We have heard reports now of sitings off of Kipahulu, Lahaina, Maʻalaea, Hoʻokipa and Hana.  Itʻs always an exciting time here on Maui when the Koholā return.

Thank you again to Michael Nolan for allowing us to use this beautiful photo of a mother and calf.

And big big thanks to Markus and Carsten with Whalesong Germany for bringing this new website online for us.  It is just being launched, so we appreciate your patience while all of the new features become active over the next few weeks.

Itʻs my painful duty to announce the passing of our Founding Board President Ed Bigelow last week. He will be sorely missed by all who had the good fortune to know him. Ed and and I designed elements of our first Whalesong Project buoy on a napkin at Borders Coffee Shop in Kahului back in 2000. He was a guiding light for our fledgling organization as we became a “legitimate” 501C3 corporation. He was a gracious, intelligent, inspiring and good humored facilitator of our Board Meetings for the eight or so years we have been incorporated, until he resigned last year due to health concerns.Ed had a big heart and an incredibly intelligent mind. His interests and professional credentials were diverse, including science, economics, solar and alternate energy design and production, photography, art and music.I met Ed through our mutual love of Hawaiian music, through our Kumu (teacher) and friend George Kahumoku, also a Whalesong Project Founding Board Member.Ed was introduced to Hawaiʻi by his incredible wife Helen. Their mutual love of Hawaiʻi and Hawaiian Culture has had them contributing in many ways to keeping the culture alive in the world, and in bettering the community around them.

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The Whalesong Project is in a holding pattern right now. We hope our last ten years of webcasting the live songs of the Humpback Whales has raised awareness about this endangered species, and our endangered oceans….and about the fact that the oceans are a highly acoustic environment. This is important to know in an age that is filled with noise that can affect life. Whether it is noise generated by boats, underwater oil exploration, acoustic well logging with explosive devices, or sonar for navigation and military purposes.We feel good about our ten year contribution, and we are assessing whether to put the hydrophone in the ocean this coming season. It is an expensive venture during a time of economic challenges.

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CNN quotes one of the workers on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig…..”This well did not want to be drilled…..it just seemed like we were messing with Mother Nature.” Read the full article.How to produce energy and live in harmony with Nature is a challenge, but donʻt we love challenges? If we look at the long term costs, and the costs of unintended consequences, of our energy choices, I think we will find that there are better choices we can be making. We are inventive people. If we make decisions based on facts about what is really serving the people and the planet, I believe we will make better decisions. Can this happen in Washington D.C.? Miracles can happen.In the meanwhile the oil gushes and we continue to drive our cars. Iʻm thinking about what I can do to make a difference this year in my lifestyle and energy choices, and my contribution. We have officially begun our Haleakalā Institute project. More information and a website will be coming out soon. We have applied for a grant. The project will be educational in nature and will be Maui-based. If we get the grant we will be working with a lot of children on environmental remediation and sustainable energy projects. Use of media in communications will be involved, and all of it will be based on the Hawaiian way of learning, “Ma ka hana ka ʻike” – to learn by doing. More soon.

Evidently the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission warned of risks associated with oil exploration in the Gulf in the early 1990ʻs. According to this article, these warnings were ignored by federal regulators and BP. The author, Heather Heenehan, is a masterʻs degree student in environmental management at Duke University, and is working on a summer fellowship at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Thank you for this excellent article, Heather.

There has been a lot of speculation about the impact of the the oil spill on whales and dolphins. This story says NOAA is investigating the death of a Sperm Whale near the accident. In Hawaiian, the Sperm Whale is called Palaoa. The Palaoa are considered a form of Kanaloa, the God of the Ocean. They were hunted to near extinction, and are still an endangered species. Lets hope the problems in the gulf are solved soon, and that some wisdom is developed that will help turn the tide in favor of healthy oceans.

The theme of Ocean Day this year is “Ocean of Life.” Never has the importance of protecting the oceans seemed more important than this very day. Oil streams into the Gulf of Mexico, toxic plastic gyres are growing, ice caps are melting, the ban on commercial whaling may be lifted with support from Washington D.C.

I am pleased to report that Whalesong Project Founding Board Member George Kahumoku was honored with the “Aloha Is” Award for community service at the annual Nā Hōkū Hanohano awards ceremony in Honolulu. He was recognized “for his support of individuals and entities ranging from dropout students and Maui Community Correctional Center inmates cultivating taro in Waiehu to work with Maui Nui Botanical Gardens and the Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge.” Read the full article

Those of us who know George know that he never stops. He is an enduring presence in the world, not just on Maui. He has nurtured young Hawaiian students to become Grammy Awards winners, worked with “at risk” youth for decades, volunteered for countless fund raisers. Sometimes you could fill a page with his activities in just one day. Congratulations George! You deserve it.

At the same ceremony Mauiʻs Hula Honeys won the best Hawaiian Jazz Album of the Year. Jonathan Drechsler, the bass player, volunteers for Whalesong Project! Congratulations Jonathan – and Ginger and Robin.

As we approach the 200th anniversary of the unification of the Hawaiian Islands, much attention is focused on Pu’u Koholā. It was here that Kamehameha built this large heiau before his unification quest. Some call it the “hill of the whale” and some say it resembles a whale. Some have suggested that perhaps the Koholā, the Hawaiian Humpback Whale, was an ʻaumakua of King Kamehameha. Others give a different explanation for the name. Koholā can also mean “chosen day,” and there was a belief that the prophesies around Kamehameha and the unification of the islands required consecration of this heiau on a particular day. Hawaiian language and mythology is is filled with kaona, hidden meaning, metaphor. It is possible the name means both. Another puzzling fact: One of Kamehamehaʻs names is Paiʻea. Those of you who watched the movie Whale Rider may recall that the Maori prophet who rode the whale was Paikea, which is how one would say Paiʻea in Maori. Paikea was said to have come from Hawaiki, Hawaiʻi. We may never know the full mystery of this possible connection between Kamehameha The Great and the whales.