Thankfully, collections of Native Hawaiian remains (iwi) are now illegal, which this week prompted the repatriation of skulls from the University of Cambridge.

A surprising number of non-human Hawaiian artifacts, however, are still scattered around England. Some were handed down by those gifted with beautiful artifacts — and some were acquired through murky means. Many are in the famous British Museum and smaller collections across the country.

Let’s hope the iwi, at least, do come home.

More whale-counters needed

The second round of this year’s Ocean Count — a long-standing citizen science project — was hampered by last weekend’s bouts of inclement weather. The upshot was a tally of humpback whale sightings that added up to nearly half of last year’s February census, when 372 visiting whales were sighted across the main isles during the same 15-minute period.

The final round is set for March 28. Volunteers from the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Ocean Count will be collaborating with those from Maui’s Great Whale Count by the Pacific Whale Foundation. Sign-up information is at oceancount.org or mauiwhalefestival.org/greatwhalecount.