#NOAA

The advisory council ensures public participation in reserve management and provides advice to the superintendent of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve.

Scientists have confirmed the presence of Chondria tumulosa, a nuisance alga that can overgrow coral reefs, within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, raising concerns about its impact on Hawaiʻi’s coral reef ecosystems.

Tropical Storm Greg will pass well south of the Hawaiian Islands, just like Category 4 Hurricane Dora did, but Greg will not bring conditions conducive for wildfires or hamper Maui recovery efforts.

The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation awarded over $2 million in grants to support coral restoration in the US Pacific Islands, including Hawaiʻi, American Sāmoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam.

NOAA is investing $17 million from the Inflation Reduction Act in Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary to improve the climate resilience of the Kīhei, Maui visitor and community center. The facility’s beachfront location makes it vulnerable to climate change impacts, including upland flooding, powerful storms and sand inundation.

The large-scale survey will assesses the abundance and habitat of whales, dolphins and seabirds in Hawaiʻi.

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.

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa researchers in the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology are now able to determine the age-structure of free-ranging dolphin groups by using drone photography.

NOAA will review the comments and begin developing a draft management plan and Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Pacific Remote Islands national marine sanctuary.

Caution signs are being removed from Kaimana Beach on Oʻahu, after crews moved a Hawaiian monk seal pup over the weekend.  A wide cordon (roped perimeter) was established for Pualani and her mother from the time the pup was born on April 14 to help protect the pair during the pup’s weaning process. Narrow strips […]

In-person discussions wrapped up this week as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration considers whether to create a new marine sanctuary in and around the Pacific Remote Islands.

DLNR officials said the couple violated the department’s safe viewing guidelines and called the situation “a recipe for trouble,” especially with a pet dog present around a wild monk seal.

Today, NOAA announced it is starting the process to potentially designate a new national marine sanctuary in the Pacific Remote Islands area.

Three Saildrone Explorers, uncrewed surface vehicles used to measure ocean data, embarked on a six-month journey around Maui, Hawaiʻi Island, Oʻahu and Kauaʻi to evaluate ocean health across the state.

A group of 33 swimmers were met by uniformed officers after they were caught on drone video and in photographs allegedly harassing a pod of dolphins at Hōnaunau Bay Sunday morning off Hawaiʻi Island.

For years, it was commonly thought that humpback whales did not have a presence in the Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Monument, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. That changed in 2006, when scientists recorded a whale song remotely, but not much was known about abundance at the time A new paper reports an abundance of […]

The “Welcome Back Whales Day” event at Maui Ocean Center’s Harbor Plaza overlooking Māʻalaea Bay will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The team gets called out a dozen or more times each season to respond to reports of entangled humpbacks caught in fishing gear or marine debris within the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.

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

The US Senate passed the annual National Defense Authorization Act, which included several provisions to protect coral reefs, improve the nation’s volcanic warning system and stop the practice of killing sharks for their fins.