HUMPBACK MARINE SANCTUARY — A humpback whale can stretch more than 50 feet from nose to tail, but sometimes it takes a 45-foot Coast Guard station boat to keep it safe.
That’s the job for some dedicated professionals across different agencies, who went out recently on a patrol with a West Hawaii Today reporter.
On Thursday morning a crew of four, along with two officers from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, headed out for Operation Kohola Guardian.
“Our main focus is search and rescue,” said U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer First Class Sean Hill. “That means someone having a heart attack in Molokini Crater or a vessel in distress in the channel.”
The first goal of the patrol was to ensure boaters obeyed laws related to humpback whales, who are pouring south in their annual migration. At the same time, they performed safety checks on passing vessels.
The crew used a 45-foot boat, capable of about 25 mph, with a survivor compartment, four-seat pilot house and broad stern. There are two of those boats stationed at Coast Guard Station Maui, based in Maalaea Harbor, which is crewed by 22 people. They cover about a 50-mile circle from their base, including across the Alenuihaha Channel to the northern coast of the Big Island. That tempestuous stretch of water has seen numerous rescues and disasters over the years.
The Big Island is also covered by the Kiska, a 110-foot cutter based out of Hilo, and a small station in Honokohau Small Boat Harbor.
Thursday’s operation was designed as an integrated operation, bringing together the station boat, Kiska and Dolphin helicopter from Air Station Barber’s Point.
The helicopter provides a critical view for distance between vessels and whales, according to Chief Petty Officer Sara Mooers.
They can then relay that information to the watercraft, which can respond. That would happen as one of the last actions of the morning patrol.
Whale search underway
The first action of the day was responding to a report of an entangled whale.
The Kiska, station boat and helicopter all began to survey the whales moving through the channel. The station boat would head toward a whale sighting, then Petty Officer Second Class Nainoa Quinn would cut the engines to idle. The crew stood at the rails, watching the passing whales for anything that might be fouling them, such as nets, fishing line or ropes.
But nothing was seen after a survey of the whales nearby and the search was called off.
It doesn’t make sense to continue an extended search after a possible sighting when there are thousands of animals present, Petty Officer First Class Sean Hill said.
If they had located an entangled whale, they would have tagged the dragging material. This would allow the trained crews from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration to track down the whale and remove as much as possible.
Boarding actions
Later, the station boat headed toward a small fishing boat, the Triple 7.
The goal was what the Coast Guard calls a boarding, which is in many ways similar to a traffic stop. In both, the officer checks the license of the operator, the vessel’s registration and ensures all mandated equipment is present. For ocean-going watercraft, that includes flotation devices, radios and whistles or horns.
But a police officer generally has solid ground underfoot. The sea is not so kind, rocking and moving both vessels while the officer and captain try to communicate. It can also make moving between the boats impossible.
Hill opted not to risk the crossing into the packed stern of the fishing boat. Instead, he stayed aboard the station boat.
“Hello, I’m Sean and I’m going to have you give me some information and show some equipment,” he said.
He also told them the rules related to whales. The key is remaining 100 yards away if at all possible, and idling if an animal surfaces nearby.
The boat cleared its check and the captain seemed ready to get himself and his three friends back to fishing. Hill then told the crew that Officer Eric Vuong of the DLNR also had an inspection to make. DLNR officers are the local experts in fisheries and their rules, Hill told West Hawaii Today.
Vuong also didn’t risk jumping over. Instead he had the crew tilt their icebox toward him so he could examine their catch.
“The kumu, that orange one, there’s a limit of one per person,” Vuong told the fishermen.
With four people aboard they were well under the limit, he explained, but wanted them to be aware.
Getting too close
Hill said they generally focus on recreational vessels. That’s because the commercial vessels are inspected by multiple agencies in port, he said.
But that doesn’t leave them untouched. On Thursday one of the Trilogy vessels was seen close to a whale by the Dolphin helicopter. The Kiska, her small boat and the station boat all moved to intercept the vessel at top speed.
The small boat reached the commercial vessel first, and the coast guardsmen aboard advised the crew about the laws related to whale protection.
The patrol continued, with humpbacks blowing air, slapping the water with their flukes and diving deep all throughout the channel.