O le vaʻaiga muamua o le tafolā a Maui na lipotia mai i le aso pe tusa o le lua maila na folau atu i fafo o Mala Wharf pe tusa o le 12:45 pm (Aso Lua, Oketopa 14, 2014). O le tafolā na vaʻaia e le auvaʻa a le Pacific Whale Foundation's Ocean Quest: Kapeteni Ben Eisenstein ma Carols Cardenas ma le Marine Naturists o Mark Danielson ma Christy Kozama, o e na valaʻaulia e lipotia le vaʻaia ma saunia foi le ata i luga o lenei itulau (faʻaali Mark ma le tafola naʻo le taumatau o le ogatotonu i le mea mamao).

O le Ocean Quest sa i luga o le Lanai Snorkel ma le Dolphin Watch mai Lahaina Harbour i le taimi lena. Na matau atu e Kapeteni Carlos le pisi tele o le vai ma faalatalata atu i ai. O le isi vaʻa i lea itu, Queen's Treasure, na faʻamaoniaina o se tafola tafola ma na lipotia le vaʻaia o se malepelepe ma faʻafuaseʻi ona maulu. Na vaʻaia e le Ocean Quest se "faʻataʻamilo-i fafo" poʻo le peduncle arch i le mamao. "O le tafolā humpback foliga mai o se tausaga pe laiti-matua," fai mai Kapeteni Carlos.

"E le taunuʻu faʻatasi i le taimi e tasi le tafola faʻafuaseʻi tafola," o le tala lea a Greg Kaufman, Faʻavae ma Faʻatonusili o le Pacific Whale Foundation (PWF). "Ua amata ona o mai i le talafatai o Maui i le tautoulu, ma o latou fuainumera ua faʻateleina ia Novema ma Tesema."

O le tele o vaʻaiga muamua o le vaitau i Maui e faia ia Oketopa. I le tausaga na teʻa nei, na vaʻaia ai le tafola muamua na maua i le Oketopa 5 e le PWF's Ocean Voyager i le taimi o le folauga a le snokel i Molokini. Nei o aso mo muamua muamua vaʻaia:

Oketopa 5, 2013
Oketopa 15, 2012
Oketopa 6, 2011

O tafolā tafola e masii atu i Hawaii mai le latou taumafataga o le taumafanafana e amata atu i Matu o Kalefonia i le sami Bering. Latou o mai i le mafanafana, ma papaʻu o vai e paʻaga, fanauina, ma tausia a latou fanau.

OA MEA E AVEA MAI LENEI TUSI:

Captains Ben Eisenstein and Carols Cardenas and Marine Naturalists Mark Danielson and Christy Kozama, who called in to report the sighting and also provided the photo on this page (showing Mark with the whale just right of center in the distance).
Another vessel in the area, Queen’s Treasure, confirmed it to be a humpback whale and reported seeing a breach and fluke up dive.
Last year, the first humpback whale was spotted on October 5 by PWF’s Ocean Voyager during a Molokini snorkel cruise.