LAHAINA >> Using underwater sonar equipment to detect choruses of male humpback whales, researcher Whitlow Au hopes to determine the number of humpbacks frequenting several areas of west Maui. Increasing whale
By Gary Kubota
numbers thrill
tourists, scientists
Star-Bulletin"The more whales, the more singing," said Au, a University of Hawaii professor. More interest in the preservation of whales has encouraged more research.
Whale watching generates more than an estimated $19 million in visitor spending to Hawaii, and whale research is increasing, promising to add more money to the state's economy.
Since the establishment of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary in 1997, research activity has brought hundreds of thousands of dollars to Hawaii.
A major project is the $20 million grant through National Geographic's Sustainable Seas Expedition, studying Maui waters and 11 other sanctuaries in the United States.
The presence of a sanctuary on the Valley Isle was a significant reason behind the establishment of the $20 million Maui Ocean Center in Maalaea, where researchers conduct aquarium studies on marine life available for viewing by visitors.
This year, the federal government has granted $40,000 to three research projects, including Au's.
"I think based on the support we're seeing for the sanctuary program in Congress, our general feeling is funding for research is just going to continue to increase," said Naomi McIntosh, acting sanctuary manager.
Humpback whales are being studied from their heads to their flukes.
McIntosh said the goal of the sanctuary's funding is to better understand the whales and manage the preservation of them. Research has focused in shallow waters along the south and west Maui coastline frequented by whale mothers and their calves.
"Maui is one of the best places, if not the best place, to study humpback whales and their breeding grounds," said researcher Adam Pack, whose Dolphin Institute plans to relocate from Oahu to Maui.
"The sanctuary is definitely a plus, if for no other reason to have the public be aware of the importance of these animals and the importance of Maui County waters."
While there are no recent state statistics, cruise boat operators say they're experiencing a steady increase each year from visitors.
Once a rest stop for whalers after hunting in Alaskan waters, Lahaina town has become a mecca for ecological ocean tours for whale watchers from December through May.
Some operators of thrillcraft -- banned from Maui waters during whale migration season from Dec. 15 to May 15 if the craft are used for parasailing, jet-skiing or other activities -- are allowed to their vessels into whale-watching boats, or sightseeing activities.
"Out of our statistical studies, whale watching rates the biggest of all of the activities," said Marsha Wienert, executive director of the Maui Visitors Bureau.
On a calm day, several cruise boats move in and out of Lahaina Harbor every two hours with hundreds of visitors, wielding cameras and binoculars.
Aboard a Pacific Whale Foundation ship, which embarks from Lahaina, a guide points out pods of whales, many with a mother, calf, and male escort.
Occasionally, another male swims along with the pod, challenging the male escort and slapping his tail.
About four miles off Lahaina, the captain stops the engine and the boat drifts in sight of a couple of pods of whales that swim within 50 yards of visitors.
Conversation stops. Visitors aboard the boat are so quiet they can hear hollow sound of the whales breaching as they surface for air.
At 45 to 47 feet in length and weighing more than 44 tons, an adult female humpback is as big as a school bus.
Occasionally, the crowd utters "aahhs" and "ooohs" as a whale surfaces nearby.
"Ah, look at that. Oooh," said Craig Mammenga, a Minnesota resident visiting Maui with his wife, Kathy. "It's just something you don't see that often."
Some visitors plan their vacations to coincide with the seasonal migration of whales to Hawaii waters. "We're kind of nuts doing these kinds of things. It's always fun to watch nature," said Carl Steingrebe, of Washington state. "It's always different."
Both Carl and his wife, Jean, wear whale-logo shirts and baseball caps sold by the Pacific Whale Foundation, a nonprofit educational group. Jean wears whale tail earrings to complete her ensemble.
The Steingrebes said they have been whale-watching for about 30 years on Maui and are happy to see the numbers of humpbacks increasing.
In the mid-1960s, fewer than 1,200 to 1,400 humpbacks were estimated living in the North Pacific, a region where historical estimates placed them at 15,000 before the hunting.
In the last few years, scientists have estimated their numbers at 3,000 in Hawaii and 6,000 in the North Pacific.
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