Over the last 28 years we have been working on the water in Hawai'i learning about whales and dolphins and the environment that is so important to both marine mammals and humans to thrive and raise their families. Through our research we have tracked individual whales and dolphins and been able to show that many of these species are highly dependent on specific locations around the islands to find their food, rest, and reproduce. We feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to do this work and pass along their stories through presentations and publications, which in turn can be used to protect these species and their environment.
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Video Summary
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For nearly 28 years, Cascadia Research has studied the diverse whale and dolphin populations of Hawaii. Their research has been pivotal in identifying resident stocks and securing endangered status for false killer whales. However, due to a significant decline in government grant funding, their critical research and educational efforts are now in jeopardy.
2026 is our 28th year of work in Hawaii. Over the years we've learned a tremendous amount about the
diversity of resident whales and dolphins around the Hawaiian archipelago, including some extremely
poorly known species such as dwarf sperm whales, pygmy killer whales, beaked whales, and false
killer whales among others. Our work has had a lot of implications for conservation and management.
Early on that involved providing evidence that a number of what are normally open ocean species
have resident island-associated populations, and for some of these species there are multiple
island-associated populations, and that resulted in recognition by NOAA fisheries of multiple
island-associated stocks of bottlenose dolphins, melonhead whales, pantropical spotted dolphins,
and false killer whales. Our work with false killer whales has been most consequential.
In 2008 a Hawaii island stock was recognized based largely on our work and our collaboration
with the Southwest Fisheries Science Center, and just four years later that same population was
listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, based in large part on our work.
Over the 14 years since, with a lot of help from various collaborators, we've identified threats
to the population, determined that the false killer whale population has been declining, and
tried to identify solutions to halt the decline, both for the endangered main Hawaiian islands
population and for the open ocean population, which has high levels of bycatch in the offshore
longline fishery. We also spend a lot of time focusing on outreach and education, raising
awareness of these poorly known species and conservation issues, working with ocean users to
try to share information on what we have learned, what needs to be done both to understand and
protect false killer whales and other species. But in 2026 our work is in jeopardy. We have a small
team in the office and another small field team, and we're having to cut back. Our work has largely
relied on government grants over the years, and with the reduction in funding for science in the
U.S. in the last year and a half, our grants have dried up. We want to continue these studies and our
educational efforts, but unless we get additional support, that won't happen. For anyone who supports
our work, if you can afford to make a donation, we need your help, or if you know of foundations or
organizations that might be willing to support research and education efforts related to the
endangered false killer whales in Hawaii and some of the other poorly known species, we need to hear
from you. We do have funding to continue some field work, and we have a project starting the
end of this month, so if you want to keep track of what we're up to, check out our website and follow
us on Facebook and Instagram. Cascadia Research is a 501c3 non-profit research and education
organization, and donations are tax deductible in the U.S. to the extent allowable by law.
