The Maui News

Pacific Whale Foundation’s Great Whale Count site leaders tallied 94 whale sightings off Maui from 8:30 to 8:45 a.m. on Saturday, the most of any time period throughout the day’s count and nearly three times the number of sightings from the peak period last year.

The Great Whale Count had site leaders count whales from shore as part of a long-term survey of humpback whales in Hawaii, with 11 survey sites along the shoreline of Maui.

Efforts on Maui took place at the same time as the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Ocean Count on Oahu, Kauai and Hawaii island. A total of 81 trained site leaders gathered data from 43 sites across the four islands, reporting a total of 228 sightings from 8:30 to 8:45 a.m., the most of any time period. On Oahu, Kauai and Hawaii island, site leaders at 32 locations made 135 whale sightings from 9 to 9:15 a.m., the most of any time period.

This is the second of three coordinated annual whale counts between the two organizations, which take place three times a year during peak whale season on the last Saturdays in January, February and March.

“This event provides a snapshot of trends in relative abundance of whales and is one of the world’s longest-running community science projects,” a news release from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration explained on Saturday.

On Maui, data was collected during 15-minute intervals between 8:30 and 11:45 a.m., with 94 whale sightings counted from 8:30 to 8:45 a.m.

According to past Great Whale Count records, a total of 34 whale sightings were noted during the peak interval time period between 8:30 to 8:45 a.m. in February 2021, and a total of 70 whale sightings were recorded during the 9:30 to 9:45 a.m. peak time period during the February 2020 count.

Across Hawaii on Saturday, the average weather conditions were sunny skies, small swells and light winds, according to the news release. However, a few sites were impacted by high surf, which made viewing whales more difficult.

Throughout the day’s count, there were also several interesting sightings across the islands, including several humpback whale competition groups and a humpback whale mom teaching its calf to breach, the news release said.

As a safety precaution, the January and February ocean count events only had trained site leaders.

The count slated for March 26 will be reassessed by March 15 to determine if volunteers may join the trained site leaders, according to the Pacific Whale Foundation.

For more information on the Great Whale Count and other projects, visit pacificwhale.org/research/community-science/.