LIHUE — Jean Souza, Kauai programs coordinator for the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, said they had to put a sign on the door announcing the office’s closure during the government shutdown.
LIHUE — Jean Souza, Kauai programs coordinator for the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, said they had to put a sign on the door announcing the office’s closure during the government shutdown.
Tuesday, it came down.
“It is good to be back,” she said.
Souza said volunteers hosted the training of the sanctuary Ocean Count volunteers, and more than 50 people Saturday watched “Humpback Whales,” an award-winning film, followed by discussions.
“We also have the sanctuary Ocean Count taking place Saturday at 14 sites around the island,” Souza said. “If the government was still shut down, we would have had to re-locate two sites which are located on the Kilauea (Point National) Wildlife Refuge because they were also shut down. Additionally, all of the coordination would have (had) to come from Oahu. I am glad we’re back and ready for the weekend.”
Souza will be coordinating the sanctuary Ocean Count from 8 a.m. until 12:15 p.m. It will be the first of three counts that coincides with the arrival of the whales who breed and give birth in Hawaiian waters before returning to Alaska.
“We couldn’t do this without our enthusiastic volunteers and site leaders,” Souza said.
Souza said that, during the shutdown, she missed out on the opening of The Ocean Around Us exhibit, a unique learning experience set up at Kukui Grove Center in collaboration with several community partners, including the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, running through Feb. 17.
