In late May and early June 2026 we'll be undertaking a short (~10 day) field project off Kona. Like all of our field projects we have a lot of goals, but in particular during this project we will be trying to deploy finmount satellite-linked tags on several species of dolphins, including spinner dolphins, pantropical spotted dolphins, and bottlenose dolphins. These tags are deployed on bowriding dolphins using the TADpole device, developed by researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the Brookfield Zoo Chicago's Sarasota Dolphin Research Program. In 2025 we used this system to deploy tags on spinner dolphins off O'ahu and Lāna‘i, a bottlenose dolphin off Lāna‘i, and a pantropical spotted dolphin off Kona.
In addition to working with these species of dolphins, we are hoping to find and work with false killer whales, our highest-priority species, as well as some of the other resident species off Kona, including pygmy killer whales, dwarf sperm whales, and Blainville's and goose-beaked whales. Funding for this work comes from grants from the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Dolphin Quest, and the Office of Naval Research.
Check back in late May for more updates.