LAHAINA – The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Law Enforcement, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and NOAA Fisheries will hold two ocean users workshops on Maui next month.

The public is invited to learn and ask questions about safe and lawful wildlife viewing and boating around Hawaii’s marine mammals and sea turtles. Whale and dolphin watchers, boat captains, ocean tour operators and other ocean users are encouraged to attend.

The workshops are free to the public. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the meetings start at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 6, at Princess Nahi’ena’ena Elementary School in Lahaina, and Friday, Dec. 7, at the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary at 726 South Kihei Road in Kihei.

For more information, contact Pacific Islands Regional Director Allen Tom at the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries at (808) 879-2818, extension 225, or allen.tom@noaa.gov.

The Marine Mammal Protection Act, Endangered Species Act, National Marine Sanctuaries Act and Lacey Act are not new federal laws. The workshops are an opportunity to hear from federal officials how to legally interact with protected marine mammals and sea turtles.