Maui Snorkeling Trips

Photo Courtesy Jim Friend Productions

What the heck is that?  Do you see it?  If you look very closely midway on the turtle’s side you will see a flatfish, or flowery flounder, lying on the shell.  Yep, okay.  So, what does this mean?  When we showed this photo to a turtle expert his reply was, “just when I thought I’d seen everything, you send me this!”

How fun!  Green turtles in Hawaii are doing very well, even though they are fighting marine debris, toxins in the runoff making their seaweed poisonous, fibropapilloma, a herpes-based virus, and much more.  Surprisingly the population on all islands seems to be quite sound.  Snorkeling in Hawaii should be one of the top things to do for any visitor.  Even though the waters are a little cooler now (it is winter after all), getting wet and taking a camera out there is one of the best things to do out here.  This turtle hangs out off Maui’s shoreline, but no one knows why the flounder chose to be with her this particular day.  Let’s get suited up and go look.   We never know what nature has in store for us, but inquiring minds want to always know more!

Photo Courtesy NOAA/NMFS/Bill Curtsinger, NatGeo

This little male named KP2 (left photo) has had a harrowing first few days of life in Hawaii.  Shortly after birth on Kaua’i, KP2 was abandoned.  No one can explain why the mother seal would do this, although there are several theories.  A cute little jet black pup was seen with front flippers spread and trying to nurse on a large rock.  This never seen before behavior saddened and shocked scientists.  So, 24 hours after birth this pup was adopted by NOAA scientists and nursed back to health.  Dr. Gregg Levine, who was the head veterinarian, said the hardest part was finding the right type of formula, which they did.  This was back in May.  In August, scientists moved the pup to an ocean pen off Kaneohe, Oahu at a marine base.  There the little guy was able to forage for octopus, fish, crabs, and other types of monk seal food.  This step was a vital one for his future survival techniques.  Every effort was made to ensure the health and safety of this important animal.  This week, 7 months after being abandoned, this hefty and healthy monk seal pup has been moved to an undisclosed location in the main Hawaiian island chain where he lumbered from the cage and right into the water without looking back.  He will be monitored for another week.  The researchers say he now weighs a very hefty 150 pounds and if all goes well he may grow to over 500 pounds and live a long and active life of 25 – 30 years.

The Hawaiian monk seal is a very special animal.  Not only is it endemic (only in Hawaii), but this marine mammal is critically endangered.  Researchers say there are less than 1,000 left making it the most critically endangered marine mammal on the planet.  The photo on the bottom was taken at another time, but is a new pup and I wanted to include it to show how cute new ones are.  NOAA and MNFS have been working tirelessly with other organizations to try and save this species.  Ancient Hawaiians named this animal Ilio-holo-i-ka-uaua, which translates to “dog who runs in rough seas”.  As with many other animals, this seal was a very important ‘aumâkua, or family god.  This seal does make a loud barking sound and also snores loudly when asleep.  They sneeze constantly to clear their noses of sand which blows in with the trades while they nap on the beaches.  If you are ever fortunate enough to watch one resting, either through binoculars or camera lens, they have the most beautiful brown eyes, seem to sleep with one eye open on occasion, constantly scratch themselves and look most relaxed, even when on rocks instead of sand.

When in Hawaii please do drive island perimeters looking for the sleeping seals.  As with any protected species you may not approach closely, but quiet picture taking from 50 yards away can give great memories.  Also, if planning a boating trip there is always a possibility of seeing a seal outside of Maalaea Harbor, Maui, or out at Molokini, also off Maui.  Bring your camera!

Photo Courtesy Flip Nicklin, whaletrust.org

WOW!  When I first saw this amazing picture taken by the National Geographic photographer Flip Nicklin I found myself wishing I had been there.  Flip, Jason (the man in the photo), Dr. Jim Darling, and Meagan Jones are founders of a Maui-based organization called Whale Trust.  Dr. Darling is a leader in the humpback singing studies and continues to work on translation of this behavior.  Years ago researchers thought it may have to do with breeding behaviors since the singing is done only in breeding grounds.  Since then, however, thoughts have changed.  There are many other communicative sounds that are being studied as well.  This year on Maui Whale Quest is hosting a symposium on the west side of the island where the best-of-the-best researchers are invited to bring their studies to a public platform.  Videos, slides, and many guest speakers assure for a very crowded room, so if you want to learn more, come early.  The dates to remember are February 13, 14 & 15.  You can go to their website to get more information from the link in this paragraph.

Since Hawaii is the only state in the union that boasts breeding grounds for this endangered marine mammal, and the whales are easily accessible by boat, the annual migrations bring many hopeful researchers working on studies in an effort to learn more and share their findings.

Please bookmark this site as we are in touch with these wonderful and hardworking researchers.  We will continue to post new information as it comes to us.  Now, let’s go whale watching!  Every day there are more arrivals to our waters and so much for us to experience.  See you on the water!

Photo Courtesy  Unknown (web)

Candy Cane shrimp are adorable and very shy.  Since they are preyed upon by many animals these little reef dwellers prefer shadows and under ledges.  They have two eyes at the front of their heads and surprisingly the eyes are made up of hundreds of lenses helping them to react with lightening speed if they see anything moving above.  Shrimp are crustaceans, meaning they have a hard outer shell.  With bottom dwelling shrimp, they have developed a shell that is transparent to better enable them to hide in plain sight.  The exoskeleton covering the animal’s head and thorax is called a carapace.  These decopods have six antennae which serve a very interesting purpose.  According to researchers the antennae contain sensory organs for taste and touch to aid in finding food.  When backed into the reef crevasses these shrimp have their antennae sticking out.  If a fish wants to be cleaned it will find these antennae and hold still, enabling the cleaner to caress the fish and find loose scales, dead skin and parasites.

Shrimp have three types of movement.  The first one is feeding, walking, or resting on legs called periopods.  These legs are intended for short distance uses.  The second method is using pleopods, or the swimming legs.  These are located under the abdomen and beat at the same time the shrimp swims.  Researchers believe a shrimp can swim two to five miles per day (the deep water kind).  The third method is a tail flex.  This is a rapid contraction of the strong muscles (they are made of muscle) resulting in a powerful snap that propels the shrimp backwards.  This helps the animal move rapidly to avoid predation.  Some shrimp species use this to leave the water!

The mating with these animals is also very interesting.  The female produces a gelatinous mass and the male will insert sperm into this.  The sperm will fertilize her eggs and she will keep them in a brood chamber which is located on the tail underside.  The female will lay her eggs in batches of up to 15,000 at one time.  The eggs may be attached to her flaps on the underside called swimmerets.    We have observed the hatching process to be within three weeks.  After hatching the larvae will change shape several times and continually molt (shed their outer shell).  This is called a metamorphosis.  Depending on the species, this process can take anywhere from 30 to 160 days.  Now, the young are sexually mature and ready to continue their lives, mating and reproducing.

Snorkeling in Hawaii allows marine life lovers to see many types of reef shrimp.  The water temperatures are cooling down quite a bit now that it is winter, but the sun is nice and warm.  Come and join us.  Weather permitting, we are out there every day.

Photo Courtesy K. Velasquez

Those glorious male humpbacks!  When we really put thought into it, it is indeed amazing to travel a distance of 3500 miles (one way) to compete, or fight, and hopefully mate many times before beginning the journey back north to southeast Alaska for food.  If you look closely at this photo you will see the tubercles (sensory nodules) on the mouth region are very bloody.  This aggressive move is called a head lunge, but is also known as a head slap.  They have a bony chin-plate which is used like a fist.  They pound or pummel opponents into making the decision to leave and not mate with the female of his choosing.  Although they are very promiscuous, say researchers, the females have some sort of selection process, which includes watching competing males and selecting (perhaps) the largest and most fit male.

Researchers tell us humpback whales of the North Pacific travel as far north as Russia and will feed as far south as San Francisco, or just above the 35 degree latitude.  Their preferential meals consist of oily fish such as sardines, herring, scad, small salmon, capelin, and krill, a euphausiid found blooming in great numbers and very plentiful.  Calves feed mostly on krill upon their arrival since they do not have long breath holding capabilities and need to be taught how to bubble net and use their pectoral fins advantageously.

In Hawaii, which is the only state in the union to boast humpback whale breeding grounds, we are able to watch and listen to these amazing mammals who can weigh a whopping one ton per foot.  We will talk about their many other behaviors in future postings.  Boating in Maui waters offers the advantage of seeing many whales since 60% of the population that travels to Hawaii come to Maui County.  These shallow water channels off Maui’s coastline offer some protection for the new calves.  Come out and learn more about these much loved marine mammals.  The sixth largest whale on the planet.  The humpback whale.

Photo Courtesy National Geographic

Twinkle, twinkle, purple star.  Keeping with the holiday spirit we will share information on this very little known creature discovered in the western chain by researchers.  This appears to be in the family of linckia, a species of sea stars found mainly in the Indo-Pacific.  This genus was named after the German-born naturalist Johann Heinrich Linck (1674-1734).

Most stars are active in the nighttime hours and are meat eating predators.  The linckia are a favorite food of harlequin shrimp, who will work as a team and flip the star over making it unable to move.  They will drag it to their den and clip off a leg.  What is really interesting is this new specie, the purple variety, was observed being very active in the daylight hours, making researchers believe that possibly it has very few predators.  The sea stars are in the echinoderm family making them related to sea cucumbers and urchins.

Snorkeling in Hawaii enables us to glimpse into the undersea world of many animals, and sea stars are quite abundant.  I’m ready when you are!

Photo Courtesy K. Velasquez

The Pavarottis of the deep.  Oh, those wonderful males!  Tonight while working I find myself listening to the humpbacks live singing in Hawaiian waters.  You can too!  Just go to:  http://www.whalesong.net/ and you’ll see what I mean.  According to researchers, who have been studying the singing behaviors for many years, only the males sing.  In the North Pacific all the males sing the same song, which alters throughout the season.  The males in Baja and the islands south of Japan are singing the same song as the Hawaiian males.  If it changes in Hawaiian waters for any reason, the song changes in the other two areas as well, and in just a matter of hours.  How do they do this?  Can they hear over those great distances.  There are so many questions and many wonderful theories, along with answers, as well.  Researchers believe these animals can hear for a great distance.  Singers place themselves near the ocean floor to sing their songs.  Even they know sound travels better following ocean floor trenches and we know sound in the water travels 5 times faster than above the surface. 

According to Dr. Fred Sharpe, who studies these animals in their feeding grounds where they also make a feeding call, or siren, the animals produce sounds using their larynx sacs mechanisms.  Fascinating!  No vocal cords, but not needed! Researchers believe it is possible the singing does not have anything to do with competition, but may have more to do with keeping this population connected over great distances.  Way back in early November a handful of males were heard singing.  Now there are many voices who have joined in.

Going out on the water and watching these animals do their breathtaking maneuvers while competing, lovingly taking care of their young, or just cruising around will leave a very deep impression on your heart.  We feel any time on the water is always full of wonder and another step toward better enlightenment. 

Photo Courtesy K. Velasquez

Who watches whom?  If you look closely at the above photo you can see the open eye just below the water line and behind the edge of the mouth.  This dolphin cruised by the boat watching everyone as they took their pictures.

The ancient Hawaiians called dolphins nai’a, or nû’ao.  Captain Cook’s writings included watching a dolphin hunt where these mammals were driven into shallow bays for slaughter.  There isn’t much written, but it did also say that women were not allowed to be involved in the hunt or eating.  As with other animals, some families chose the dolphin as a family god, or ‘aumâkua.

Bottlenose dolphins may live for 30 years or more with females calving every 2 – 3 years after reaching sexual maturity around age 5.  Little ones drink from mother for 1.5 to 2 years while they learn to hunt.  It is commonly known that dolphins are highly intelligent and they have been studied in captivity for many years.  In the last 20 years, more studies have been conducted on wild populations; which is the true way to get accurate information, most researchers agree.  These animals are a toothed cetacean.  All toothed animals in this family have one blowhole on top of their heads, with sperm whales having their blowhole on the left side.  Bottlenose can be very speedy, traveling from 3 to 23 mph.  Most bottlenose are diurnal feeders, that is feeding in the day time, whenever they are up for the hunt, unlike some dolphins who prefer to hunt at night.  It is also dependent on their prey, i.e. fish, squid, etc.  They are very interesting animals.  There are strict rules when spending time with dolphins, and this is according to the Marine Mammal Protection Act.  Any person, whether in the water, or on it, may not approach closer than 50 yards to dolphins and 100 yards to humpback whales.  If they come to you, however, that is just fine and welcomed.

Also seen in Hawaiian waters are spotted and spinner dolphins, false killer whales, orcas, pilot whales, melon headed whales, and in deeper waters, sperm whales, pygmy sperm whales, beaked whales and more.  For more information on research involving these and other cetaceans in Hawaii, please go to Cascadia Research.  There you will read about photo ID catalogs available and how researchers are seeking photos of bottlenose and other species to aid in their search quest.  What an amazing place Hawaii is!  Planning a trip over here?  Please make sure you take time to get out on the water.  Your cetaceans are waiting to watch you take their picture, which you can share with researchers and become part of the studies being done in Hawaii!  See you soon!

Photo Courtesy K. Velasquez

It’s that time of year here in Hawaii and those wonderful males are at it again.  They fight.  Competitions are fierce in the breeding grounds around the world, sometimes the groupings numbering in the 10s, 20s or more for each lovely female.  Researchers tell us that the males outnumber the females in the breeding grounds, but we do not know exactly why that is.  In the North Pacific stock, about 60 percent travel to Hawaii, 30 percent to Baja, California, and the remaining 10 percent to the islands south of Japan.  Researchers also tell us this stock of animals is doing well, growing about 7 percent each year.  Hawaii is the only state in the union that boasts breeding grounds for the acrobatic humpback whale.

These animals put new meaning to the words “throwing your weight around”.  Weighing in at a hefty one ton per foot means some big boys can weigh more than 40 tons!  Females are larger than the males.  The biggest female we have seen off the deck of our boat was 50 feet long.  Every breath she took echoed around us; a sound I will never forget.  Just to think it all started here in Hawaii.  This is their birthplace.  We’ll talk more about babies in a future posting.

We can only imagine what it would be like to travel 7000 miles or more annually; one direction to mate and the other direction to head back to the kitchen.  According to researchers, the breeding grounds are mostly a desert zone.  Humpbacks love herring, but they also eat sand lance, sardines, capelin, anchovies, small salmon, and krill, which is a euphausiid shrimp that blooms by the tons in the cold waters of the northern and southern hemispheres.  Although Hawaiian waters have some of the fish they love, feeding is seldom seen here, but it has been witnessed.  One boat captain saw several large animals burst through the surface in front of Molokini, their mouths wide open.  Fishermen off the north side of Moloka’i also witnessed two large humpbacks feeding after a large storm.

The aggressive head lunges, breaches, tail slaps, peduncle throws and many other types of behaviors observed during competitions will be engraved in your memories for a lifetime.  Weather permitting, we go every day.  As we go deeper into the season, more and more animals are seen.  Every day there are new arrivals and little ones are being born, many of which will be future contenders when they reach sexual maturity (after 5 years of age).  Come out and watch these amazing males vie for the lovely females.  How wonderful to be in Hawaii.  How fortunate to be here when whales arrive!  Let’s go share memories!

Photo Courtesy fishbase.org

This deep-water species was chosen for its unusual name, Thorny Tinselfish.  They live in very deep water 400 – 1026 meters (1312 – 3366 feet) in waters off Spain to Durban, South Africa, Japan and Hawaii.  They are of no interest to the fisheries industry, probably because they are so very deep down and also there isn’t much to them.  They grow to a mere 25 inches!

These animals are predators and are found in deep mid water and near the bottom.  They are silvery with irregular black blotches on their bodies.  A very unusual animal, to be sure.

Snorkeling in Hawaii we would not be able to find these animals, but their body shape reminds me of a reef animal called mamo, or sergeant major.  The waters are cooling down a little bit here in the sub-tropics, but the temperature is still in the mid 70s making it quite comfortable.  I’m ready when you are!