General Overview of the Four Species
Humpback Whale
Common name: Humpback whale
Scientific name: Megaptera novaengliae
Hawaiian name: Kohola
Population status: Endangered
Native status: Indigenous
Threats: whaling, driftnets & gillnets, habitat degradation, pollution
Legal Protection: ESA, MMPA, Hawaii Regulations, CITES/Appendix I
Hawaiian Monk Seal
Common name: Hawaiian monk seal
Scientific name: Monachus schauinslandi
Hawaiian name: Ilio-holo-i-ka-uaua
Population status: Endangered
Native status: Endemic
Threats: hunting, habitat degradation, mobbing, driftnets & gillnets, pollution, sharks
Legal Protection: ESA, MMPA, Hawaii Guidelines, CITES/Appendix I
Green Sea Turtle
Common name: Green sea turtle (Hawaiian population)
Scientific name: Chelonia mydas (aggazizi)
Hawaiian name: Honu
Population status: Threatened
Native status: Endemic
Threats: Hunting, trade, egg poaching, coastal development, driftnets & gillnets, shrimp trawlers, habitat degradation/pollution, fibropapilloma
Legal Protection: ESA, CITES/Appendix I
Dolphins
Common names: Dolphins
Pacific Bottlenose
Rough-toothed
Spotted
Spinner
Scientific names:
Tursiops truncatus
Steno bredanensis
Stenella attenuata
Stenella longirostris
Hawaiian name: Nai’a
Population status: —
Native status: Indegenous
Threats: Purse-seining, driftnets & gillnets, hunting, habitat degradation, pollution
Legal Protection: MMPA, DPCIA, IDCA, ESA*, CITES/Appendix II
* Does not apply to species found in Hawaii