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Marine Research, Education and Conservation


HMMC has started our 2024 research season. We deployed a Soundtrap acoustic recorder off the shore station on 4 December 2023. So far it looks like a good whale season, but strong weather has kept us from collecting much data on the water. As of the start of February, we have already participated in the "Welcome the Whales" celebration held at Kawaihae harbor and hosted and helped to teach a group of students from Cornell University. The four HMMC board members also gave a Reef Talk for the Malama Kai Foundation at the Ridge To Reef Restoration Center. We were part of the Wiliwili Festival on 10 February 2024. We had over 250 people stop by to hear and learn about whales!

Still, the season continues and we hope for better weather. In March we are expecting a visit from Annie Lewandowski and Katy Payne from Cornell University.

Reef Talk Flier

All of the HMMC people and equipment are safe after the recent wildfires in Hawai'i. The fire burned to the edge of the neighborhood where Chris and Adam live. It was a scary time but we are all safe. The fire swept over our shore station, burning all the grasses, but the kiawe tree at the top appears to have survived.

Shore Station before and after the wildfires

Donations to support our friends and neighbors on Maui can be made at Maui Strong, among other organizations

Our 2023 Newsletter is now available

HMMC has published an article describing 19 years of shore counts in Marine Mammal Science. It describes the rise in local humpback numbers over time and the sudden drop in 2016. The paper discusses how warmer waters in Alaska leads to lower humpback whales numbers in Hawai'i.

HMMC's own Yin, aka Suzanne Yin, has been named to the inaugural class of Society for Marine Mammalogy Fellows for her consistent collection of high quality cetacean abundance and behavior data. We are so proud of her!



News and Publications

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Education and Outreach

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    Presentations to Students

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    Local Public Talks

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    Professional Presentations

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    Pu‘ukoholā Sharks


Get Involved


Mike Hoffhines was part of the University of Hawai‘i Whale Research Project in the 1990's. While he was a Computer Engineer by trade, he remained interested in marine mammals and frequently returned to help HMMC in the field collecting data. He was always a shining light and a talented scientist. Sadly, we lost Mike to cancer in 2013. We all miss him, his humor, and his love for the ocean and its inhabitants


Hawai'i Marine Mammal Consortium
P.O. Box 6107
Kamuela, HI 96743
info@hmmc.org