Hawaii’s Humpback Whales Slow To Return: Is It Due To El Nino?
Hawaii’s humpback whale population has not made its yearly return to the islands yet. Each December, whale watching begins for Hawaii, but tourists are seeing very few whales out in the water when they venture out for their whale watching expeditions. Experts and others that keep a close eye on the humpback whale population are also seeing less whales in the water as the month of January begins.
Are experts concerned by the late arrival of the whales this year? Not yet, but that might change as time goes on. According to the Guardian, experts will take a count of the humpback whales in the area at the end of January, February, and March. That is when experts will have a real good idea about the whale popular.
Why do the whales venture to Hawaii in December every year? It is said that approximately 10,000 whales leave Alaska each year and make the trip to waters off the coasts of Hawaii to mate and give birth.
Humpback whale counts down in Hawaii so far this winter https://t.co/XXsb5Rq6NQ… pic.twitter.com/ul24KNeoAH
— KITV4 (@KITV4) December 31, 2015
Residents and tourists can see the large creatures just off the shore lines, and whale watching boats and tours are a big business on the island. Whale watching tours are still going out every day right now, but the people leading the tours even say they are seeing less whales when they head out.
Humpback Whale Hawaii pic.twitter.com/koELGDGR0g
— One Y Films USA (@OneYFilms) December 31, 2015
Ed Lyman, from the Humpback Whale Marine Sanctuary, spoke about the lack of whales off the coast of Hawaii this winter when he responded to call about a distressed calf recently.
“This isn’t a concern, but it’s of interest. One theory was that something like this happened as whales increased. It’s a product of their success. What I’m seeing out there right now I would have expected a month ago. We’ve just seen a handful of whales.”
There are some theories about the lack of whales migrating so far this year. According to The Christian Science Monitor, Lyman made a connection to El Nino.
“Lyman said the whales’ absence could just mean they’re spending more time feeding in northern waters, possibly because of El Nino disruptions or because their population has gone up. ‘With more animals, they’re competing against each other for that food resource, and it takes an energy of reserve to make that long migration over 2,000 miles.'”
There are some whales in the water, and it is likely that more may arrive in the days and weeks ahead. In recent months, El Nino disruptions have caused other marine lines to move out of their usual waters.
According to a previous report by the Inquisitr released in October, residents near the northern California coastlines saw an increase of sharks nearer to the coast. The sighting of a cluster of sharks near the coast of line caused shark experts to warn residents near the cluster. A sighting such as this was out of the norm for the area.
In the case of the Hawaii humpback whales, it is the opposite that is being seen, but both are likely caused by El Nino. The shark sightings in California were blamed on higher water temperatures caused by the weather phenomenon.
While humpback whales are slow to arrive in Hawaii this year, the sighting of a humpback whale off the coast of Rhode Island caused some excitement for residents of that state last week, according to CNN. Humpback whale sightings are usually reserved for the summer months, so one whale watching tour operator called the sighting of the whale in Narragansett Bay “very surprising.”
As for this season’s El Nino, NOAA released a climate report about the impact the weather phenomenon might have on the climate this winter back in September.
“The warmer-than-average tropical Pacific waters can have a big impact on marine life. For example, there were large coral bleaching episodes (coral die-offs) during past El Niños, and it’s likely we’ll see a lot of coral bleaching this year. The warmer water can also affect fisheries, seaweed farms, ocean mammals, and birds.”
Have you ever seen a humpback whale up close? Would you travel to Hawaii to see these giant creatures?
[Photo via Shutterstock]
