānaumokuākea.”

“While some agencies saw this kanaloa as a ‘specimen,’ we understand that this kanaloa is our ancestor and as such, requires us to engage in a specific manner.” — statement from Native Hawaiian group Kiaʻi Kanaloa regarding handling of dead whale that washed ashore on Kauaʻi.

While tako is a common name for the octopus in the Aloha State, it is of Japanese origin. The Hawaiian word for octopus is he’e.

On Jan. 6, Kanaloa Octopus Farm was sent the letter, which said the state’s Division of Aquatic Resources learned the facility “is propagating Octopus cyanea and attempting to rear juvenile individuals.” Without a permit, even the temporary possession of Octopus cyanea specimens less than one pound in weight (including newly hatched larvae) is unlawful.

Researchers at the Health and Stranding Lab spent 15-hours trying to find clues about the death of a 56-foot-long sperm whale that washed up Friday on the reef in front of Lydgate Park on Kaua’i.

The whale, which is in poor condition, emaciated and suffering physical trauma, is thought to be fully disentangled with some non-wrapping embedded lines that will hopefully be shed with time.

The sperm whale’s burial location on Kauaʻi is not being publicized to avoid the taking of body parts of a protected species, which is illegal under federal and state laws.

Prior to its discovery in 10 whale and dolphin host species across the Pacific, the virus was found in only a single marine mammal worldwide, a Longman’s beaked whale stranded on Maui in 2010.

Oʻahu lifeguard Luke Shepardson won the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational held Sunday at Waimea Bay on Oʻahu’s North Shore.

Moon’s story is about tenacity and tragedy, sadness and anger — a heartbreaking tale that sheds light on the need for more awareness in hopes of saving other humpbacks from the same painful and agonizing fate.

Willie’s Hot Chicken in Kona is holding a fundraiser on Jan. 13 for Jenny Decker’s solo world sailboat journey to raise awareness for Charcot-Marie-Tooth, an hereditary neurological disease that she has.

Pro surfer Matahi Drollet wiped out at Jaws on Maui and broke his board, but a local found the tail piece and is returning it to him because keeping the fins of somebody else is “bad luck.”

When a report of a tangled whale in Hawaiʻi comes in, a specialized, highly-trained group led by federal and state workers head out on a search and rescue mission.

Large breaking waves of 6 to 8 feet are forecast this afternoon. Wave heights are expected to increase to 7 to 10 feet tonight.

The search for 56-year-old Prakash Shroff was suspended Wednesday afternoon after a four-day effort by land, air and sea to find him.

Multiple agencies continue their search for a missing California man who was apparently swept out to sea Sunday afternoon while swimming at ‘Anini Beach on Kauaʻi.

The research enables more accurate projection of future changes and impacts from El Niño, the primary factor affecting variability in water temperature and trade wind strength in the Pacific.

Moon, a mature female humpback whale, made headlines recently for completing a more than 4,000-mile migration with a severe spinal injury.