The largest number of sightings was at Pu’u Olai were 232 whales were counted, (33 of them claves); followed by Papawai Point (the scenic lookout on the Honoapiilani Highway) with 189 whales; and Ma’alaea with 167 whales. The 2012 tally, was 34% less than the 1,607 whales counted in 2011.

A portion of South Kihei Road will be closed on Saturday morning, February 18, to accommodate the Parade of Whales. The parade is the official launch to 32nd annual World Whale Day Celebration hosted by the Pacific Whale Foundation.

The agency celebrates the start of whalewatch season on Saturday, November 26, when whale sightings are guaranteed through mid-May.

The first humpback whale sighting in Maui County waters this season was reported yesterday morning off the eastern coast of Lana’i. A pair of humpbacks was sighted at 8:35 a.m. about 2 miles off the coast by the raft, Great White.

The sighting serves as a reminder of the upcoming whale season, which traditionally runs from November through May, although whales may be encountered in limited numbers during other months of the year.

The move is expected to cut the organization’s energy use by more than 15,000 kwh per year, and prevent nearly 25,000 pounds of CO2 from entering the atmosphere annually.

Monitoring was conducted from a dozen counting stations, with the largest count recorded at Puu Olai.

According to data from the annual event, an average of 5 whales per site were counted every 15 minutes.

The first humpback whale of the season was spotted two miles off Ukumehame yesterday (Wednesday, October 20, 2010).  The whale was a lone young adult and was spotted by Captain Chris Howard aboard the Alii Nui vessel at around 11:15 a.m. Records dating back to 1998, show that 9 of the 13 first reported sightings [...]

By Wendy Osher The Pacific Whale foundation is offering an emergency ferry shuttle service for those stranded on either end of the island by the Ukumehame brush fire and subsequent Honoapiilani Highway Road closure. Greg Kaufman, the Executive Director of the Pacific Whale Foundation said the agency had offered the service in past emergencies to [...]