Background of our Whale Research Our study of the annual winter migration of humpback whales into Hawaiian waters began in 1975, with a helicopter to verify the presence of humpbacks in waters off the island of Maui. At that time, few of the public were aware that there were humpback whales in Hawaiian waters. The military operations and restrictions on Hawaiian waters during World War II, and the resumption of commercial whaling for humpbacks after the war, severely limited public awareness as well as the numbers of whales remaining in the population (Herman, 1979). It was estimated that in 1966, when humpbacks were finally afforded protection against commercial whaling in the North Pacific, only about 1000 whales remained in the population (Rice 1968). By 1977, however, several projects to study the whales were underway, and a National Geographic film on the whales was aired, increasing public awareness. In 1976, the Kewalo Basin Marine Mammal Laboratory (KBMML) carried out the first all-island aerial surveys to document the distribution of the whales throughout the Hawaiian Islands. These early surveys, which continued through 1980, established that the whales were most abundant in the waters of the four-island region consisting of the islands of Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Kahoolawe, and in Penguin Bank, a shallow bank extending some 40 km southwest of west Molokai (e.g., Herman & Antinoja, 1977, Herman et al., 1980, Baker & Herman, 1981). In contrast, whales were sparse around the islands of Kauai and Oahu, but were more common along the northwest coast of the Big Island. More recent aerial surveys have traced the growth of the population overall, the continued heavy use of the waters of the four-island region, Penguin Bank, and the northwest coast of the Big Island, and also reported the greatly increased numbers of whales around the island of Kauai (Mobley, Bauer & Herman, 1999). Our early work also included small-boat operations dedicated to studying the behavior of the whales at close range and identifying individual animals through photographic capture of the individually unique markings on the ventral portions of each whale’s tail flukes. We also established shore observation stations along the coast of Maui to gain a broader and dynamic view of the multiple groups (pods) of whales visiting that area of observation. These latter techniques—small boat operations for intimate study of the whales and shore-based observations from elevated locations to obtain a “big picture,” have continued each year since the beginning of research. In addition, we have supplemented these techniques with extensive underwater work using snorkeling gear and video cameras to obtain gender identification, measure sizes of the whales, and document their underwater behavior social structure of the groupings. Beginning in 1980, our interest in the broadest understanding of the whales took us to southeast Alaska, a major summer feeding ground for humpbacks. Through this work, we were able to document that many of the whales that we photographed in Hawaii in the winter were also to be found in Alaska in the summer. Our early work in Alaska, through to 1982, focused in large part on the whales visiting Glacier Bay and surrounding waters. Under a contract with the National Park Service, we sought to determine the extent to which the increasing level of boat traffic entering the bay was negatively affecting the whales (Baker et al., 1982; Baker et al., 1983). As a result of this effort, regulations were implemented limiting the number of vessels entering the bay and restricting their speed and movement. The work in Glacier Bay continues to the present, spearheaded by former graduate students at the Kewalo Basin Marine Mammal Laboratory. More generally, through our undergraduate and graduate research programs, our research effort has expanded greatly over the years, resulting in 65 scientific publications, theses, dissertations, and agency reports on humpbacks through to the end of 2001. Baker, C. S., Herman, L. M., Bays, B. G., & Stifel, W. F. (1982). The impact of vessel traffic on the behavior of humpback whales in Southeast Alaska: 1981 season. Final Report to the National Marine Mammal Laboratory, National Marine Fisheries Service (Contract No. 81-ABC-00114). Baker, C. S. and Herman, L. M. 1981). Migration and local movement of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) through Hawaiian waters. Canadian Journal of Zoology 59, 460-469. Herman, L. M., Forestell, P. H. & Antinoja, R. C. (1980). Study of the 1976/77 migration of humpback whales into Hawaiian waters: Composite description. Final report to the U.S.Marine Mammal Commission (Report No. MMC-77/19). United StatesNational Technical Information Services, Arlington, VA. Herman, L. M. (1979). Temporal and spatial distribution of humpback whales at the island of Hawaiiand relations to the OTEC-1 project. Environmental Impact Report to TRW Inc. Herman, L. M. and Antinoja, R. C. (1977). Humpback whales in the Hawaiian breeding waters: Population and pod characteristics. Scientific Reports of the Whales Research Institute (Tokyo) 29, 59-85. Mobley, J. R. Jr., Bauer, G. B. & Herman, L. M. (1999).Changes over a ten-year interval in the distribution and relative abundance of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) wintering in Hawaiian waters. Aquatic Mammals 25, 63-72. Back to Top Dolphin Programs | Whale Programs | Education Programs | Our Research | Resource Guide Copyright © 2002, The Dolphin Institute |
