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The Maui News
Volunteers counted a total of 596 whale sightings off Maui shorelines over the weekend, much more than the 41 counted last month when stormy weather hampered sightings.
The Pacific Whale Foundation's Great Whale Count had volunteers collect data on Saturday from 12 sites during 15-minute intervals between 8:30 a.m. and 11:50 a.m. A total of 105 whale sightings were reported during the 11:30 to 11:45 a.m. time period, which was the most of any time period throughout the day's count.
In tough weather conditions during the Jan. 28 Great Whale Count, a total of 41 whale sightings were reported at the only site available on Maui. Nine whales were observed during the 10 to 10:15 a.m. time period, the most of any time period throughout that day's count.
Overall, 345 volunteers gathered data from the shores of Kauai, Oahu and Hawaii islands during the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Ocean Count and from Maui during the Great Whale Count on Saturday, the second of three coordinated whale counts between the two organizations in 2023.
This is the first year since March 2020 that both programs are resuming normal operations. It's also the fifth year that both counts are coordinated on the same days, ensuring the data from across the state are collected simultaneously, according to a news release from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Volunteers collected data from 42 sites across the four islands on Saturday, with a total of 147 whales observed during the 8:30 to 8:45 a.m. time period, the most of any other time period.
On Kauai, Oahu and Hawaii island, Ocean Count volunteers collected data from 30 sites. A total of 77 whales were observed during the 8:30 to 8:45 a.m. time period, the most of any other time period.
On Oahu, the total number of whales observed during the day's count was 232; on Hawaii island, the total was 105; and on Kauai, the total was 64. Maui had more sightings than any other islands at 596, for a grand total of 997 throughout the state.
This number may represent duplicate sightings of the same whale by different observers or at different time periods or different locations throughout the day, the news release said.
Data collected during the Sanctuary Ocean Count and Great Whale Count combined with other research efforts can help reveal trends in humpback whale occurrence within and among whale seasons.
Across Hawaii, weather conditions varied on Saturday with sunny blue skies or cloudy conditions. The majority of sites were impacted by strong winds and moderate swells that made it difficult for observing whales from the shoreline, the news release said.
The counts take place three times during peak whale season annually on the last Saturday in January, February and March.
Preliminary data detailing Sanctuary Ocean Count whale sightings by site location are available at oceancount.org/resources/.
Additional information is available on the sanctuary's website at hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov.
Pacific Whale Foundation's Great Whale Count data may be found at www.pacificwhale.org/research/community-science/.