#Marine mammal health and stranding response program

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.

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.

A whale in distress, spotted in West Maui waters last week, suffered from blunt force injuries, likely caused by a vessel strike either on its migration to Hawaiʻi or while in feeding grounds, according to the Pacific Whale Foundation.