Binocular-wielding volunteers on Maui scan Maalaea Bay for whales during the Pacific Whale Foundation’s Great Whale Count on Maui on Saturday morning. DONNA VALENTINE photo

The Maui News

Volunteers tallied 313 whale sightings off the coast of Maui during the final Great Whale Count of the season on Saturday.

A total of 320 volunteers gathered data at 42 sites on Maui, Kauai, Oahu and Hawaii islands during the last of three coordinated whale counts between the Pacific Whale Foundation, which runs the count on Maui, and the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, which hosts the Sanctuary Ocean Count on other islands.

This was the first year since March 2020 that both programs were able to resume normal operations, and the fifth year that both counts were coordinated on the same days to ensure data was collected across islands simultaneously. The counts typically take place on the last Saturday of January, February and March during the peak of whale season each year.

On Maui, volunteers scanned the ocean for whales from 12 different sites during 15-minute intervals between 8:30 a.m. and 11:50 a.m. on Saturday. A total of 55 whale sightings were counted during the 9 to 9:15 a.m. time period, the most of any other time period throughout the day’s event, according to a news release from the organizations.

On Kauai, Oahu and Hawaii island, volunteers observed whales from 30 total sites. A total of 117 whale sightings were recorded during the 8:30 to 8:45 a.m. time period, the most of any other time period that day.

Across all four islands, volunteers reported 1,121 whale sightings, including 467 on Oahu, 313 on Maui, 273 on Kauai and 68 on Hawaii island. The numbers may represent duplicate sightings of the same whale by different observers or at different time periods or locations, the organizations said.

Statewide, the busiest time period was 8:30 to 8:45 a.m., when 169 whale sightings were tallied.

Across the four islands, weather conditions were primarily clear with sunny skies and calm seas, making it ideal for observing whales and a contrast from a stormy January that hampered the event on Maui.

The data from the two counts along with other research efforts can help reveal trends in humpback whale occurrences during whale seasons. Volunteers with the Sanctuary Ocean Count not only note sightings but also document the whales’ activity. The Great Whale Count on Maui also helps provide a snapshot of trends in relative abundance in whales.

For data on the Great Whale Count, visit pacificwhale.org/research/community-science/. More information can be found at mauiwhalefestival.org.

To view preliminary data for the Sanctuary Ocean Count on other islands, visit oceancount.org/resources. Or, go to hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov for more information.