The counting of 424 Hawaiian humpback whales off Kaua’i, O’ahu and the Big Island in a statewide whale watching project last Saturday signals the population of the endangered species is on the increase, said event organizers. The main thrust behind
The counting of 424 Hawaiian humpback whales off Kaua’i, O’ahu and the Big Island in a statewide whale watching project last Saturday signals the population of the endangered species is on the increase, said event organizers.
The main thrust behind the Kaua’i Sanctuary Ocean Count and similar counts on the other islands was to generate data to help with the recovery of the mammal, which is protected as an endangered species by federal law.
The high number of sightings was cause for jubilation among officials at the Maui-based Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, the key sponsor of the projects.
“Once again, the ocean count appears to corroborate the data gathered with more sophisticated methodologies showing that the humpback whale population is steadily increasing in waters around Hawai’i,” said Kellie Cheung, a liaison for the Oahu Sanctuary Oahu Count.
A separate count was to have been conducted on Maui by the Pacific Whale Foundation on Feb. 24.
For the Kaua’i project, 158 whales were spotted from 12 coastline locations on the island. A boat was also used, but crew members reported no sightings, according to Jean Souza, who heads the Kaua’i Sanctuary Count office.
The Oahu project produced 196 whale sightings, and the Big Island project reported 70 sightings.
Statewide, the number of volunteers for the projects on the three islands was unprecedented, officials said.
For the O’ahu project, nearly 900 people gathered at 44 designated shoreline areas. And the turnout by 87 Kaua’i volunteers was “phenomenal” compared to the handful of volunteers that manned two locations on Kaua’i last year, officials said.
The Kaua’i program was expanded this year due to public interest.
Volunteers on all islands scanned the waters from 9 a.m. to noon. The resulting data is to be analyzed in the next few months, Souza said.
The enthusiasm shown by volunteer whalewatchers will help ensure that “whales and their environment are protected,” said acting O’ahu sanctuary manager Naomi McIntosh.
Nearly two-thirds of the northern Pacific population of humpbacks migrate to Hawai’i each winter for breeding.
Humpbacks reach up to 50 feet in length, with the female being slightly larger than the male on average. The adults weigh an average of 40 tons, and their flukes span 12 to 15 feet. Calves are 12 to 15 feet and weigh about 3,000 pounds.
For the first time, the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary teamed up with Science and Technology International (STI), a Honolulu-based company, to monitor windward O’ahu waters for whales. Advanced camera and image processing technology was used.
STI mounted the system beneath an aircraft that flew over the ocean from Hau’ula to Haleiwa.
“This adds more credibility to what we are doing and demonstrates that scientists are catching on this effort and are really interested,” McIntosh said.
STI’s technology is used for national defense, cancer detection and diagnosis, environmental and mammal monitoring, coral reef mapping and responses to emergencies.
The imagery system was recognized by Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine as being the most advanced system for the detection of submarines.
For the various whalewatching projects, training sessions were conducted to instruct volunteer site leaders on basic whale science and data collect procedures.
The sanctuary is administered by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.
Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net
