Activity Updates
More than80,000
contacts handled by our hotlines reporting marine protected animals that may need support.
More than31,000
instances of field support activity conducted by HMAR volunteers and staff.
Over380,000
people reached with face-to-face marine conservation outreach and education.
More than3,000
rescues, interventions, stranding responses, and escalated field actions for animals that need help.
Hawai'i Marine Animal Response (HMAR) is the largest Hawai'i-based non-profit marine species conservation and response organization.
Our mission: To undertake substantial actions that result in the preservation, recovery and stewardship of Hawai'i’s marine protected species and the ocean ecosystem we share.
Hawai'i Marine Animal Response (HMAR) is the largest Hawai'i-based nonprofit marine species conservation and response organization. We work on the islands of Oʻahu and Molokaʻi with our team of dedicated volunteers, interns and staff that are supported by private donations, corporate funding and government grants. We strive to achieve our mission through activity every day of the year that impacts our key objectives: (1) educating the community to grow support for marine protected species and the ocean we share, (2) mitigating threats to manage and recover marine protected species and the ecosystem they call home, and (3) saving animals that need help. Our four programs described below work synergistically to accomplish these three objectives. Thousands of times each year our outreach, education, field support, interventions, rescue and stranding response activities help us move towards our vision of Hawai'i’s ocean ecosystem shared in sustainable harmony by humans and marine protected animals such as Hawaiian monk seals, sea turtles and seabirds.
We are proud of our GuideStar (Candid) “Platinum” Rating. GuideStar is one of the most respected independent rating agencies for non-profit organizations in the United States. Learn how you can volunteer, donate or get involved with Hawai’i Marine Animal Response (HMAR). Click here to find out how.
About Our Work
We focus our efforts on making positive impacts on the human-related threats to marine protected species and our ocean ecosystem in Hawai'i. Our animals of primary focus include the rare and endangered Hawaiian monk seal, threatened green and endangered hawksbill sea turtles, and vulnerable seabird species. In partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the State of Hawai'i, HMAR works to support protected species preservation, recovery and ocean conservation through four programs that work together to make a positive impact on both the causes and the effects of key threats.
Our Field Operations Program (FOP) team members devote thousands of hours each year responding to sightings, searching for animals of concern to document their condition, identifying potential animal health issues and recording observational and other data needed for species population and recovery research. This team also performs animal interventions, rescues, and stranding responses to save animals that need help or to enable medical treatments, rehabilitation, recovery and release. While in the field, we also engage with thousands of people each year performing outreach and teaching sustainable behaviors, and other actions each person can take to improve stewardship for the marine protected animals of Hawai’i and to help ensure long-term species preservation and ocean resilience.
Member of our Marine Operations Program (MOP) team support most of the same work as our Field Operations Program, but this team’s focus is on performing these important functions on or in the ocean. Work is done in the water while free diving or from HMAR vessel assets. In addition to performing important survey work, responses, rescues, and stranding support, our Marine Operations team also conducts marine debris removal work to reduce the negative life-impacting effects of fishing gear and other debris in the ocean.
Our Animal Care Program (ACP) provides emergency care, medical support, and rehabilitation for marine protected animals that need help. Work is performed at the HMAR Care Center, our purpose-built facility on O’ahu currently focused on supporting sea turtles needing care. Our facility can support multiple patients simultaneously and we are equipped to provide the life-saving treatments and support that can lead to the healing and ultimate release of these animals back into their ocean home.
Our Operations Support Program manages telephone hotlines that receive thousands of calls every year from the public and government agencies so that we can mount the most appropriate field action needed. Team members in this program dispatch HMAR personnel to enable field response, manage inter-agency activity, and also record and shares data obtained in the field with government research and species management partners to enhance conservation and recovery efforts. Member of this team also manage other vital HMAR systems such as online volunteer management and training systems that enable us to operate most efficiently with well-trained personnel for maximum results.
Our team of volunteers and interns are at the core of our work.
Without these dedicated and hard-working individuals we could not do the work we do. Our great volunteer team is supported by our management team.
Meet Our Team >
Our partnerships are critical to our success.
Government agencies, private foundations and corporate supporters provide HMAR with important resources.
See some of Our Partners >
Our team of volunteers and interns are at the core of our work.
Without these dedicated and hard-working individuals we could not do the work we do.
