KAILUA-KONA — The whales are back some tour groups are reporting.
KAILUA-KONA — The whales are back some tour groups are reporting.
There was a little alarm, or at least curiosity, when some experts noted the season seemed to be starting later this year.
Capt. Bob Dorigo of the Body Glove Cruises, noted the tardy start. He commands their 149-passenger catamaran and said they are finding whales, but are having to run farther out to see them.
“They’re here, just not as many as usual,” Dorigo said.
Capt. Colin Cornfort of Captain Zodiac said he’s been seeing plenty of whales, but they are out near the 3-mile limit imposed by the U.S. Coast Guard. That company uses small rubber rafts capable of taking 16 passengers.
“There’s no way to see what we see from the shore,” he said.
Cornfort said it seems the same number of whales are moving through the region, but are staying farther out.
Others say the season, the peak of which typically runs from January through March, has returned to normal.
“We’re back on track. It seems every day there is more and more,” said Ed Lyman, resource protection manager for the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.
There did appear to be an initial lag, he said, but it seems things are improving statewide.
There is also somewhat of a “patchy distribution” Lyman said, with groups of whales scattered around.
Normally about this time they can pick and choose groups, said Body Glove naturalist Denver Leaman, gesturing to the waters outside of Kailua Bay. On Monday, they’d initially spotted only two whales. In previous years, there’d be so many whales steering a boat between their breaching was like trying to navigate through a parking garage loaded with speed bumps.
Leaman said their team has to spend extra time finding and getting to the whales, which has reduced the amount of time they can spend watching them
It also means the whales have less of a chance to get used to the boat’s presence. As they become more comfortable sometimes they’ll come over to “people watch,” Leaman said.
“I’ve seen boats being ticketed for getting too close to whales, but never a whale get ticketed for getting too close to a boat,” he said.
Dorigo said the numbers they are seeing now are comparable to what they typically see in November.
That may be true, said Lyman, but scientists haven’t had large studies to confirm or deny that.
There have been a number of theories as to why the whales are late, if they’re late at all.
After a story last month about their seemingly late arrival, officials tasked with monitoring the animals said people shouldn’t read much into their tardiness, because they’re not tardy at all.
“This year’s arrivals appear to be in keeping with long-term historic observations. Recent years have had whales arriving early, making a “normal” arrival appear to be late,” wrote Malia Chow, the superintendent of the marine sanctuary, in a press release.
For people who want to take a boat out to see the whales themselves, the Humpback Whale National Sanctuary asked everyone to keep a sharp lookout to avoid collisions, while keeping at speeds of 10 knots or less.
Getting closer than 100 yards is illegal under federal law.
If the whale approaches, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration advises idling the engine and waiting until it leaves.
Lyman said it seemed there were comparatively few animals until the end of December. Then they began “pouring in.”
“El Nino’s messed everything up,” he said, referring to rare sightings, such as ahi found in Catalina, sea snakes washed ashore in California and whales still visible off Anchorage, Alaska.
He’s concerned that the later start to the season will not show a later end. It’s possible they’ll pour through and be done at their normal time, he said.
But he’s unsure of what will happen.
“How do you get into the mind of a whale and know what it’s doing?” he said.