Upgrade the Humpback Whale Sanctuary Webcam
Donation protected
Aloha from Maui!
Since 2013, the Maui Hawaii Humpback Whale webcam has been providing a 24/7, 365-day window into the winter breeding grounds of the approximately 9,000 North Pacific Humpback Whales that come to Hawaii every winter to mate and give birth to their offspring.
Viewers from around the world have been enjoying the breaching, fin, and tail slapping of these magnificent creatures while at the same time providing a valuable service of keeping a lookout and reporting to the NOAA anything unusual with the Humpbacks, such as vessel strikes, entanglements, etc.
Now in this age of Covid, travel has been significantly reduced and so many people are left with only experiencing the peace and beauty of Maui through their screens. I felt this would be a good time to improve the experience for so many people who only have this means to connect with Maui and see the whales and the beautiful scenery and sunsets. A better webcam will also make it easier to spot the whales, identify and report if any appear in distress.
This Gofundme campaign is asking for your help to purchase a 4K webcam (AXIS Q6128-E PTZ camera) to replace the current aging webcam that is limited to a video resolution of 720P. The Cost breakdown is located below:
Imagine what a brand new, high-resolution webcam will be like for whale watching and viewing the beautiful Hawaiian sunsets and rainbows! Thousands of people who monitor this webcam every year are helping to protect the whales by being the eyes for the NOAA. These volunteers can be much more effective if they have a higher resolution video to look at.
This video was taken from the same spot where the Webcam is currently positioned and the new webcam will also be located here.
About the Hawaii Humpback Whale Marine Sanctuary
The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale Marine Sanctuary (HIHWMS) is composed of 5 separate protected areas with the main area and the highest concentration of Humpbacks located in between the Islands of Molokai, Lanai, and Maui. The HIHWMS is the birthing and mating grounds of the North Pacific Humpback Whale population. They can be seen breaching, fin, and tail slapping in large numbers here from December to April. This webcam rotates from the north (tiny Mokuho'Oniki Island and Kahana, Maui), west (Island of Molokai) to the south (Island of Lanai).
GoFundme Cost breakdown:
From BHPhoto (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/)
$2999.00 AXIS Q6128-E PTZ camera
$149.00 Axis Communications T8134 60W Midspan
$98.00 Axis Communications T91L61 Wall-and-Pole Mount
$50.10 Shipping
$137.34 taxes
= $3,433.44
+$200 to have the technician come in and upgrade the hardware to support more bandwidth for this camera. I'm hoping we can upgrade the stream to support 4K video.
If this Gofundme campaign is successful, I hope to get the new camera installed in January, just in time for Peak Whale season in February.
If you are unable to donate or have donated and would still like to see this webcam upgrade happen, please share this campaign with your friends and family by using this link: https://gofund.me/3d4a532f
Mahalo to everyone for your help!
Ryan
Since 2013, the Maui Hawaii Humpback Whale webcam has been providing a 24/7, 365-day window into the winter breeding grounds of the approximately 9,000 North Pacific Humpback Whales that come to Hawaii every winter to mate and give birth to their offspring.
Viewers from around the world have been enjoying the breaching, fin, and tail slapping of these magnificent creatures while at the same time providing a valuable service of keeping a lookout and reporting to the NOAA anything unusual with the Humpbacks, such as vessel strikes, entanglements, etc.
Now in this age of Covid, travel has been significantly reduced and so many people are left with only experiencing the peace and beauty of Maui through their screens. I felt this would be a good time to improve the experience for so many people who only have this means to connect with Maui and see the whales and the beautiful scenery and sunsets. A better webcam will also make it easier to spot the whales, identify and report if any appear in distress.
This Gofundme campaign is asking for your help to purchase a 4K webcam (AXIS Q6128-E PTZ camera) to replace the current aging webcam that is limited to a video resolution of 720P. The Cost breakdown is located below:
Imagine what a brand new, high-resolution webcam will be like for whale watching and viewing the beautiful Hawaiian sunsets and rainbows! Thousands of people who monitor this webcam every year are helping to protect the whales by being the eyes for the NOAA. These volunteers can be much more effective if they have a higher resolution video to look at.
This video was taken from the same spot where the Webcam is currently positioned and the new webcam will also be located here.
About the Hawaii Humpback Whale Marine Sanctuary
The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale Marine Sanctuary (HIHWMS) is composed of 5 separate protected areas with the main area and the highest concentration of Humpbacks located in between the Islands of Molokai, Lanai, and Maui. The HIHWMS is the birthing and mating grounds of the North Pacific Humpback Whale population. They can be seen breaching, fin, and tail slapping in large numbers here from December to April. This webcam rotates from the north (tiny Mokuho'Oniki Island and Kahana, Maui), west (Island of Molokai) to the south (Island of Lanai).
GoFundme Cost breakdown:
From BHPhoto (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/)
$2999.00 AXIS Q6128-E PTZ camera
$149.00 Axis Communications T8134 60W Midspan
$98.00 Axis Communications T91L61 Wall-and-Pole Mount
$50.10 Shipping
$137.34 taxes
= $3,433.44
+$200 to have the technician come in and upgrade the hardware to support more bandwidth for this camera. I'm hoping we can upgrade the stream to support 4K video.
If this Gofundme campaign is successful, I hope to get the new camera installed in January, just in time for Peak Whale season in February.
If you are unable to donate or have donated and would still like to see this webcam upgrade happen, please share this campaign with your friends and family by using this link: https://gofund.me/3d4a532f
Mahalo to everyone for your help!
Ryan
Organizer
Ryan Logtenberg
Organizer
Lahaina, HI
