First sighting of humpback reported

LAHAINA - A humpback whale made an early-season appearance Wednesday afternoon, giving people aboard an Expeditions ferry an unexpected thrill as they made their way into Lahaina Harbor.

The sighting marks the first reported whale sighting in Maui County waters this season, a federal official said.

"It came up and took a blow," said crew member Hal Pestana, reporting the lone adult whale was seen at 2:28 p.m. about a half mile off Lahaina Harbor. "It did a flukes-up dive and headed toward Olowalu."

The sighting would be the first for Maui County waters, said Ed Lyman, marine mammal response manager at the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.

Two days earlier, there were reports of humpback whales being seen off the Big Island.