#Pacific Whale Foundation

Maui Ocean Center will celebrate World Ocean Day with educational and cultural activities, live music and marine naturalist presentations from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, June 8.

PacWhale Eco-Adventures, the social enterprise of Pacific Whale Foundation, will resume ocean operations from Lahaina Harbor beginning June 1, 2026, marking a meaningful milestone in Maui’s ongoing recovery following the 2023 wildfires.

The Pacific Whale Foundation has helped publish a new study that documents the longest individual humpback whale movements ever recorded—including one animal tracked crossing more than 8,700 miles between Brazil and Australia over 22 years. The foundation was a co-lead organization on the research, published May 20 in the journal Royal Society Open Science. The […]

Pacific Whale Foundation has served 2,484 students since January through its Keiki Whale Watch program across Maui, Molokaʻi, and Lānaʻi.

As part of Point Break’s Community Partnership Program, Pacific Whale Foundation will be the featured nonprofit throughout May. The collaboration will include two special Event Days on May 1 and May 8, during which 10% of all daily sales will be donated directly to Pacific Whale Foundation.

Twenty-three residents were honored today as 2026 Volunteer Heroes for their contributions to community nonprofit organizations, as Mayor Richard Bissen proclaimed Volunteer Week from April 19-25, 2026, in Maui County.

Citizen scientists on Hawai’i Island observed 37 humpback whales March 28; a total of 435 whales were observed from shorelines at 37 sites throughout the islands.

A total of 1,935 whales were observed across all islands, during the second Ocean Count and Great Whale Count for the 2026 season. On Maui, 847 whales were observed, the most of any location.

Volunteers counted 694 humpback whales off the shores of Maui during the annual Great Whale Count, the highest number recorded among the islands during the first coordinated survey of the 2026 season. The Pacific Whale Foundation and the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary coordinated the event, mobilizing 433 volunteers across 43 sites throughout […]

Pacific Whale Foundation and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings announced a new partnership to expand the Keiki Whale Watch program, significantly increasing access to hands-on ocean education for Maui students in grades 2-8.

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.

Pacific Whale Foundation celebrates its 45th anniversary in conjunction with the return of World Whale Day, marking a full week of community, culture, and conservation from Feb. 9-15, 2026 on Maui.

Pacific Whale Foundation reports it has successfully retrieved a rare, nearly intact whale placenta—the most complete specimen it has ever had the opportunity to study. This is the second full placenta that has been collected in Hawai’i, the most recent one was in 2020 by Pacific Whale Foundation. 

The Maluhia Maui Rotary Club will host Pacific Whale Foundation Development Director Kagan Jenkins at its upcoming meeting on Tuesday in Kīhei.

The Pacific Whale Foundation, the designated Marine Debris Rapid Response partner for Maui Nui, is reporting more progress in its ongoing effort to remove harmful debris from local waters.

Pacific Whale Foundation has opened registration for its winter Ocean Camp, a week-long science and culture program for students in grades 2-5. This year’s theme, “Marine Mammal Mania,” will focus on whales, dolphins and seals.

For its fifth year in a row, Imua Family Services is once again hosting its annual Keiki Halloween Festival. The family-friendly fun runs from 4 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. This free community celebration is designed especially for children ages eight and under and promises to be an evening packed with Halloween magic.

Maui Ocean Center will host “Fins & Frights Night” from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, featuring a marine-themed costume contest, trick-or-treating and showings of the “Humpbacks of Hawaiʻi” 3D experience.

In honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Pilikahakai Foundation and partners invite the community to take part in a weekend of events dedicated to protecting Maui’s coral reefs and ʻāina.

Pacific Whale Foundation invites young ocean explorers (grades 2 through 5) to join a one-of-a-kind Halloween-themed science adventure, Creatures of the Deep, running Oct. 6‑10 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. This special week of ocean camp blends marine biology, Hawaiian culture, field trips, crafts, and seasonal thrills beneath the waves.