Kaua‘i volunteers counted an average of five whales every 15 minutes during the annual Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Ocean Count on Saturday. This number equals that of O‘ahu and is one more than the Big Island average,
Kaua‘i volunteers counted an average of five whales every 15 minutes during the annual Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Ocean Count on Saturday.
This number equals that of O‘ahu and is one more than the Big Island average, according to a report from Claire Kavanaugh, the project coordinator for the count.
More than 800 volunteers collected data from shorelines of O‘ahu, Kaua‘i and the Big Island at 62 sites where “counters” tallied humpback whale sightings and documented the animals’ surface behavior during the survey.
“We had two breach together, and that is rare,” said Cynthia Relph of California who was volunteering at the Po‘ipu Beach Park site with 16 other members of the Stony Knoll Youth Services group. “I just love the ocean count, and I have to come back so I can do it again.”
Jean Souza, the Kaua‘i coordinator for the HIHWNMS, said Kaua‘i, like the rest of the state, had exceptional whale viewing conditions with clear skies and just a trace of vog and calm seas throughout the island.
Kaua‘i had a record-setting 202 trained volunteers, up from the 191 volunteers in the January count, participate, Souza said. More than 350 members of the public were educated at the ocean count sites around the island.
The Kaua‘i five-whale average is an increase from the 2010 count where just one whale was sighted during the 15-minute period. Weather during the 2010 count was cold, windy and rainy.
“It was a fabulous, perfect day with non-stop whales,” said Kim Rogers, site leader for Crater Hill, which posted the highest number of views with an average of seven per 15-minute period.
This equals the Lumaha‘i Overlook which also reported an average of seven whales in the 15-minute period.
These two North Shore sites were followed by the Ninini Point, Pacific Missile Range Facility, and Maha‘ulepu-Haula sites reporting an average of six whales in the 15-minute count period.
“Volunteers around the state reported perfect viewing conditions for the second count of 2011,” Kavanaugh said in a release. “On such a beautiful day, volunteers also noticed many boats on the water, serving as a great reminder for mariners and other ocean users to be mindful of whales while out on the water during whale season from November to May.”
Kavanaugh said in Hawai‘i, it is illegal to approach a humpback whale closer than 100 yards by sea or 1,000 feet by air.
Souza said in addition to whales sighted on the North Shore, albatrosses and red- and white-tailed tropic birds were numerous. Other sites observed honu, dolphins, boobies and other seabirds.
One more ocean count is scheduled for March 26, but registration for the Kaua‘i sites is closed, Souza said.
Scientific studies have shown that Hawai‘i’s humpback whale population has been increasing at an annual rate of approximately 7 percent.
Currently, as many as 12,000 north Pacific humpbacks visit Hawaiian waters each year to mate, calve and nurse their young, the NOAA release states.
The Ocean Count project provides a unique opportunity for the public to learn about Hawai‘i’s humpbacks while participating in a monitoring effort. Data collected from the counts is used to corroborate existing scientific data and provide information on how humpbacks use near-shore waters.
