Isle humpbacks
could be jockeying
for flipper room

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Associated Press

MAALAEA, Hawaii >> There is congestion in the waters off Hawaii not caused by boaters or surfers -- but rather humpback whales, whose population around the islands is growing so fast that some researchers are wondering if the ocean can support the growing numbers.

According to Joseph Mobley, executive director of the Island Marine Institute on Maui, the humpback population is growing by an average of 7 percent annually. That means their numbers, which stand at about 5,000, would double in approximately 13 years.

Mobley counts the whales using a search-and-rescue plane. From the air, he can spot whales up to seven miles away. In the first survey, in 1993, he counted about 2,800 whales.

The growth is welcome news, considering the whales are on the U.S. Endangered Species Act list. Hawaii is home to the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.

"I don't want to breathe easy and say they're out of the woods yet," Mobley said.

He questions the carrying capacity of the whales' environment from their journey between Hawaii and southeast Alaska.

Carrying capacity is usually limited by food, although with some species it can be something else, Mobley said. With birds it is often the number of nesting sites.

Nobody knows what natural condition would cap the population of humpback whales.

The whales travel more than 3,500 miles from Alaska to Hawaii's warm waters to mate, give birth and care for their calves. The estimated 5,000 whales span more than a quarter-million square miles of ocean surrounding Hawaii.

The first whales of the season usually arrive around October. The greatest number of whales are seen around Hawaii between Dec. 1 and May 15.