Posted on: Friday, July 30, 2004

Whale protection agency opens Kona office

Associated Press

KAILUA, Hawai'i — State and federal officials opened a Kona office for the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary yesterday.

U.S. Rep. Ed Case, D-Hawai'i, and Daniel Basta, director of the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association's National Marine Sanctuary, were on hand for the opening.

"This little office is more than it seems to be. It's about community investment," Basta said.

"The key is education and awareness. If you teach the public, you can trust them to do the right thing."

Case said the opening of the Kona office is part of a larger conservation and preservation effort.

Recent studies have concluded that the world's oceans are in trouble and lawmakers must apply more money toward protecting natural resources, he said.

Humpback whales migrate from summer feeding grounds off Alaska to spend their winters mating and calving in Hawai'i's warm, shallow coastal waters.

The new office is just north of Kailua, at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority. It is run by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources with money from the National Marine Sanctuary Program.