WEBVTT 00:00:05.005 --> 00:00:13.263 I can hear it when when I'm on the shoreline in  the still of night. I can hear the “Hā”, the breath of   00:00:13.263 --> 00:00:24.941 a whale. In our culture, "Hā" is the breath. "Hā"  is what gives us life. Here is this enormous and   00:00:24.941 --> 00:00:32.532 beautiful creature, the Koholā. And it reminds me  that as a Hawaiian person, when I hear that "Hā",   00:00:32.532 --> 00:00:36.911 that blows out from the spout. It  is also to reflect on me that it   00:00:36.911 --> 00:00:44.878 is a part of who we are and it comes  through the "Hā", the breath. Yeah. 00:00:56.431 --> 00:01:01.102 We have an entangled whale still around. We hope  he's still around. Male, adult. And it would be   00:01:01.102 --> 00:01:05.190 nice to get a sighting of him earlier in the  day and get him ... My name is Ed Lyman. I'm   00:01:05.190 --> 00:01:09.736 the Natural Resource Specialist for the Hawaiian  Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.   00:01:09.736 --> 00:01:14.282 The last couple days we've been doing our health  and risk assessment monitoring program aboard the   00:01:14.282 --> 00:01:18.369 our research vessel, the Koholā here. And what  that means is we're going out and kind of keeping   00:01:18.369 --> 00:01:22.373 a finger on the pulse of the humpback whale  population out here. One of our missions is   00:01:22.373 --> 00:01:26.920 to conserve and protect humpback whales in this  very important habitat here around the Hawaiian   00:01:26.920 --> 00:01:32.217 Islands. So this is the principal breeding/calving  ground. So they're coming here to breed,   00:01:32.217 --> 00:01:37.472 give birth, and nurse those young. The majority  of the humpback whales in the North Pacific will   00:01:37.472 --> 00:01:43.103 utilize this environment. We're tasked with  protecting these animals. So we use various   00:01:43.103 --> 00:01:48.608 tools to kind of put a puzzle together to see  how those individuals and the population is   00:01:48.608 --> 00:01:53.071 doing. You know, the photo documentation  that we do, non-invasive, but it gains a   00:01:53.071 --> 00:01:57.575 lot of information on our patients. We make  this analogy of we're the whale doctors and   00:01:57.575 --> 00:02:02.122 we're out here to conserve and protect these  animals. When a doctor comes into the room,   00:02:02.122 --> 00:02:05.500 first thing they do is they introduce  themselves. They do a little chitchat   00:02:05.500 --> 00:02:09.796 and they they're really looking at you. First  thing they're doing is a visual assessment. We   00:02:09.796 --> 00:02:15.426 do a lot of visual assessment. We pull up, we  let them know we're there, and we start photo   00:02:15.426 --> 00:02:23.393 documenting. We're getting an assessment  of the animal remotely and non-invasively. 00:02:25.812 --> 00:02:32.944 Right now we have a mother/calf escort and we're  trying to get the fluke IDs, which we have pretty   00:02:32.944 --> 00:02:39.159 much we have both of them and the scar analysis,  which focuses on the leading edge, if this is the   00:02:39.159 --> 00:02:42.787 fluke of one of the whales the leading edge  'cause that's where most of the entanglements   00:02:42.787 --> 00:02:47.750 will migrate towards and leave marks for. Give us  a sense of the magnitude of entanglement threat   00:02:47.750 --> 00:02:53.173 on this population of humpback whales. One of the  animals we documented was a calf and it had been   00:02:53.173 --> 00:02:59.971 hit by a boat. We would never have known that if  we hadn't made that approach, under the permit,   00:02:59.971 --> 00:03:04.934 got that pole camera in the water. That was the  only way we saw the wound on that calf. And you're   00:03:04.934 --> 00:03:10.064 going to ask, well, why does that matter? Because  management agencies, federal and state, that need   00:03:10.064 --> 00:03:16.529 information to know how to implement management.  We feed them the information that everyone wants.   00:03:16.529 --> 00:03:19.574 That's really our role at the Hawaiian Islands  Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. We need   00:03:19.574 --> 00:03:25.246 to give them the information. So we use all  these means can paint a picture can put the   00:03:25.246 --> 00:03:31.252 puzzle together and let us know how they  are doing. So we have these suction cup   00:03:31.252 --> 00:03:35.882 tags. Multi-sensor. They have everything from  depth to accelerometers. So we get pitch and   00:03:35.882 --> 00:03:40.678 roll. We get the movement and the energetics of  an animal. We have hydrophones so we can hear   00:03:40.678 --> 00:03:44.766 uh what they're hearing and from their vantage  point. We have a 4K camera so we get behavioral   00:03:44.766 --> 00:03:50.438 information. So really a lot of information there  and they're very non-invasive, whether you cradle   00:03:50.438 --> 00:03:58.947 them in a pole and reach out and when the whale's  beside you just slap it on the back of the whale. 00:03:58.947 --> 00:04:05.662 Just cleared. We can attach them to drones.  Fly the drone over. They really don't even know   00:04:05.662 --> 00:04:14.212 the drone is there. And okay shut. Good.  Good connection. Thank you. Let me see.   00:04:14.212 --> 00:04:21.552 This always helps me. Have. Standing up slow. 00:04:21.552 --> 00:04:28.351 Ready on bow. [Music] So, we're  doing drone ops to put a CATS tag   00:04:28.351 --> 00:04:33.982 on a whale remotely so we don't affect the  behavior. It requires a really low flight,   00:04:33.982 --> 00:04:37.735 about 8 to 10 ft over the animal.  Pace with the animal. Got to wait for   00:04:37.735 --> 00:04:48.371 that perfect moment and then hopefully drop  that CATS tag right on the back. Yeah. Yep. 00:04:48.371 --> 00:04:56.671 But super challenging. Okay. You're getting  to two zero LAN there. You can see here. Okay.   00:04:56.671 --> 00:05:01.426 Looks like she's rising. And then release the tag  and it just plops on the back of the animal. And   00:05:01.426 --> 00:05:08.683 now we have a tag on the animal that can gain  us a wealth of information, non-invasively. 00:05:08.683 --> 00:05:13.479 When we get the CATS tag on it, it's just  a sigh of relief that we got it. And start   00:05:13.479 --> 00:05:17.191 the good science and we didn't affect  behavior which is the ultimate goal of   00:05:17.191 --> 00:05:25.074 uh using a drone to remotely place these  tags. So for those suction cup tags,   00:05:25.074 --> 00:05:29.329 we don't want them to stay on forever. So we have  galvanic releases. Okay, this little sacrificial   00:05:29.329 --> 00:05:34.208 metal. It's going to dissolve in seawater. So  when that metal dissolves away, it'll break. The   00:05:34.208 --> 00:05:40.298 tubes come unkinked. Air or water goes into the  tubes. The tag floats off the back of the whale,   00:05:40.298 --> 00:05:44.510 comes up the surface. Little beacon says,  "Come pick me up." And we come back and   00:05:44.510 --> 00:05:58.608 get all the data. Yeah, we're downloading our  CATS tag now onto this laptop. Successful day. 00:05:58.608 --> 00:06:04.113 This is our our pole system for cutting whales  free. What we want is if this whale was coming   00:06:04.113 --> 00:06:09.911 up at this very moment, you'd want that to be 45°  off one way or another. Okay? Okay? Because 45 is   00:06:09.911 --> 00:06:14.832 much, you're not coming down hard on the whale,  which might get more of a response or it might   00:06:14.832 --> 00:06:20.630 jump. You know the blades hitting and you get a  response. It jumps past what you want. 45° angle   00:06:20.630 --> 00:06:25.635 is still enough to pick up the line. We've got  all the gear on board today. This very moment.   00:06:25.635 --> 00:06:30.515 So we are we're loaded for bear today. Even  though we're out doing a monitoring trip, we're   00:06:30.515 --> 00:06:35.103 gaining research, gaining information, finger  on the pulse of our animals there, so to speak.   00:06:35.103 --> 00:06:42.193 If that call comes in, we switch gears. Whether  we find an entangled whale or animal distress or   00:06:42.193 --> 00:06:49.492 whether that community here in the harbor helps us  find that entangled whale, we're ready to respond.   00:06:49.492 --> 00:06:54.205 We want to create an environment where they're  not becoming entangled in something human-made,   00:06:54.205 --> 00:06:58.376 whether that's marine debris, fishing  gear, you know, whatever it may be.   00:06:59.669 --> 00:07:05.425 So, we can make the Koholā a support boat and  then use the inflatable as our approach boat for   00:07:05.425 --> 00:07:14.058 cutting the whale free. We're going to add gear  to get the gear off. We're loading the gear up,   00:07:14.058 --> 00:07:23.401 pulling on it various means. Good. And we're good.  Go. We're clipped in. Letting it go. Yep. Watch   00:07:23.401 --> 00:07:28.197 yourselves. Yep. We have a lot of experience kind  of reading the animals behavior and knowing when   00:07:28.197 --> 00:07:33.411 we can kind of move in. Okay, slow. You have to be  able to know when it's safe to get in because you   00:07:33.411 --> 00:07:38.291 and your teammate are in a compromised position.  You read the animals behavior and then move in   00:07:38.291 --> 00:07:42.211 slowly. The animal is receptive to that, then  that's when you can disentangle if you're working   00:07:42.211 --> 00:07:47.967 on an entangled animal. It's always a puzzle with  disentanglement and you never know what you're   00:07:47.967 --> 00:07:54.056 going to get and every case is different. So that  adds to us learning more with each case and then   00:07:54.056 --> 00:08:03.316 using that case to understand cases going forward.  I'm on Okay, cut made! I see the ... I would love   00:08:03.316 --> 00:08:07.737 to be out of a job tomorrow because that means  no one's getting entangled anymore. But that   00:08:07.737 --> 00:08:12.450 is a long time down the road. Right now we're  we're still here being a stop gap effort trying   00:08:12.450 --> 00:08:20.291 to get as many animals back in the population  as possible. It's great on many fronts. I mean,   00:08:20.291 --> 00:08:25.505 one, you just saved an animal or most likely.  Two, it's like you're you're done. You know,   00:08:25.505 --> 00:08:37.183 that's that accomplishment of getting that done,  too, is so fulfilling. It really is. Yep. [Music] 00:08:37.183 --> 00:08:41.270 We all get a little high. That feeling of, wow,  you just helped this animal. I mean, how can   00:08:41.270 --> 00:08:48.277 you not have that? Cut made! We're not going to  solve the problem by cutting whales free, but we   00:08:48.277 --> 00:08:55.493 could solve the problem by figuring out what's  going on and and having mitigating measures. 00:08:55.493 --> 00:09:04.210 Yeah! When we finally disentangle a whale, it  often times takes hours or days of effort. It's   00:09:04.210 --> 00:09:12.677 it's a great feeling knowing you saved the life  of a a humpack whale. It's a beautiful thing. 00:09:12.677 --> 00:09:17.807 For me it's the best team that I've had on so  many different levels. It must be the Aloha   00:09:17.807 --> 00:09:23.729 Spirit. There's that. I mean, people really  do care here and and are dedicated and so it's   00:09:23.729 --> 00:09:29.235 really kind of special everyone working together.  Whether we're just trying to assess the animals,   00:09:29.235 --> 00:09:33.739 do that job of that health and risk assessment  or whether we're actually actively responding   00:09:33.739 --> 00:09:38.452 to a whale that might be entangled in gear,  it's a team effort. We need help. Just one   00:09:38.452 --> 00:09:42.290 boat going out there, we're not going to find  an entangled whale. Almost certainly we're not.   00:09:42.290 --> 00:09:47.587 We need the whole suite of first responders  here. And these guys here in this harbor,   00:09:47.587 --> 00:09:53.634 they are our first responders, okay? They're out  there each and every day. They find the whales.   00:09:53.634 --> 00:09:58.139 They stand by for us if we're going to respond.  They get us the initial photo documentation,   00:09:58.139 --> 00:10:04.437 the initial risk assessment. They are great. I  can't give them enough accolades. Uh it is that   00:10:04.437 --> 00:10:11.152 much of a team effort and they do a great job.  Uh it really makes the difference. Sometimes I   00:10:11.152 --> 00:10:16.282 like to say we're helping the community  save these whales, not they are helping   00:10:16.282 --> 00:10:22.455 us save the whales. Why are whales important?  Because they're important biologically. They   00:10:22.455 --> 00:10:27.668 move nutrients around the conveyor belt from  one area to another. But whales come here,   00:10:27.668 --> 00:10:33.090 they and I'm going to say they poop and where  they die or placentas. Everything from carbon   00:10:33.090 --> 00:10:38.471 sinks and whale falls. They're like islands that  feed different ecosystems down there on the ocean   00:10:38.471 --> 00:10:45.186 floor. That is injecting resources into this  environment. There's the socioeconomic aspect.   00:10:45.186 --> 00:10:49.315 I mean, there's a lot of boats here in this  time of year that are going whale watching. So,   00:10:49.315 --> 00:10:55.738 the economy. We call this whale season right now  for a reason. People actually come here for the   00:10:55.738 --> 00:11:01.911 whales. The visitor industry is huge here and we  are a part of that as well. I've seen the value   00:11:01.911 --> 00:11:07.792 of sanctuaries. I've seen the joy it brings to  all Americans and and visitors to our country.   00:11:07.792 --> 00:11:13.714 And I see what tremendous value in education,  research, and conservation that the sanctuary   00:11:13.714 --> 00:11:20.471 has and how they come alongside local communities  and state governments to help them do a better   00:11:20.471 --> 00:11:26.602 job managing their resources. No matter where you  live in America, this is your sanctuary. It lets   00:11:26.602 --> 00:11:34.527 all people appreciate the tremendous beauty and  resource that is available for us. I'm writing the   00:11:34.527 --> 00:11:39.990 reports or analyzing the data. Hop down the steps.  Right below me is the visitor center, the mainstay   00:11:39.990 --> 00:11:44.704 of the Humpback Whale Sanctuary because that's  where we're going to increase awareness, promote   00:11:44.704 --> 00:11:49.750 stewardship, you know, let people know about these  magnificent animals and the environment here,   00:11:49.750 --> 00:11:54.130 how important it is to the animals. The best way  of, you know, protecting these animals, conserving   00:11:54.130 --> 00:12:00.761 is foundational to really let people know that,  increase that stewardship and awareness. There's   00:12:00.761 --> 00:12:12.690 the cultural aspect of humpack whales. And then  they're just ambassadors. I mean, they really are. 00:12:12.690 --> 00:12:19.905 We say that the Koholā is ʻaumakua, our guardian  angel. They existed before we were born, existed   00:12:19.905 --> 00:12:27.329 now with us. And when we leave, they're going to  be around. That's what we think about the whale.   00:12:27.329 --> 00:12:36.922 Culturally, they're ʻaumakua. They're very strong.  It's a spiritual thing for us. It's the mana,   00:12:36.922 --> 00:12:43.888 the spirit within the whale. Once someone has  sight the whale, the whole island is excited   00:12:43.888 --> 00:12:50.519 to know that our ʻaumakua returned home. They  have a special team that risk theirselves to   00:12:50.519 --> 00:12:56.942 get out there to save the whale. I think it's  a wonderful project and we're so lucky and so   00:12:56.942 --> 00:13:04.283 blessed that they can do this. We were given  the gift of the kupuna, the gift of the heaven,   00:13:04.283 --> 00:13:11.373 the ocean, the land. And how as keepers now  we're going to pass it on to the new generations. 00:13:26.555 --> 00:13:29.767 Uhōla ‘ia ka makaloa lā 00:13:29.767 --> 00:13:32.353 Pū`ai i ke aloha ā 00:13:32.353 --> 00:13:35.356 Kūka`i ia ka hā loa lā 00:13:35.356 --> 00:13:37.942 Pāwehi mai na lehua 00:13:37.942 --> 00:13:41.320 Mai ka ho`oku`i a ka halawai lā 00:13:41.320 --> 00:13:44.031 Mahalo e Nā Akua 00:13:44.031 --> 00:13:50.913 Mahalo e nā kupuna lā ‘eā Mahalo me ke aloha lā 00:13:50.913 --> 00:13:54.792 Mahalo me ke aloha lā 00:13:54.792 --> 00:13:58.128 We would like to mahalo at  this time the Hawaiian Island   00:13:58.128 --> 00:14:02.341 Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. Mahalo.