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HONOLULU – Update on meetings of US officials and researchers on the decline of Humpback whale sightings in Hawaii (all local times):
1:15 p.m.
Officials of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hope that meetings on the decline of whale sightings in Hawaii will help them develop a plan and secure funding for the future.
Marc Lammers, research coordinator for the Hawaii Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary at NOAA Whale, says the researchers are in agreement that a shift in Alaska's food sources is at the origin of the change, but officials do not know if this change applies more widely in the North Pacific.
Susan Pultz of NOAA, responsible for conservation planning and regulation in the Pacific Island region, said these meetings were a starting point for possible future action.
Pultz says there is "a sense of urgency" about missing whales and that the meetings will help officials identify actions to be taken, including funding proposals.
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11:40
According to federal officials, research on the decline of humpback whale sightings in Hawaii indicates a disruption of the food chain that is likely caused by warming ocean temperatures in the food supply areas of the Hawaii. whales in Alaska.
US and international researchers, wildlife managers and federal officials meet on Wednesday in Honolulu to discuss the decline.
Christine Gabriele, a federal wildlife biologist who monitors humpback whales in Alaska's Glacier Bay National Park, said Tuesday's data show a strong correlation between ocean warming and extinct whales.
Three factors warmed the water in Alaska from 2014, the same year, scientists found a decrease in sightings in Hawaii.
There was a switch in a peaceful Pacific current, a hot period of El Nino and a huge "spot" of warm water in the area.
By the Associated Press
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