Whale Trust

06/26/2026

This photo is taken by co-founder Flip Nicklin. It shows Jason Sturgis, a videographer who has worked very closely with Whale Trust over the years, getting footage of a whale breaching.

Not many have had the chance to be in the water with whales, especially here in the US where marine mammals are protected through the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Whale Trust operates under permits that allow us to get close to the whales so that we can conduct our scientific research.

ⒸFlip Nicklin/NMFS Permit # #13846

06/19/2026

Flip and Linda Nicklin on our research vessel! Take a look at the "vintage" Whale Quest hat that Flip is wearing in this photo. Our annual event Whale Tales originally was called Whale Quest when it was started in 2006, the event name then changed to Whale Tales in 2011.

06/11/2026

Our old vessel, Never Satisfied, in the early 2000s off of West Maui 🩵⛵🐋

06/04/2026

Here is a throwback to much before Whale Trust was an organization, in the 1970s. In this photo we were trying to find new ways to keep up with whales underwater (this method was not successful 😂).

06/03/2026

Come visit us!

Maui Ocean Center is celebrating World Ocean Day on Monday, June 8, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Māʻalaea with marine naturalist presentations, cultural activities, live music, a coral feeding station, shark tooth dig, and an 11 a.m. diver program in the Open Ocean exhibit.

This year’s theme highlights Marine Protected Areas, including a new interactive display about the Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project. Guests can also enjoy whale films in the Sphere Theater and connect with local conservation groups.

Kamaʻāina admission with Hawaiʻi ID is $15 adults and $10 children, with kids 3 and under free. Tickets are available at mauioceancenter.com or at the front gate.

06/03/2026

World Ocean Day is coming up on June 8th and we’d love for you to spend the day with us! We have two opportunities for you to visit with Whale Trust and celebrate our oceans:

🌊Kā’anapali Beach Clean Up

Whale Trust is teaming up with the Sheraton to make a difference in honor of Ocean Day. Join us on Kā’anapali Beach this Ocean Day to help make our planet a little bit cleaner! We hope you join us at 9 am on June 8.

🐋World Ocean Day at the Maui Ocean Center!

Come visit with Whale Trust at Maui Ocean Center’s World Ocean Day Event. During this event Kama’āina will have reduced admission fees with valid Hawai’i ID.

05/29/2026

Our 2025-2026 Maui Field Season:

🐋 Around 270 Whales Encountered
🐳 So far we have 159 IDs
🌊 33 Days on the water
🎤 28 song recordings
🧪 10 Blubber biopsies collected
📸 4 Drone flights with 11 different whales recorded
🔬2 Skin samples collected
🍼 2 Milk Samples collected

NMFS Permit #25987

05/29/2026

Here is a picture of one of our co-founders, Flip Nicklin, playing with a GoPro when they first came out!

05/21/2026

This is a photo of one of our co-founders, Flip Nicklin having a close encounter with a s***m whale in the Galápagos Islands. Flip was working with Hal Whitehead at the time. The photo was taken by Sacha Ho**er, a researcher who was working with Hal.

In the photo the s***m whale was resting on the surface, the kayak allowed Flip to be close to the whale without causing a disturbance.

05/14/2026

This image was featured in National Geographic as the lead photo in Flip Nicklin’s first humpback whale story for the magazine. Taken in 1981, the photo features fellow Whale Trust co-founder Dr. Jim Darling. The article, published in 1982, was titled “A New Light on Humpback Whales".