The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, the nation's 12th established marine sanctuary, protects the winter breeding, calving and nursing range of the largest Pacific population of the endangered humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae).

The boundary of the sanctuary encompasses approximately 1,218 square nautical miles of coastal and ocean waters around the main Hawaiian Islands.  The sanctuary extends seaward from the shoreline to the 100-fathom isobath. It includes areas around the islands of Maui, Lana`i, and Moloka`i, and parts of O`ahu, Kaua`i and Hawai`i.

The sanctuary is jointly managed via a cooperative federal-state partnership between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the State of Hawai`i.

Find out more about the management of the sanctuary