Posted at 10:55 a.m., Monday, October 25, 2004
Humpback whale spotted off Maui
Advertiser Staff
LAHAINA, Maui — Maui's first reported humpback whale sighting of the season occurred Saturday, with a solitary whale spotted about 6 miles off Launiupoko in West Maui.Capt. Thomas Miller of the fishing boat No Problem, owned by Aerial Sportfishing Charters of Lahaina, told the Pacific Whale Foundation that at about 10:30 a.m., he saw a dolphin and then realized it was accompanied by a whale. Miller was out on a charter this morning and could not be contacted.
First sightings of humpback whales in Hawai'i typically take place at this time of year. Last year, the first sighting was Oct. 21.
Pacific Whale Foundation officials said the early season arrivals are typically single adult males, with other early arrivals including mothers with calves that were born in Hawai'i last season.
The sightings become more regular in late November, with January and February considered the peak months for whale activity. Most are gone by early May, but some may linger through mid-June.
It is estimated that the population of North Pacific humpback whales numbers about 7,000. The animals migrate about 2,500 miles annually between Hawai'i, where they spend the winter socializing, mating and giving birth to calves, and their summer feeding grounds in Alaskan waters.
