Research Photography – Dolphins and Whales of Oahu

Educating both visitors and the community, experts on our dolphin and whale watching tours foster lifelong love of marine life. Often, tour boats are the first line of defense when it comes to spotting and reporting entanglements and injuries. Whale and dolphin watching vessels are on the water way more often than scientists can be. They collect important data, such as fluke photos for scientists to track, and also by report species and behaviors they see.

Our charters head offshore seeking our more endangered and lesser studied species. Target species are the Hawaiian false killer whales, pilot whales, pygmy killer whales, beaked whales and even dwarf sperm whales. When encountered, observers (you!) grab a whiteboard and record how many individuals, any babies present, injuries and other notables. You may help with taking id photos of individuals for population and distribution findings. This information is passed on to the quite prolific Cascadia Research Collective for cataloging and analyzing. PUBLICATONS CO-AUTHORED

Be a citizen-scientist and submit your marine wildlife sightings from any location around the world. Whale & Dolphin Tracker app, available from the App Store, allows you to log sightings in real time, create a full GPS track, and upload photos from your mobile device. Your contributions will add to a global database that will help researchers track and monitor cetaceans, determine patterns of species distribution, and study marine animal interactions with their environment. You can also contribute to whale health via cell phone apps like iNaturalist and Whale Alert, which reports deceased or distressed whales to NOAA.

Wildlife Photography Tours – facilitating whale and dolphin conservation

Green Sea Turtles Mālama Hawaii

Every year green sea turtles travel 12-hundred miles round trip on a migration from foraging habitats. Starting in Hawaii, to nesting areas in the French Frigate Shoals of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Each year, researchers spend several months monitoring honu nesting activity, counting nests and keeping track of growing populations. They set up camps and spend days and nights tagging, and logging every turtle they see. This year, over 400 nesting turtles were tagged, and identifying numbers painted on their shells. Once important habitats are known, turtles can be better managed, especially for nesting females.

Using voluntourism, when see a numbered or tagged turtle, without disturbance we take down the number or take a picture and report it to NOAA by calling 1-888-256-9840 or emailing respectwildlife@NOAA.gov

Green sea turtle with etched number on its shell in non-toxic paint on the shores of French Frigate Shoals, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (Photo: NOAA Fisheries/Marylou Staman).

Mālama Hawaii with Marine Debris/ Plastic Monitoring

While underway, we’ll stop for retrieval of plastic bags, ‘dead’ balloons, or whatever other marine debris found. It’s also good ‘man overboard’ practice!

Ghost nets are fishing nets that have been abandoned, lost or discarded. They will often form their own community beginning with algae attracting small fish and crabs. But when larger wildlife come in to feed on these, especially sea turtles and birds, they can get caught and die unable to come up for air.

Monitoring and assessment of debris found is documented, including what we find snorkeling – which can often be ugly wads of fishing line tangled on the reef or turtles. We have partnered with Pacific Whale Foundation to study the effect of marine debris on the naia, kohola and honu of our coastline.

You can also print their datasheet HERE to report debris you collect on our beaches!

Entanglement in fishing gear affects hundreds of marine species worldwide and can cause immediate death or long term effects often leading to the same. This video of a Hawaiian spinner dolphin entangled in a plastic bag did have a ‘happy ending’, though not wildlife does.

Oahu Pelagic Seabirds

Island species are vulnerable because they have a small geographic range and usually have low numbers, making them vulnerable to disease, fire, and population fluctuations. Human development and hunting also take a toll, and introduced predators such as rats and snakes can wreak havoc on populations that did not evolve under these pressures.

We photograph rare or uncommon species of seabirds. Our seabird photos are sent to the Institute for Bird Populations for identification, and many have been included in the online Birds of the Hawaiian Islands. As well as an important opportunity to document the seabird community in Hawaii, we also record information on seabirds interactions with various species of whales and dolphins.