Whales surface close to shore during a 2022 Great Whale Count event on Maui in February. This year’s whale counts are scheduled for Jan. 28, Feb. 25 and March 25 on Maui, Oahu, Kauai and Hawaii island. The events are fully welcoming back volunteers for the first time since the start of the pandemic. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photos

The Maui News

Annual efforts to count humpback whales from the shorelines of Maui, Oahu, Kauai and Hawaii island are scheduled for Jan. 28, Feb. 25 and March 25.

Since 2019, the Great Whale Count on Maui and the Sanctuary Ocean Count on Oahu, Kauai and Hawaii island have been conducted on the same days in January, February and March to collect data on whales simultaneously across the state, according to the Pacific Whale Foundation, which organizes the Maui count.

Last year, only trained site leaders were allowed to participate in the January and February counts, with a small number of volunteers welcomed back at designated sites for the March count.

This year will be the first time since March 2020 that the two programs will resume volunteer operations, according to the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, which coordinates the Sanctuary Ocean Count.

Volunteers must register in advance, and participation is limited for each counting site. Registration kicked off at noon on Monday.

During the whale counts, site leaders and volunteers tally humpback whale sightings and document the animals’ surface behavior during the surveys, which provides a snapshot of humpback whale activity across the state.

On Maui, Great Whale Count sites are spread out across north, west and south shores of the island.

For more information, including results from last year’s survey, as well as a link to register as a volunteer for the upcoming whale counts on Maui, visit www.pacificwhale.org/research/community-science/great-whale-count/.