A drone carries a suction-cup tag toward a humpback whale. A successful deployment attaches cleanly near the dorsal fin, allows the whale to continue natural behavior without disturbance, collects high-quality data, and later releases for recovery. Photo: Ed Lyman/NOAA Permit #25754

Practice Makes Perfect: Drone Operations in Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary

12/18/2025 - By sanctuaries.noaa.gov, Published in sanctuaries.noaa.gov. A well-placed multi-sensor tag on a humpback whale allows researchers to track its underwater movements and observe its behavior. But how do whale researchers practice dropping these suction cup tags from a drone onto the back of a massive ocean animal? With a surfboard, of… SEE MORE

Storm Sweeps Hawaii, Brings Threat of ‘Catastrophic’ Floods

12/7/2021 - By Caleb Jones. HONOLULU (AP) — A strong storm packing high winds and extremely heavy rain flooded roads and knocked out power across Hawaii, with officials warning Monday of potentially worse conditions ahead. The National Weather Service said the storm brings the threat of “catastrophic flooding” in the coming days… SEE MORE
https://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov

NOAA Considers Marine Sanctuary off Hawaiian Islands

11/30/2021 - NOAA announced it is initiating the process to consider designating the marine portions of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument as a national marine sanctuary. This designation would build on existing management in the marine portions of the monument by adding the conservation benefits and enhanced long-term protection of a national marine sanctuary.… SEE MORE
https://coralreef.noaa.gov/aboutcrcp/news/featuredstories/feb15/coraletiquette.html

Global Warming’s Extreme Rains Threaten Hawaii’s Coral Reefs

4/17/2021 - By Caleb Jones / AP News. As muddy rainwater surged from Hawaii’s steep seaside mountains and inundated residential communities last month, the damage caused by flooding was obvious — houses were destroyed and businesses swamped, landslides covered highways and raging rivers and streams were clogged with debris. But extreme rain… SEE MORE