Don Hansen, who introduced whale watching to Orange County, fought to keep sportfishing sustainable and thrived on community outreach, died Wednesday, Jan. 5, at the age of 87.
Hansen, highly respected across the state for his experience, wisdom and leadership in the fishing industry, spent his life advocating for the public’s ability to experience the ocean, whether it be by catching their first fish while out on the ocean or seeing the earth’s largest animal, the blue whale, up close.
He founded Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching in 1971 in Dana Point Harbor, and before he retired, a fleet of 17 vessels had given so many people the unique opportunity of a day on the water watching dolphins and seals, whales and even the occasional orca. The family business continues to be a backbone of the community.
Over the years, Hansen served as chairman of the Pacific Fisheries Management Council and as a commissioner for the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission.
Most recently, he was vice president of the Sportfishing Association of California and in October, the Coastal Conservation Association of California awarded him its highest honor, the 2021 Anthony Hsieh Conservation Award, in recognition of his decades of work and dedication to improving California’s sportfishing industry and making angling accessible to everyone.
“Don was one of the most respected individuals in the world of sportfishing because he advocated for sustainable fishing practices as an environmentalist, while encouraging and expanding the opportunities for individuals to enjoy the sport,” Sen. Patricia Bates said. “He’s an icon, being among the first to bring recognition to the rich heritage and historical migration of the great whales that annually grace our coast.”
Hansen’s first love affair with the ocean began shortly after 1938, when his family moved to San Clemente from the farmlands of Iowa. As a young boy, he worked on the pier, first helping fishermen haul in their takes with his red wooden wagon and later as a deckhand.
At 18, he joined the U.S. Coast Guard just before the Korean War. He served for four years, two of them stationed in Guam.
When he got out of the service, he landed a job working for San Clemente Sportfishing. In 1966, he took over the company, taking out 10,000 people every season from the San Clemente Pier on four different boats.
Bob Lohrman, who was with the Orange County Sheriff Department’s Harbor Patrol for 30 years and now operates Seaventures, an environmental research outfit, got his start with Hansen cleaning the boats out by the pier. He was 13 and Hansen was 27,
In those days, whales were spotted all the time on fishing trips, he said. To him and the other anglers it wasn’t a big deal, it was just what happened.
But Hansen saw an opportunity and told his friend, Phillip Grignon, a high school teacher at San Clemente High, about the whales and together the two decided to start taking students out to study the ocean wildlife.
“It became a way of supplementing sportfishing,” Lohrman said. “Don started doing that before anyone else in San Diego or Newport Beach jumped in.”
Over the years, Lohrman said he kept in touch with Hansen and the two went to breakfast at least twice each week while Hansen worked at his office at Dana Wharf and Lohrman worked for Harbor Patrol and ran his own fishing boat.
“He was very important to my life,” Lohrman said. “I looked at him as a special friend who gave me a break in my life and set me in the right direction.”
When the Dana Point Harbor opened in 1971, Hansen moved his operation there. He started with four boats: Clemente, Sum Fun, Reel Fun and Sea Horse.
Hansen’s special love for the gray whale was infectious, and his tours led more and more visitors and locals to learn about and love the visiting giants as well.
The thousands of gray whales migrating between Alaska and the lagoons of Baja each year use the towering rock outcrop just before the harbor known as the Headlands as a navigational point and they make a beeline toward the coast making the area a great place for whale watching.
Dana Point was soon recognized as the West Coast capital of whale watching. As interest grew, Hansen founded the town’s Festival of Whales, which last year celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Hansen’s daughter, Donna Kalez, who eventually took over the family business with her brother, Michael Hansen, expanded marketing of Dana Point as the place to also see dolphins and other marine life.
In 2019, Kalez, with Gisele Anderson, who with her husband Dave Anderson runs Capt. Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Watching Safari also from Dana Point Harbor, helped win the trademark for Dana Point as the Dolphin and Whale Watching Capital of the World. And in 2021, the team made a strong enough case to get Dana Point selected as the first Whale Heritage Site in North America.
For Don Hansen, his family and the sea were his greatest loves. Seeing his children continue his vision meant the world to him, his daughter said. “At his core, it’s all about family.
“He always wanted me to tell the history of how it all started and what we added to the community,” Kalez said. “This stuff is so important to my dad.”
With the launch of his fleet, Hansen launched an industry that put the sleepy seaside town on the map, Dana Point Mayor Joe Muller said.
“Expanding his sportfishing industry to include whale watching created a whole new industry for Dana Point,” Muller said, adding he felt it a privilege to have called Hansen a friend.
“Dana Point can attribute being called the Whale Watching Capital of the World and a Whale Heritage Site to what Don started in the early 1970s. Don’s legacy, Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching, is one of the backbones of our community,” Muller said, also mentioning the annual holiday boat parade can be credited to Hansen.
“His loss is deeply felt in Dana Point, but his legacy will continue to be larger than life.”
Each year during the holidays, Dana Wharf hosts military members and their families and gives Santa rides that benefit local charities.
“When I first started, I’d ask him why we have trips for free,” Kalez said. “He said, ‘That’s how we give back.’”
Kalez said since her father’s death there has been a tremendous outpouring from many who knew him in all different walks of life.
“I feel like every single person that calls me, I have to console them,” she said. “People just loved him because he took the time to know something personal about everyone he met.”
Hansen’s was Dana Point Harbor’s first business when it opened in 1971. And Orange County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett remembers his keen interest in its revitalization, which was finally approved in 2018 after nearly two decades of discussion.
“I really enjoyed chatting with Don about the harbor project and he would say, ‘Is the revitalization going to start sometime in my lifetime?” she said. “When we hired the team (Dana Point Harbor Partners), Don was all smiles because he knew the harbor revitalization project would be a reality.
“I will miss his smile and laugh,” she said, “and him just being good-natured about things. He took things in stride and truly loved the sportfishing business his family had built and the positive impact it had on the city and community at large.”
Hansen is survived by his children, David Hansen, Michael Hansen, Jeff Jonas, Donna Kalez, Jane Graff and Jenifer Gressett, and 15 grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to any of these groups in memory of Don Hansen.
Fish for Life, Captain Rollo’s Kids at SeaCoastal Conservation Association Gray Whale Foundation
