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Education

No butts on the beach!

Pacific Whale Foundation received an outreach and education grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Marine Debris Program in the summer of 2016. As a recipient of this grant, it’s our goal to: Educate the public about marine debris and its effects on the environment. Remove marine debris and cigarette butts from Maui’s…

PWF Ecuador Hosts Training for Tour Operators

Field Report - Ecuador

Under the coordination of the Ministry of Environment and Machalilla National Park, Pacific Whale Foundation Ecuador provided a free training during the months of August through early September. The gathering was a unique opportunity for Puerto López residents to learn from National Park representatives. Specifically directed towards those in constant interaction with whales, the training was…

Summer break may be finished, but Ocean Camp memories gust thicker than my Oklahoma accent. As I plug away behind my computer reconciling administrative tasks and reacquainting myself with current events, I can easily become discouraged with the empty nest syndrome of a quieter classroom and the multitude of unjust issues impacting our precious marine life. Yet…

As a part of our education efforts, every whale season we host numerous school groups participating in our Keiki (Hawaiian for “children”) Whalewatch program. Last week we concluded this season’s program with 1,518 children now having more knowledge about humpback whales.

mulitiple children with chaperones during a keiki whalewatch

multiple children with adults obserivng from the bow of the boat during a keiki whalewatch

naturalist using the hydrophone so children can hear the whales

Pacific Whale Foundation’s Keiki Whalewatch program is offered to create an impactful…

We ended June and entered July with our “Wild About Whales” week at Ocean Camp. Although the fastest recorded migration for Hawaii’s humpback whales is 39 days, campers covered this approximate 3,000 mile journey in only four days! Participating in a variety of activities, campers explored humpback whale feeding and calving grounds and learned about the respective whale behaviors occurring in these locations such as bubble net feeding and nursing.

By understanding whale anatomy and research techniques, campers also learned how to identify individual whales from their fluke which is unique to each individual whale similar to how every human has a different fingerprint! We even experienced a behind-the-scenes tour of our research lab where we received tips from the experts while being surrounded by a collection of humpback whale data recorded over the last 30 years.

As SeaWorld celebrates its 50th anniversary, Hawaii hosts its annual 50th State Fair. The theme—”Go Wild!” The paradox—the display of captive animals, such as a sea lion performance, to “promote” this. The Paradoxical `Promotion’ of Hawaii’s 50th State Fair Last week at Pacific Whale Foundation Discovery Center,…

Ocean Camp is being featured on The Conversation with Beth-Ann Kozlovich and Chris Vandercook today at 8am on HPR2: 89.3, 89.7 & 88.3 FM Public Radio. They will be chatting with Lendy Leslie, PWF’s marine education specialist at the camp.

KAOI radio host Cindy Paulos interviews guests Greg Kaufman (Founder and Executive Director of Pacific Whale Foundation), Manny Oteyza (Producer of the documentary Blackfish) and Howard Garrett (Co-founder and Executive Director of Orca Network) in a thought-provoking discussion about orca whales in captivity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgvPZ7QSUxY Requesting your immediate action: sign this petition to free Lolita from…