Cascadia Research’s first Hawai’i field project of 2019 was based off Maui, from March 11-17, 2019. This project was the start of the 20th consecutive year of this study on Hawaiian odontocetes, although this effort was a bit different from most, as we were spending a lot of time also working with humpback whales (in conjunction with a film crew) primarily in the shallow waters of the Au Au channel. While the humpback focus may be surprising to long-term followers of our Hawai’i research, the first funding for the Hawai’i research effort (in 2000) was actually to work with humpback whales, a study examining their sub-surface and night time behavior. It was this early funding which allowed us to start the research on several species of odontocetes. The shallow waters of this area host only four species of odontocetes, and we were able to encounter all four during the project.
The crew for this project included Brittany Guenther, Jordan Lerma and Robin Baird, with help from Lee James, Lynn Padilla, David Reichert and Trent Ellis. For this project we used the Aloha Kai, provided by Ultimate Whalewatch.
By far the highlight of the week was an encounter with Cluster 4 of the endangered main Hawaiian Islands population of false killer whales. We were able to get identification photos of about 20-25 individuals, collected four biopsy samples for studies of genetics, aging, and hormone chemistry, collected three breath samples for a study of the respiratory microbiome, and obtained some beautiful GoPro and Drone footage of the group.
False killer whales from Cluster 4 of the endangered main Hawaiian Islands population.
Fast moving false killer whales!
False killer whales passing the cliffs off southwest Lāna‘i
We also witnessed at least three predation events, this one on a mahimahi
An adult pantropical spotted dolphin shows the complex spotting patterns of this species. One of the few species we do not have a Hawai’i photo-identification catalog of (we have catalogs of 13 species from Hawai’i), although we are collecting photos for the eventual creation of a catalog, as there are a lot of questions about stock boundaries and fisheries interactions with this species in Hawaiian waters.
As well as false killer whales, we also encountered two groups of bottlenose dolphins and were able to obtain identification photos to add to our photo-ID catalog for this species. There is a small resident population of bottlenose dolphins in the Maui Nui area, with some movements between Maui Nui and O’ahu, so these photos will help us better understand the interactions between these two communities.
Spending most of our time off west Maui we had dozens of encounters with humpback whales.This one has a large bite out of it’s flipper, likely from a shark attack.
We also photograph any unusual birds we see while on the project – the most interesting sighting of the trip was a Red Phalarope, a winter visitor to Hawai’i. For more information on birds we encounter check out our seabird page and the “Birds of the Hawaiian Islands” accounts at the Bishop Museum.
Photos on this page were taken under NMFS Permit No. 20605. Contact Robin Baird (rwbaird “at” cascadiaresearch “dot” org) for more information
The main objective of the project is to find and learn more about the endangered main Hawaiian Islands insular population of false killer whales, to help estimate abundance, obtain information on body condition, and understand seasonal and inter-annual variation in movement patterns. Instead of being based out of Honokōhau Harbor, as we have been for most of our Hawai‘i Island projects (and all our previous November field efforts, see map below), we are planning on working out of Kawaihae Harbor (weather permitting), allowing us to work closer to a high density area for Cluster 2, one of the four main social clusters from the endangered main Hawaiian Islands population. During the second week of our effort will also be working with Michael Moore from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Randy Wells and Aaron Barleycorn from the Chicago Zoological Society’s Sarasota Dolphin Research Program to try to deploy fin-mount satellite tags on several species of small odontocetes (bottlenose dolphins, pantropical spotted dolphins, melon-headed whales) with the new TADpole tagging system, funded by a grant from Dolphin Quest.
For the first time during any of our Hawai‘i field efforts, we are also planning to have a land-based team, led by David Anderson, that will be using a 30x spotting scope and 16x binoculars to try to spot false killer whales and other species. With a potential detection range out to about 10 km from shore, the land-based observers will hopefully increase our encounter rates, allowing us to obtain more information on this population than would typically be possible, given the low density and often rough sea conditions in the area.
As we do during all of our field projects, we will also be obtaining photos from most species of odontocetes we encounter, to contribute to ongoing studies of residency patterns and social organization and to estimate population sizes, and collecting biopsy samples for hormone chemistry, toxicology, and genetic studies. Check out our field update page if you want to see what we encountered and accomplished during our last November (2015) Hawai‘i Island project.
The research team includes Colin Cornforth, Jordan Lerma, Brittany Guenther, David Anderson, Robin Baird and a number of volunteers.
End of project update
November 17th was our last day on the water for this project. Over the last two weeks the boat-based team covered 1,585 km, had 37 encounters of nine species of odontocetes (plus saw several humpbacks), took 34,763 photos (and a lot of video), and collected nine genetic samples (from six species) and four breath samples. The land-based team had sightings every day they were out, including short-finned pilot whales, melon-headed whales, and spinner, spotted, and bottlenose dolphins. Overall a very successful trip. On our last day we encountered our third group of false killer whales for the trip, a good way to end the project!
A false killer whale from Cluster 3, seen November 17, 2018. During this encounter we were able to obtain identification photos of all the individuals, obtained one biopsy sample for genetics and hormone chemistry, and collected another breath sample for examination of the respiratory microbiome.
This individual is HIPc301, a very distinctive sub-adult male from Cluster 3, seen November 17, 2018
We also encountered our second group of rough-toothed dolphins for the trip, including this individual with an unusual stripe along the side.
An adult male Blainville’s beaked whale surfacing towards the camera. The two erupted teeth of an adult male are visible, the one on the whale’s left (right side of photo) has some stalked barnacles at the base, while the one on the whale’s right (left side of photo) appears to be partially broken off. We were able to get good identification photos of all the whales in this group, and will be comparing them to our photo-ID catalog for this species. There is a small resident population of Blainville’s beaked whales off this island, so we expect most of the individuals to be in the catalog. Check out our web page for this species for more information.
A mother and calf Blainville’s beaked whale, showing the white oval scars caused by cookie-cutter shark bites. The calf is likely older than six months, based on the number and healing state of the scars.
A view from behind of three Blainville’s beaked whales, showing the rostrum just after the whale breaks the surface (left), an adult female showing the typical peaked back of this species (middle), and a calf (right).
November 14th update
Over the last few days we’ve had encounters with several species of odontocetes (and a few distant sightings of humpback whales), and the highlight was an encounter with the Kohala resident population of melon-headed whales. This is a small population, estimated at about 450 individuals, that has a small home range of the NW side of Hawai’i Island. We were able to get good photos of about 75 individuals (out of an estimated group size of ~150), and collected one skin sample for genetics. The individual above has a mostly-healed wound from a cookie-cutter shark bite on the side of it’s head.
November 8th update
We encountered false killer whales again on November 8th, a spread out group of about seven individuals. This was a very productive encounter – we were able to ID most of the individuals, collected two biopsy samples, and witnessed two predation events on mahimahi.
Drone footage of false killer whales attacking a mahi mahi. Note the cameo by the Oceanic Whitetip Shark!
As well the photogrammetry from the drone (measuring individuals to determine length and body condition), we are also collecting breath samples, to examine the respiratory microbiome. These samples will be analyzed by Linda Rhodes at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center. Our NMFS research permit allows for flying drones (UAVs) over animals at a height of 100′, with brief descents to 50′ for photogrammetry, and to 6′ for breath sampling. The photo above shows the drone after it passed through the plume from the exhalation from two false killer whales.
November 7th update
On November 7th we encountered our highest priority species for the trip, the false killer whale. There was a single individual encountered, heading into rough sea conditions, but we were able to get good ID photos of the individual and should be able to match it to our catalog.
A false killer whale off north Kona, November 7, 2018.
On November 6th we also encountered a group of short-finned pilot whales, including the individual above, and were able to collect one breath sample for analysis of the respiratory microbiome, as well as photos for our photo-ID catalog of this species.
We’ve also encountered a couple of groups of bottlenose dolphins and obtained photos for our photo-ID catalogs.
November 4th update
The highlight (for the boat-based crew) of our first day of the project was a juvenile whale shark! We contribute photos of whale sharks to researchers studying this species.While the land-based crew had observations of both bottlenose and spinner dolphins, the boat-based crew had a sighting of a large group of pantropical spotted dolphins, as well as a brief sighting of a pair of dwarf sperm whales.
A pair of pantropical spotted dolphins surfacing near the boat, November 4, 2018.
This map shows our vessel tracklines (yellow) for previous field projects during the month of November.
Our primary goal for this project is to work with the endangered main Hawaiian Islands population of false killer whales.
Photos on this page were taken under NMFS Permit No. 20605. Contact Robin Baird (rwbaird “at” cascadiaresearch “dot” org) for more information
Saturday, November 25, 2017 – 09:51We will be undertaking a 19-day field effort off O‘ahu starting November 2nd, funded through a NOAA Species Recovery Grant to the State of Hawai‘i. This will be our first field effort off O‘ahu this year (our last was in October 2016). Our primary goal is to find and learn more about the endangered main Hawaiian Islands population of false killer whales. We will be based out of Ko Olina Marina and primarily working off the Wai‘anae coast. We are hoping to deploy LIMPET satellite tags to track movements, as well as photo-identify individuals and collect biopsy samples for genetics, hormone chemistry and toxicology. As usual, we’ll be working with all species of odontocetes we encounter, trying to obtain photos for our photo-identification catalogs, as well as collect biopsy samples for other studies. The research crew for this project will include Daniel Webster, Kim Wood, Colin Cornforth and Robin Baird, all from Cascadia, as well as a number of volunteers.
End of project update
Over the 19 days of this project we covered over 1,900 km off the west side of O‘ahu, had 50 encounters with 10 species of odontocetes and took over 52,000 photos, collected six biopsy samples (of two species), and four squid samples, as well as deployed three satellite tags. Overall a very successful project! Our most frequently encountered species were pantropical spotted dolphins (14 sightings) and short-finned pilot whales (11 sightings). Tied for the 3rd spot were rough-toothed dolphins and false killer whales (six sightings each), but in the case of the false killer whales the satellite tag deployed during our first sighting helped us re-locate the group on all the subsequent sightings, so the high number of sightings is a bit misleading. Probably the most unusual sighting of the trip was actually a small group of Cuvier’s beaked whales seen on November 18th south of Honolulu – in our 83 days of effort off O‘ahu over the years (2002, 2003, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2017), covering over 9,000 km of search effort, this is our first sighting of Cuvier’s beaked whales off the island!
Also on November 18th we had our 6th (and final) sighting of false killer whales for the trip, spread out over a wide area south of Honolulu. We deployed another satellite tag on the group, collected another biopsy sample, and witnessed five different fish chases (four mahimahi and one ono). One of the fish attacks (one a large mahimahi) was one of the longest we’ve witnessed, lasting about 40 minutes, primarily because the fish had a good place to hide, around a floating barrel. Three different individual whales spent time trying to separate the fish from the barrel and were eventually successful, in the process leaping repeated around the barrel trying to hit or grab the mahi. Some additional photos of this encounter below.
This individual is an adult male – the rostrum (melon) of older male false killer whales extends farther forward than for adult females.
November 14th update
The winds have picked up quite a bit, and while the tagged false killer whales remain offshore of Wai’anae they are in an area that is too rough to find them (or work with them), so today we searched in shallower waters. We found a large group of short-finned pilot whales, and a group of five rough-toothed dolphins that were associated with the R “FAD”. FAD is short for Fish Aggregation Device – effectively a buoy that is anchored offshore to attract small fish, which attract larger fish, and make them easier for fishermen to find (and presumably catch).
While we often hear reports of rough-toothed dolphins or false killer whales associating with FADs, we don’t actually see it that often – today’s group of rough-toothed dolphins were remaining around the FAD, trying to catch fish that were sheltering underneath it.
A view of the underside of the R FAD, with a school of scrawled filefish (as well as several opelu and a few other fish).
November 13th update
It has been a good few days off Wai’anae, O’ahu, with false killer whales encountered today and for the previous three days. While each day we’ve located the group with the help of the satellite tag we deployed earlier this trip, in each encounter we’ve had some individuals that we’ve not previously encountered this trip. False killer whales, like killer whales, live in very stable long-term groups, but the individuals we’ve encountered have included members of two, or perhaps even three, different social clusters (clusters 1 and 3, for those who are keeping track). This calf, HIPc697 in our photo-ID catalog, was first documented in our October 2016 O’ahu field project.
We also encountered perhaps the most distinctive false killer whale in the population, an individual missing it’s dorsal fin. This is an adult female, first documented in 2003, and when first seen she was missing her fin, with scar tissue where the fin was, indicating the fin was lost in a traumatic event, rather than was missing as a congenital problem. This individual, along with several others, was the subject of our second-ever peer-reviewed publication on our Hawai’i work, published in 2005.
November 10th update
Today we had our second encounter with false killer whales for the trip! Our tagged individual had remained offshore of O’ahu in areas that we have been unable to get to, given the sea conditions, but earlier this morning the group passed through the lee off Wai’anae. We were able to catch up to the group using the signals from the tag, but they were traveling quickly and were soon in an area of rough seas again. It was a good encounter nonetheless, and we were able to get identification photos of three individuals. The individual above is HIPc204 in our photo-ID catalog, an adult male first documented in 2005.
A false killer whale traveling at high speed!
Today was our 9th day on the water and we also encountered our 9th species of odontocete for the trip, a group of almost 20 bottlenose dolphins. We were able to get good identification photos of all the individuals present for comparison to our photo-ID catalog.
November 7th update
After six days on the water we’ve encountered eight species of odontocetes, including all four species of Hawaiian blackfish. Today we had two groups of pygmy killer whales, one of the least-known species of delphinids in the world. One group was 27 km from shore, while the other was just 2.6 km offshore. There is a resident population of pygmy killer whales off the island of O’ahu, and the near-shore group was probably part of the resident population. We’ll be comparing the photos to our photo-identification catalog to determine which individuals were present, and will be interested to see whether the offshore group was part of the resident population, or an unknown group from the open-ocean population.
Pygmy killer whales usually spend their day resting and socializing, often just logging at the surface, like these individuals in the nearshore group. We’ve never seen pygmy killer whales feeding in any of our encounters, so they appear to do all their foraging at night. For more information on pygmy killer whales in Hawai’i check out our web page on this species.
We’ve seen pantropical spotted dolphins on five of the six days we’ve been out so far – these are probably the most abundant species of dolphin around the main Hawaiian Islands. There are three insular populations recognized in Hawaiian waters, based on genetic analyses, including one around O’ahu.
When born, pantropical spotted dolphins lack spots, and slowly acquire them with age. This individual is clearly a very old one, and likely an adult male based on size. This photo also nicely shows the starburst patterns that occur as bite wounds from cookie-cutter sharks heal, with the spots along the edges of the bite getting “dragged” inwards as the wounds heal.
One of our most surprising encounters this trip was actually a group of spinner dolphins (yep, spinner dolphins!), a group of about 75 individuals seen offshore (in 900 m water depth) at 7:46 AM, more than an hour after sunrise. Spinner dolphins typically come into shallow water very early (around sunrise) and spend their days close to shore – in our 18 years of work in Hawai’i we rarely see spinners offshore. Seven of the eight sightings we’ve had in waters deeper than 1,000 m have been small groups (1-3 individuals) in with larger groups of pantropical spotted dolphins, and the eighth sighting offshore was a group heading out into deep water late in the afternoon. The sighting (November 6th) was only three days after the full moon, and it is known that the prey of spinner dolphins (and some other species in Hawai’i) move more offshore during a full moon, so it is likely the dolphins had farther to travel after their night of feeding.
November 4th update
Today we encountered our highest priority species for the trip, a group of false killer whales! The adult female in the photo above is HIPc356 in our photo-ID catalog, first documented in October 2009 (off O’ahu), seen a number of times since off O’ahu and Hawai’i Island, and last seen in October 2016 (also off O’ahu). The calf in the photo, HIPc697 in our catalog, was first documented with HIPc356 in October 2016 and this is the first time the calf has been seen since it was originally documented. These individuals are most closely associated with Cluster 1 of the endangered main Hawaiian Islands population, but are part of an intermediate group that we have recently recognized (check out the poster by Sabre Mahaffy from the October Halifax marine mammal conference for more information). We were able to deploy a satellite tag on one of the individuals in the group, so are hoping to be able to track the group over the next few months.
Another photo of HIPc697 – obviously well-fed, with a fat roll behind the head.
We also encountered a large group of rough-toothed dolphins, with a total of about 45 individuals, and were able to get good identification photos of many of the individuals to compare to our photo-ID catalog of this species. For more information on rough-toothed dolphins in Hawai’i check out our web page on that species.
An unusual view of rough-toothed dolphins, two socializing individuals!
November 3rd update
Today we found another uncommon species for O‘ahu, a group of about 450 melon-headed whales. There are two populations of melon-headed whales recognized in Hawaiian waters, a small resident population off Kohala, and a larger population that roams among the Hawaiian Islands and into offshore waters. With such a large group we took several thousand photos to compare to our photo-identification catalog. For more information on melon-headed whales in Hawaiian waters check out our web page for that species.
Like other whales and dolphins in Hawai‘i, melon-headed whales are regularly bitten by cookie-cutter sharks, a deep-sea shark that is parasitic, not typically killing their prey. The orange color of the wound visible in this photo are actually cyamid lice (“whale lice”), which often inhabit healing wounds. This bite is in front of the eye, and will likely completely heal. In the photo below, of an older adult melon-headed whale, you can see several scars from healed cookie-cutter shark bites on the head.
An older adult melon-headed whale, showing the characteristic white lips of the species as well as the darker facial mask.
A mother and infant melon-headed whale, seen in the group November 3rd, 2017.
November 2nd update
Our first day on the water was quite productive, with three encounters with short-finned pilot whales, one encounter with pantropical spotted dolphins, and two encounters with one of the less commonly-encountered species in the area, Blainville’s beaked whales! The first group encountered was a group of eight individuals, including one adult male (photo above) and three mother/calf pairs. In the photo above you can see the two erupted teeth of an adult male, with several purple stalked barnacles attached to the base of the teeth. The males use these teeth (referred to as tusks) for fighting with other adult males over access to females. We were able to get good ID photos of at least seven of the individuals, and also deployed a LIMPET satellite tag to study their movements – the first time we’ve tagged this species off O’ahu.
An adult female Blainville’s beaked whale with a calf, estimated at about 6 months of age. The white oval scars on the side of the body are from cookie-cutter shark bites – we use this scarring pattern, in combination with dorsal fin shape and notches, to identify individuals.
Our second sighting of Blainville’s beaked whales for the day was in much rougher seas, but we were still able to get good ID photos of all three adult females. The photo below was taken off O’ahu during our last field project there, in October 2016. We are hoping to have as much success as we did during that effort!
The research vessel we’ll be using for this project, a 24’ Hurricane.
This map shows our previous search effort off O‘ahu. We worked off O‘ahu in five previous years – 2002, 2003, 2010, 2015 and 2016. Photos on this page were taken under NMFS ESA/MMPA Permit No. 20605. Please contact Robin Baird (rwbaird (at) cascadiaresearch dot org) for photo use or more information. For updates from our prior field projects check out this page.
Thursday, October 12, 2017 – 12:32We will be undertaking a 10-day field effort off Hawai‘i Island starting October 7th, funded through a NOAA Species Recovery Grant to the State of Hawai’i, with addition support from Dolphin Quest. This will be our second field effort off the “big island” this year (our last was in June). Our primary goal is to find and learn more about the endangered main Hawaiian Islands population of false killer whales, and to maximize our chances of finding them we are planning on launching from Kawaihae each day (see map below), rather than our typical Kona work based out of Honokohau Harbor. The area off Kohala is a high density area for false killer whales in Hawai‘i, particularly the poorly-known Cluster 2. We are hoping to deploy LIMPET satellite tags to track movements, as well as photo-identify individuals and collect biopsy samples for genetics, hormone chemistry and toxicology. As usual, we’ll be working with all species of odontocetes we encounter, trying to obtain photos for our photo-identification catalogs, as well as collect biopsy samples for other studies, and are hoping to deploy one or two satellite tags to track movements of some of the other poorly-known species off the island. The research crew for this project will include Daniel Webster, Kim Wood, Colin Cornforth and Robin Baird, all from Cascadia, Brittany Guenther, as well as a number of volunteers. End of project updateWhile only a 10-day project, it was a very productive one. We covered 1,246 km, most of it off north Kona and Kohala, had 21 encounters with 9 species of whales and dolphins, took over 26,000 photos for individual identification and scarring pattern assessment, collected 8 biopsy samples, and deployed 3 satellite tags, the latter on individuals from the rarely-seen and poorly-known Cluster 2 of the endangered main Hawaiian Islands false killer whale population. Overall a very good project, and we are looking forward to tracking the movements of Cluster 2 over the next few months. Our next field project will start November 2nd off Oahu – check the web page for that project after November 2nd! October 15th update
The winds have picked up so we have shifted our operations from Kawaihae harbor to Honokohau harbor, allowing us to work in calmer waters to the south. Our three tagged false killer whales have primarily remained on the windward side of the island, so we are not missing those as we survey in deeper waters to the west. Over the last few days we’ve had sightings of spinner, spotted, and bottlenose dolphins, and today had our first encounter with rough-toothed dolphins of the trip. The individual above has a large mahimahi in the mouth – we saw a group of rough-toothed dolphins feeding on three different mahimahi.
We’ve seen rough-toothed dolphins, commonly known off Kona as “Steno”, feeding on mahimahi before but they also feed on a lot of smaller fish, including flying fish. The abundance of fish caught in today’s encounter seemed to encourage them to play and socialize, including this individual leaping out the water (see below).
We also picked up a hagfish that was floating dead at the surface and being fed on by Wedge-tailed Shearwaters. We collected the head of this specimen to send to the Marine Mammal Lab in Seattle for identification, as part of a study on diet of seabirds and marine mammals in Hawai’i. October 12th update
Our success on these projects usually comes down to one very productive day, and today was that day. We again encountered false killer whales from Cluster 2 of the endangered main Hawaiian Islands population (the third day in a row!), but this time we encountered a fairly large group (~18 individuals) early in the day (9:44 AM) and were able to stay with them most of the day (4:25 PM) in relatively good conditions. We were able to get good identification photos of about 16 individuals, collected six biopsy samples (all from individuals not previously sampled) and deployed three satellite tags. The last time we had such a productive encounter with this cluster was in 2015, and this is only the second time when individuals from Cluster 2 have been satellite tagged, so we are excited about tracking them over the next few weeks and months. The biopsy samples will be used both for genetics and studies of hormone chemistry, to examine stress and reproductive hormones.
One of the Cluster 2 false killer whales seen today.
This adult female, HIPc230 in our photo-ID catalog, was first photographed off the island in July 1987, over 30 years ago, by researcher Dan McSweeney. HIPc230 was adult-sized in 1987, so is at least in her 40s and is likely older. She had the injury on her dorsal fin when first encountered in 1987, likely due to an interaction with longline gear, which was fished close to the islands up until the early 1990s. We use images like this to assess evidence of fisheries interactions, and how it varies among the different social clusters and by sex.
October 11th update
The last couple of days have been very productive, with sightings of false killer whales and melon-headed whales two days in a row, as well as two different groups of pygmy killer whales. The false killer whales, like the one pictured above, are from Cluster 2 of the endangered main Hawaiian Islands population, our primary target species for this trip. We’ve been able to get good ID photos of a number of individuals, but as of October 11th have not been able to deploy any satellite tags. We are hoping they will stay in the area and we’ll have additional opportunities!
This well-marked false killer whale is HIPc150 in our catalog, first documented in September 2002 and last seen in 2016. We’ve never seen this individual with a calf and have not been able to collect a biopsy sample to confirm sex, but based on the size appears to be an adult male.
On October 11th we had two different encounters with one of the rarely and most poorly-known species of delphinid in the world, pygmy killer whales. The photo above shows the belly of one individual witih the white pigmentation around the genital slit and the rounded flippers typical of the species. We were able to get good identification photos of about 30 different individuals in the two groups. There is a resident population of this species around Hawai’i Island and a resident group off Oahu, with some movements between islands, so we are looking forward to matching these photos to our catalog.
The photo above shows the rounded head and white that extends from the lips onto the front of the head, typical of pygmy killer whales.
Pygmy killer whales are very difficult to distinguish from melon-headed whales, another species we saw today (see below), but in good lighting conditions you can see the clear line between the darker dorsal cape and the lighter pigmentation on the side of the body, as well as the frequent paired white linear scars typical for pygmy killer whales.
The melon-headed whales we encountered both days were in relatively shallow water (<1,000 m) on the plateau west of Kohala, and are likely members of the Kohala resident population of this species, numbering around 450 individuals. If you are interested in more information on this species in Hawai’i, we have several recent publications (including genetics and range/habitat use) available on our melon-headed whale page.
This photo of a melon-headed whale also shows the dark facial mask and indistinct boundary between the dorsal cape and lighter sides.
We’ve also collected several squid, now up to four for the trip. These squid are sent to Bill Walker at the Marine Mammal Laboratory in Seattle for identification, helping us understand the prey that are available to whales and dolphins in Hawaiian waters.
October 8th update
In our first three days of effort this trip we’ve covered almost 500 km (480 to be exact) of tracklines off Kohala and north Kona, and surprisingly have only had four sightings of whales or dolphins, well below or average rate. We’ve had reasonably good conditions for much of the time, and yesterday (October 8th) we spent several hours in the ‘Alenuihaha Channel, making it half way between Hawai’i Island and Maui, but have not found our target species, false killer whales. We have had productive encounters however, today with a group of short-finned pilot whales, including the mother and newborn in the photo above, as well as pantropical spotted dolphins and bottlenose dolphins (see below). We’ve also collected two squid specimens, and obtained a few hundred photos of petrels and other seabirds.
A bottlenose dolphin off Kohala, October 8th, 2017
Pantropical spotted dolphins seen October 7th, 2017.
Pantropical spotted dolphins, October 7th, 2017
Our target species for the trip, a false killer whale (accompanied in this photo by two Wedge-tailed Shearwaters). This photo was taken off O’ahu in October 2016 as part of a field project there.
The research vessel we’ll be using for this project, a 24’ Hurricane.
This map shows our previous search effort during the month of October. We’ve worked off the island during the month of October in a number of years, most recently in October 2013. Photos on this page were taken under NMFS ESA/MMPA Permit No. 20605. Please contact Robin Baird (rwbaird (at) cascadiaresearch dot org) for photo use or more information. For updates from our prior field projects check out this page.