New Hybrid Dolphin Whale We’re sure you’ve heard the rumors that there is a new hybrid between dolphins and whales, and those rumors are TRUE! Last August Cascadia Research Collective (you’ve heard us talk about them before), conducted dolphin and whale research around the Hawaii islands. One discovery off the Kauai coast was this possible hybrid between a melon-headed whale … Read More
Best Time of Day to Whale Watch in Hawaii
Wondering what’s the best time of day to whale watch in Hawaii? Are your looking for the best time of day to Whale Watch in Hawaii ,The good new is that whales don’t operate on an a.m. or p.m. schedule like us, so the best time for whale watching is when you feel like going! Humpback whales do not feed … Read More
The Best Places for Snorkeling in Maui
Snorkeling on Maui: The Best Spots Hotel? Check! Flights? Check! Snorkel gear? Check! The best place to snorkel on Maui? Maui are regarded as the best due to their unique offerings. From diverse marine life and thriving coral reefs to clear waters and varied underwater landscapes, these spots provide snorkelers with unparalleled experiences. These spots are also known for their … Read More
Manta Ray Research with HAMER
Manta Ray Research Once again, Ultimate partnered with Mark Deakos of HAMER research group this past week to support Manta Ray research!Marks said that with 90% decline in manta ray sighting rates in Maui, HAMER’s manta ray tagging program is a crucial effort to better understand what habitats are important for their survival and how they use that habitat for … Read More
Full Face Snorkel Mask Harmful or Helpful?
After doing our research, spending every day in the water and hosting thousands of snorkel trips, we do not recommend snorkeling or diving with full-face mask as there are some safety concerns we have discovered! Consider these safety concerns before deciding to dive or not to dive with a full-faced mask. 1. Our number one concern is carbon dioxide poisoning. Many of the full-faced mask do … Read More
Whale Research? We’re All Ears!
We’ve all heard the magical song of the whales, sung beneath the surface and answered miles away by other singers. But what scientist are still working to conclude is the actually hearing range of whales! Ultimate Whale Watch and Snorkel spent 10 days teaming up with Navy researchers this March to conduct research by measuring the hearing frequency of whales. … Read More
Ultimate Leads Official Whale Disentanglement
Saturday January 27th Ultimate Whale Watch owner and marine biologist Lee James got a call to lead the West Maui first responders team to aid the 8th entangled whale of the season (we are now at 11 reported entanglements since this was reported!). “Research is benefiting them long term, but this is short term and it’s exciting work” said Lee, after completing … Read More
Manta Ray named “Ultimate”
Save Maui’s Manta Rays Team just sent out an update on their tagging research. We are grateful to be a part of their research team by donating the Wildlife Tag to help support ray research and learn how to better protect our marine ocean life! Manta Ray update! “On May 1, 2015, an adult male manta ray that we named … Read More
Giving the Ocean EARs
EARs- aka Ecological Acoustic Recordersare new technology being used by researchers tomonitor coral reef soundscapes among other purposes! According to NOAA, “The Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center and the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB), University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, developed the EAR program for these purposes: Establish patterns of sound-producing organisms in nearshore waters Monitor sound-producing marine species and their … Read More
Dolphins, Whales and Research, OH MY!
Yet to be published, Robin Baird, Research Biologist with Cascadia Research Collective and Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, has shared some current results of their work from a resent research project they partnered with Ultimate on! (Yep these are Melon-Headed whales!) Their research abstracts include info on false killer whales, their social, fishing and population stats; Rough toothed bottlenose dolphins (bet you didn’t know there was such thing), … Read More