for great whales due, in part, to its uncertainty as to 

 whether or how recovery plans would enhance protection of the 

 animals. 



In 1985, the Commission received the report of a 

 research project it had supported on humpback whales in 

 Hawaii (see Appendix B, Glockner-Ferrari and Ferrari, 1985) . 

 The results of that project suggested that use of inshore 

 waters off Maui by humpback whales, particularly by cow/calf 

 pairs, has decreased substantially over the past several 

 years, possibly due to increased vessel traffic and other 

 human activities in the area. In part as a follow-up to that 

 study, the Commission provided funds for two additional 

 studies in 1985 aimed at obtaining further information on the 

 distribution of humpback whales in Hawaii and the possible 

 effects of human activities on the species and its habitat. 

 In addition, on 31 December 1985, the Commission wrote to the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service, formally recommending once 

 again that the Service develop, adopt, and implement a 

 recovery plan for endangered humpback whales, as well as 

 endangered right and bowhead whales, which occur substan- 

 tially in U.S. waters. 



During 1986, the Commission received interim reports on 

 the two research projects referred to above. Draft final 

 reports of both studies were submitted to the Commission 

 prior to the end of 1986. One study, involving aerial 

 surveys of humpback whales in the inshore waters of Hawaii, 

 further supported the findings of earlier studies that 

 humpback whales may no longer be using areas that they 

 previously had used and which have been subject to increasing 

 levels of boat traffic. The second report provided an 

 assessment of various human activities that may adversely 

 affect the humpback whale population in Hawaii. It 

 identified several relatively new recreational activities 

 that are becoming increasingly popular in Hawaiian waters and 

 which may adversely impact humpback whales. One such 

 activity is the growing use of jet skis in nearshore waters 

 off Maui, which are also frequented by humpback whale 

 cow/calf pairs. Jet skis are small one- or two-person 

 vessels that are propelled by water jets. They are generally 

 operated in an erratic fashion at high speeds and produce a 

 variable high-pitched noise. While there is little 

 documented information on the effects of jet ski operations 

 on humpback whales, such activities could cause whales to 

 avoid certain areas that may be particularly important for 

 breeding, calving, and calf-rearing. The growing popularity 

 of jet skis in an area used by whales suggests a potentially 

 serious problem. 



The importance of Hawaii's coastal waters to humpback 

 whales for calving, nursing, and breeding is clearly 



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