#Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are having a positive spillover effect, producing more “trophy-size” fish just outside of the fully protected areas, and the effect is growing stronger over time.

“If we can understand them, understand their behavior and what they’re doing, then it can tell us a lot about some of the changes that are taking place in the ocean. The whales are amazing themselves, but they’re even more valuable when we think about them as these, basically, indicators of ocean health.” — Marc Lammers, research ecologist with the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary

Twenty-seven countries are now in support of a moratorium or precautionary pause on seabed mining for metals used in electric vehicles.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is urging vessel operators to slow down and enjoy marine wildlife from afar.

On the last Saturday of January, February and March each year, during the peak of whale season in Hawaiʻi, hundreds of volunteers head to shorelines throughout the state, including the Big Island, to count and observe the marine mammals that migrated 3,000 miles to mate, calve and nurse their young.

A grand total of 2,141 whales were counted throughout the main Hawaiian Islands. This number may represent duplicate sightings of the same whale by different observers or at different time periods or different locations throughout the day.

Thousands of humpback whales seasonally use the waters around the Hawaiian Islands as their principal breeding and calving wintering grounds.

Saturday was the first of three coordinated whale counts between Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Ocean Count from the shores of Kaua‘i, O‘ahu, Molokaʻi and Hawai‘i Island and the Great Whale Count by Pacific Whale Foundation from Maui and Lānaʻi.

During whale season, especially in water depths of 600 feet or less, boaters are asked to maintain a speed of 15 knots or less to minimize the risk of striking a whale.

Volunteers must register in advance, and participation is limited for each Sanctuary Ocean Count site.

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.

Fourteen rowing teams from around the world departed from the shores of central California on Monday to compete in the inaugural Pacific Challenge of the World’s Toughest Row, which ends in Hanalei Bay on Kaua‘i.

Maui volunteers spotted the most humpback whales on Feb. 25 with 596, followed by O’ahu with 232, the Big Island with 105 and 64 for 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.

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.

Thousands of humpback whales breed, give birth and nurse offspring near the Hawaiian Islands each winter and spring.

The first humpback whale of the 2022-23 season was spotted in South Maui today, according to Mauinow.com.

Researchers are transitioning from data collection to analysis as the whale watching season winds down.

A NOAA-led team of trained responders freed an entangled adult female humpback whale on Monday, Feb. 14, outside Lahaina Harbor on Maui.

On Wednesday, Jan. 26, a yearling humpback whale entangled in at least 140 feet of line, with a buoy trailing about 60 feet behind, was freed in waters off Ukumehame, Maui, by a team led by responders trained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.