LIHU‘E — The Hawai‘i Superferry took evasive action to avoid striking a pod of humpback whales on an early morning trip from O‘ahu to Maui yesterday, according to multiple officials. Initial reports that the 230-foot Alakai struck a whale were
LIHU‘E — The Hawai‘i Superferry took evasive action to avoid striking a pod of humpback whales on an early morning trip from O‘ahu to Maui yesterday, according to multiple officials. Initial reports that the 230-foot Alakai struck a whale were unconfirmed and largely dismissed.
At roughly 7:30 a.m., the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration received a report that there had been a ship strike between the Superferry and a humpback whale, according to NOAA spokeswoman Wende Goo.
Goo said in a phone interview NOAA was initially “scrambling” to find an enforcement officer to meet the ship and conduct interviews when it arrived in Maui, but an O‘ahu-based officer was coincidentally on board the ship, not serving in any official capacity but taking a vehicle to Maui.
The officer was able to conduct an investigation, talking to the ship’s captain, crew and passengers and eventually determining that there was “no compelling evidence that there was a strike,” Goo said, adding NOAA was “standing down on it because we don’t have any conclusive evidence.”
“What we’ve been told is that the captain saw a pod of whales off in the distance, and kind of slammed on the brakes, tried to come to a quick stop,” Goo said. “Then he maneuvered the ship in another direction to avoid the area of the pod.”
Superferry spokeswoman Lori Abe confirmed the incident in an e-mail, differing from Goo’s account only in the number of whales: one.
“During today’s voyage from O‘ahu to Maui, Hawai‘i Superferry implemented its standard operating procedure for avoiding whales by turning its ship, the Alakai, away from the whale and coming to a complete stop. No contact with the whale occurred and the ship completed a normal voyage to Kahului Harbor,” she wrote. “Hawai‘i Superferry’s whale avoidance policy and procedures were implemented and worked effectively.”
Bill Robinson, regional administrator for the Pacific Islands regional office of NOAA Fisheries said yesterday in a phone interview that there was no confirmation of a whale strike.
“That doesn’t close the issue entirely. If new information comes to light, then we would continue to look at it. At this point, there just isn’t any real evidence that there was an actual strike,” he said.
The issue of whale safety has been one of many used by opponents of the Superferry to criticize the operation.
The draft Environmental Impact Statement, released by the state’s Department of Transportation earlier this month, said takes of humpback whales could be among the cumulative impacts of a large-capacity inter-island ferry system and listed among its proposed mitigation measures “whale avoidance protocols” to avoid those takes.
Robinson went on to explain there are not currently any laws, rules or regulations in place for Superferry seeing a whale, but that the group has developed its own protocols.
He said Hawai‘i Superferry has asked for an incidental take statement, a permit that allows holders to “take, harass and harm a marine mammal and be protected under the Endangered Species Act from prosecution.”
Such a permit would cover only incidental takes, and feature a set of regulations governing its use, including “perhaps speed restrictions, perhaps area restrictions, what you do if you hit a whale” and other rules, Robinson said.
“Whale population is growing, so whale density is increasing, and we are trying to warn people to be even more vigilant,” Robinson said.
NOAA is currently in consultation with Hawai‘i Superferry, so any incidental take — whale strike — to occur before the permit is issued could result in substantial penalties.
Fine amounts account for many factors, including the severity of the incident, whether appropriate caution was used, negligence, and ability to pay, according to Robinson, noting he was aware of a similar situation in Alaska that resulted in a fine of “hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
One of the first groups to receive word of the rumored strike was the Pacific Whale Foundation.
Communications director Anne Rillero said yesterday the organization had received a call from a Superferry passenger that the ship had hit a whale, then passed the information on to NOAA.
The foundation later heard back from NOAA that the ferry had successfully “swerved” to avoid a whale and did not actually strike one, Rillero said.
Another member of the response network to receive a call yesterday was the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, which uses disentanglement resources to get out and check on animals in distress, according to Maui-based Science and Rescue Coordinator David Mattila.
Mattila said in a phone interview that the sanctuary “did get a report, but we saw it was at penguin bank in rough conditions, and it was unconfirmed,” so no rescuers were sent to the scene.
Penguin bank is in between O‘ahu and Moloka‘i, Mattila said, describing the area as “an extension of the shallow water that Moloka‘i sits on, to the southwest of Moloka‘i, sort of pointing towards O‘ahu a little bit.”
“According to aerial surveys, that’s one of the highest concentrations of humpback whales,” Mattila said of the region, which is part of the sanctuary. “For some reason they really like it there.”
• Michael Levine, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or via e-mail at mlevine@kauaipubco.com
