LIHU‘E — The final Ocean Count for 2009, coordinated by the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, saw a predominance of sightings at the Kilauea Lighthouse and Crater Hill sites, said Jean Souza, the Kaua‘i coordinator. Between the two
LIHU‘E — The final Ocean Count for 2009, coordinated by the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, saw a predominance of sightings at the Kilauea Lighthouse and Crater Hill sites, said Jean Souza, the Kaua‘i coordinator.
Between the two sites, the average number of sightings within a 15-minute period averaged 5.9 and 5.3, respectively, the highest totals on Kaua‘i. Princeville followed with 4.8 sightings per 15-minute period, with the greatest number of sightings being reported from the Kilauea Lighthouse with 12 sightings in the first 15 minutes of the count.
More than 500 volunteers gathered data from the shores of O‘ahu, Kaua‘i, the Big Island and Kaho‘olawe, states an National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration release.
“The Ocean Count project provides a unique opportunity for the public to learn about Hawai‘i’s humpback whales and the sanctuary while observing the animals from the shoreline,” said Christine Brammer, the Sanctuary Ocean Count coordinator. “The sanctuary would like to thank the volunteers that participated in this year’s count.”
During the count, volunteers tallied humpback whale sightings and documented the animals’ surface behavior during the survey period. Additionally, other marine life were counted, including a monk seal and honu at the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Mana, Souza said.
Angela Tillson, the site leader at Ahukini Pier site, said viewing conditions were difficult due to the biting winds and the strong sunlight.
“With all the wind, it’s hard to tell a blow from the swell caps unless the whales are really close,” Tillson said.
Conditions were better at the Po‘ipu Beach Park site, where information coordinator Mary Neudorffer said they were doing better than she expected.
“Bruce Parsil, the other information coordinator, is using a counter to keep track of all the people that have stopped for information,” Neudorffer said. “Within a two-hour period, he already has 33 people.”
Souza said educational outreach is a valuable part of the Ocean Count where the public can get information about the humpback whales and other marine life from specially-trained sanctuary volunteers.
During the three counts of the 2009 humpback whale season, almost 1,000 people were educated by Ocean Count teams, Souza said. This breakdown includes 421 people in January, 204 in February and the March total amounting to 344 people.
In addition to Parsil and Neudoffer at Po‘ipu, Souza said Shannon Cloud was the naturalist at Makahuena Point, John and MJ Burger were at the Kapa‘a Lookout, Cathy Granholm was at Princeville, Robert Nyvall was at Makawehi and Noel Brooks was at the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge.
Souza said the Po‘ipu Beach Park and Makahuena Point were the busiest sites with 68 and 62 people getting information, respectively. Other sites reported 60 at the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, 52 at Princeville and 44 at Makawehi, or Shipwreck beach.
Statewide, the various islands averaged two sightings per 15-minute period on O‘ahu, and two sightings in the same period for Kaua‘i. The Big Island reported an average of one sighting per 15-minute period with the largest count coming in from Kaho‘olawe where nine whales average were reported in a 15-minute cycle.
People interested in volunteering for the 2010 project should mark their calendars for the next season. Ocean Counts are usually scheduled for the last Saturday of January, February and March.
For more information, visit the sanctuary Web site at hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov
