The humpback whale watching season starts this month, and a federal agency is preparing to help volunteers with a yearly whale-counting project to preserve the endangered species and spur its recovery. The Maui-based Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary
The humpback whale watching season starts this month, and a federal agency is preparing to help volunteers with a yearly whale-counting project to preserve the endangered species and spur its recovery.
The Maui-based Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary has begun enlisting volunteers for its the project during three days in January, February and March next year.
Volunteers will count whales from the shoreline and send the information to marine scientists working on the preservation and recovery of the species, which officials claim number no more than 8,000.
The whales migrate to the Hawaiian Islands for breeding each year.
The data collected by Hawai’i residents correlates with scientific studies showing the humpback whale is on the rebound.
This year, the whale count project will take place on Kaua’i, O’ahu and Big Island from 8 a.m. to noon Jan. 26, Feb. 23 and March 30, according to Jean Souza of the Kaua’i office of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whales Marine Sanctuary, an arm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The count on Kaua’i will be conducted from a dozen coastline sites at Princeville, Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, Kapa’a lookout, Ninini Lighthouse, Mahaulepu, Po’ipu Beach Park, Port Allen cemetery, Waimea Canyon Drive and Pacific Missile Range Facility.
The count took place on only one day last year (Feb. 24), but has been expanded this year to get a better tally of the whales, Souza said.
“This way we can compare what the changes are throughout the season and compare it by island, as well,” she explained.
Another group will use a different counting technique for a project on Maui later, Souza said.
Two boats were used for the Kaua’i project last year, but more boat owners have offered to help with the count this year, she said.
Volunteers will be required to go through training and a lecture at King Kaumuali’i Elementary School in Hanama’ulu from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Jan. 19. The lecture will be led by Daniela Maldini, an ocean researcher. Handbooks on the whales and detailed information on federal protection laws will be circulated.
Between December and June, according to scientists, between 4,000 and 6,000 of the estimated 8,000 north Pacific humpback whale population ply waters off Hawai’i.
Humpbacks reach up to 50 feet in length, with females being slightly larger. They weigh an average of 40 tons, and their flukes span 12 to 15 feet.
For more information on the whale count, contact Souza 246-2860.
Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net
