Exploring the Sanctuary Sanctuary History Natural Environment The Humpback Whale Hawaiian Cultural Program Exploring the Sanctuary Hawai`i's marine life is on display if you know where and when to look. Some animals are superbly adapted for hiding, a few change colors to match their environment, and others appear only during certain seasons or weather patterns. On Sandy Beaches Sandy beaches can provide almost unlimited marine animal entertainment for little effort. During bright sunlight, look carefully at the sand itself to see a myriad of colorful marine animal skeletons. White sand is made mostly of shells and coral fragments, black sand consists of pulverized volcanic rock, and green sand comes from a volcanic mineral called olivine. Ghost crabs (Ocypode ceratopthalmus) are among the common beach inhabitants in the Hawaiian Islands. Holes in the sand with nearby tiny tracks indicate a ghost crab neighborhood. These crabs match the sand they live on and hide in their holes when frightened. They are easiest to watch by sitting quietly a few feet from a hole at dusk. Sand scattered around a hole means a juvenile or female lives there while a pyramid of sand means the hole belongs to a mature male. A sandy beach changes appearance after strong onshore winds because offshore surface animals are then overpowered and blown onto the beaches. Look for, but do not touch, Portuguese man-of-war. These blue jellyfish have long tentacles that can sting. Blue buttons, violet shells and goose barnacles will also appear on beaches after strong winds. These are harmless to examine although the tentacles around the edge of blue buttons can irritate human skin. Beach walkers should keep an eye out for two rare but possible sights: sea turtle tracks and monk seals. Sea turtles come ashore at night to lay eggs, leaving tracks that look like a single tractor tread. At the end of the track is the nest, a shallow depression in the sand. Monk seals bask in the sun and nurse their young on beaches. Both these events are now rare on the major islands but do happen occasionally. If you spot sea turtle tracks or monk seals on a beach, do not disturb the nest or animals and report these events to the National Marine Fisheries Service. Both species are protected by state and federal law. Tide pools along the coastline of Hawaii are home to many endemic Hawaiian sea creatures. Shallow tide pools offers explorers of all ages a chance to get up close and personal with the miniature marine life. On a dark-night beach stroll, try stamping your feet along the surf line to see bioluminescent plankton light up. This bluish-green glow is also visible in breaking waves. You can find many interesting things on Hawai`i's beaches. Each beach is different every day. On Rocky Shores Rock hopping is fun in Hawai`i where lava flows have formed tide pools, arches and rocky ledges. Be careful. Beach exploration can be dangerous during high surf conditions. Look for dark rock crabs in these places. People catch rock crabs for food and bait in Hawai`i, therefore, these crabs are nervous around humans. Sit quietly and young ones will peek out from behind a rock. You will rarely see the wily adults up close but you can find their red, molted shells along the shore. This is an easy way to examine the animal. Limpets, shingle urchins, nerites, periwinkles and hermit crabs live in distinct zones. Limpets and shingle urchins prefer rocks in pounding surf. Nerites feed in higher areas well within the splash zone. You can see periwinkles at the upper edge of the tideline. Look for hermit crabs wearing nerite or periwinkle shells in and around tide pools. Local people eat limpets and the gonads of shingle urchins uncooked but they eat nerites and periwinkles boiled. At the Water's Surface Whether floating in a boat, kayak, sailboard or cruise ship, the surface of the sea is the place to discover the largest variety of marine life. If you are on a boat, listen carefully when below deck. The crackling sound is the noise of snapping shrimp guarding their territories. You can also hear snapping shrimp while swimming. Sea turtles often bask at the water's surface, looking like floating brown disks or debris. A turtle head raised for a breath of air will confirm the identity of the brown disk. Sea turtles mate in the water so it is possible to see two heads together. The fish you will see most often from a vessel are flying fish that leap out of the water in squadrons and glide for amazing distances. Occasionally, unlucky ones land on boat decks at night. Flying fish are good to eat. Trolling offshore, you will most likely catch skipjack tuna (aku), yellowfin tuna (ahi), little tunny (kawkawa), wahoo (ono) or dolphinfish (mahimahi). Other species of gamefishes swim in Hawaiian waters but these are the easiest and most common catches. It is rare to see a shark in Hawai`i but it does happen. Boardsailors cruising outside the reef sometimes see the dark shape of a shark pass by and, occasionally, fishermen see a shark fin hovering around a lure. Black frigatebirds soar high overhead, white tropicbirds and boobies fly lower, and shearwaters and petrels swoop close to the surface, all looking for fish. Boobies sit on navigational buoys and young ones will occasionally land on boats for a rest. Watch for splashing in the distance. Dolphins like to play around boats and it is common for them to come leaping and bounding toward a vessel to play in the bow wave. Humpback whales from Alaska winter every year in Hawai`i. The humpbacks mate and give birth here. You can see these whales around all the islands but they are most common between Maui and Lana`i from November to April. Look for baby whales with their mothers beginning in January. If you get a chance to swim in the vicinity of these animals, listen underwater for their famous song. Humpback whales are an endangered species, protected by state and federal law. From a Lookout Oceanwatchers can sometimes see the wingtips of manta rays from boats but the balconies of a few hotels along the Kona coast of the Big Island of Hawai`i are a sure bet for manta ray watching. On moonless nights, spotlights from the hotels attract plankton and small fish, which in turn attract mantas. The hotels welcome manta ray watchers. Ask for directions at Kona dive shops. Hawai`i is famous for spectacular cliffs that plunge to the sea. Find a comfortable place on top of one and settle down to watch breaching whales (in winter), spinning dolphins and leaping billfish. Seabirds sometimes ride the updrafts above cliffs. It is easy to watch the ocean in Hawai`i. In fact, it is hard to get away from it. So, whether sitting, walking, sailing, motoring or kayaking, keep your eyes and ears open to discover Hawai`i's special marine life. This page was contributed by Ms. Susan Scott, noted author of books on Hawaiian wildlife and columnist for the Honolulu Star Bulletin. [top] Revised by the HIHWNMS web team on March 10, 2003. URL: http://hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov/about/exploring.html.