Hawaiian Humpback Whales are back in waters off Kaua‘i — maybe. Rev. Michael-Michael Israel of Lihu‘e said he saw the spout of a baby whale close to shore while walking to Donkey Beach in Kealia at noon on Oct. 31.
Hawaiian Humpback Whales are back in waters off Kaua‘i — maybe.
Rev. Michael-Michael Israel of Lihu‘e said he saw the spout of a baby whale close to shore while walking to Donkey Beach in Kealia at noon on Oct. 31.
“It was small spout, I saw a tail,” Israel said. “It was right there in front of me. It was welcoming me.”
The blow from the federally-protected species also was seen in waters off Nukoli‘i and Kilauea between Oct. 24 and Oct. 28, according to Christy Parsil, a Kilauea resident who works with her husband, Bruce, as volunteers at the Kilauea Lighthouse.
A pilot aboard a helicopter flying over the Kaulakahi Channel on Oct. 27, reported the shadows of three whales in the waters between Ni‘ihau and West Kaua‘i.
“I am surprised that so many people have seen the humpback already, at this time,” said Jean Souza, Kaua‘i liaison of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary on Kaua‘i.
The whales migrate from the Pacific Northwest to Hawai‘i each year to breed and calve to perpetuate the species.
Whale-watching season on Kaua‘i got started in January of this year, got into full swing in March and ended in June, when they returned to feeding grounds in waters off Alaska and Siberia.
The early arrival of the whales to Kaua‘i at this time will enhance the whale-watching experience for those on shore and for those on tour boats.
Whale-watching has developed into a cottage industry that has helped bring visitors to Kaua‘i each year, contributing to the stability of the island’s tourism industry.
Related to the reported whale sightings, Christy Parsil said she had heard that a visitor at the Radisson Hotel reported seeing “two blows” off the East Kaua‘i hotel on Oct. 24.
“My husband and I spoke with someone on Tuesday (Oct. 28) who had seen blows off the Radisson on Monday (Oct. 27),” Christy Parsil said.
A helicopter tour pilot reported seeing three whales between Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau on Oct. 27, she also said.
“I spoke with a woman who was on the Kilauea coastline, and it was 5:30 (a.m.) on Oct. 28 that she said she saw three blows,” Parsil said. “There is probably something there (to reports of the sightings).”
Operators of tour boat companies said they haven’t seen the whales yet, but noted there are signs the whales are in Kauaian waters.
“We saw a spout, not an actual whale,” said Schylar Frederick, a representative for Blue Dolphins Charter said of an observed sighting by either the crew or visitors aboard a company tour boat on Oct. 27.
“They are coming back, I heard they seen them on Maui. We are looking,” Frederick said.
Parsil said scientists have theorized that whales arrive in Hawaiian waters in sequence. The first whales to reach Hawaiian waters are lactating females and their calves that were born in Hawai‘i a year ago.
The second wave consists of juvenile whales; the third wave consists of adult males and the fourth wave consists of pregnant whales ready to give birth.
“The mating whales are the first to arrive and the first to leave, and the pregnant and birthing waves are the last to arrive in Hawai‘i and the last to leave,” Parsil said.
The whales are protected by the Endangered Species Act. Scientists estimate the whale population numbers between 3,700 and 5,000.
