#NOAA Fisheries

NOAA is asking Maui’s on-water community to be on the look out for a recently-entangled 40-foot female humpback whale off Lahaina, Maui. Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary’s monitoring team encountered the whale, referred to as Palette, on Thursday, Jan. 22. She was found to be in poor to moderate condition, showing moderate to strong emaciation and widespread carpets of red-colored cyamid amphipods (whale lice) across her otherwise light-colored body. If she is spotted, please call 888-256-9840 to report her location and share photos or videos if possible, but do not approach closer than 100 yards.

NOAA is designating the marine portions of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, a 582,570 square-mile area in the Pacific Ocean, as America’s 18th national marine sanctuary. Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Sanctuary will be the largest sanctuary in the National Marine Sanctuary System, and is one of the largest marine conservation areas in the world. 

Two humpback whales were freed of life-threatening entanglements on Jan. 8 and 9 off the coast of Maui in the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. These most recent responses bring the total number of humpback whale entanglement cases since mid-December to eight.

Nominations are being accepted through Dec. 23 to fill vacancies on the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee. The committee advises the Secretary of Commerce on all marine life matters that are the responsibility of the US Department of Commerce.

Nearly 90 Hawaiian monk seals were entangled in ghost nets between 2006 and 2014 in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

The three seals, DT12, a female pup and oldest of the group, DT48, a female pup, and DT46, a male pup, all likely weaned early at a small size, according to a press release from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.

Fishermen on Kaua‘i and the Big Island will trial a new method of tagging ‘ahi, or yellowfin tuna, this summer.

In accordance with the Act and NOAA’s Policy for the Assessment of Civil Administrative Penalties and Permit Sanctions, both individuals were jointly assessed a $20,000 civil penalty in the case of an attack by unleashed dogs causing the death of the Hawaiian monk seal pup. 

NOAA Fisheries and partners have relocated the female Hawaiian monk seal pup Paʻaki from busy Kaimana Beach, Waikīkī, to a more remote Oʻahu shoreline, the agency announced on Thursday.

Lei Day pup PO5 (Paʻaki) is six weeks old today, and the young pup is officially weaned, according to an update provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries division. NOAA Fisheries also confirmed that Paʻaki is a female—which is hopeful news for continued Hawaiian monk seal population recovery.

Hawaiian monk seal RL72 is on route to Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, in a safety-related translocation effort, NOAA Fisheries reported on Friday.

Early Wednesday morning, Kaiwi (RK96) pupped at Kaimana Beach. This is the third offspring she’s delivered at Kaimana. Her three other pups were born along her namesake—the Kaiwi Coast in East O’ahu.

Endangered Hawaiian monk seal RS10 is home on Kauaʻi thanks to community volunteers and joint agency efforts. The seal ingested a fishing hook and was treated at The Marine Mammal Center’s monk seal hospital on Hawaiʻi Island. After a successful hook-removal, RS10 was recently released back to the wild.

In an announcement from NOAA Fisheries, the first Hawaiian monk seal pup born on Oʻahu in 2024 has been spotted.

A whale calf spotted in distress off of Māʻalaea Bay on Maui Friday, is likely suffering from blunt force injuries caused by a vessel strike, according to researchers with the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.

New research reveals a daily pattern pattern for humpback whale songs which dominate the marine soundscape during the winter months off Maui. Researchers with the University of Hawai’i, in partnership with NOAA’s Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary found that whales move their singing away from shore throughout the day and return to the nearshore in the evening.

For the first time, researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi Health and Stranding Lab have successfully detected Fraser’s morbillivirus, which can cause respiratory and neurological disease, in the feces of a dolphin. The findings published in Marine Mammal Science provide a new tool to identify and monitor threats faced by Hawaiʻi’s marine mammals.

NOAA Fisheries proposes new critical habitat designations for five threatened coral species in the Pacific Islands, focusing on areas essential for coral growth and resilience.

Students in grades K through 12 have been invited to celebrate threatened and endangered species in the Pacific Islands region with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s annual art contest.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries have responded to a legal agreement with environmental groups by proposing to designate approximately 2,233 acres of nesting and basking beaches in the main Hawaiian Islands, with additional areas in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands, American Sāmoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.