AHUKINI and site leaders, Community College – Activity was brisk early into the first of three timed whale counts being made by volunteer whale counters gathered along the coast . In addition to the crew of about six counters about
AHUKINI and site leaders, Community College – Activity was brisk early into the first of three timed whale counts being made by volunteer whale counters gathered along the coast .
In addition to the crew of about six counters about a dozen students from the Kaua‘i biology lab showed up to spot sightings of migrating whales breaking the surface in a calm sea.
The site workers were trained by the Kaua‘i branch of Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, which is led by Jean Souza.
The KCC students were on assignment for their lab class and under the direction of Nancy Bushnell.
The student team of Koral McCarthy and Annie Winthrop were apprehensive at first about spending a lot of time looking at water. But, that soon changed.
“We had 32 blows, 14 slops, and 10 breaches within the first 30 minutes,” McCarthy said, looking down at her notes. “We have to be here for at least four hours, but now we’re happy.”
Sheri Knapp of the Sanctuary office was on site making sure everything was going as scheduled. Knapp said that due to recent winter storms, there were some changes in site locations, with the Ninini Point site overlooking Nawiliwili Bay being relocated to the access road below Whaler’s Brewpub, due to inaccessibility issues.
“There’s a big hole in the road,” Knapp said. “And, people have been using it, so now the hole is even bigger.”
Otherwise, Knapp was thrilled with the turnout for the first of three scheduled Ocean Counts.
“Dickie Chang is supposed to be doing a show from the Kapa‘a site,” Knapp said. “And, starting Friday, Feb. 6, we’ll be having ‘Brown Bags with Whales’ right here.”
The Brown Bags with Whales program is to be hosted by Sanctuary personnel at Ahukini Pier and is set to meet on Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Interested whale fans are invited to bring their lunches and have an opportunity to view whale activity from the shoreline with Sanctuary personnel on hand to help interpret what’s going on offshore as the whales breech the surface and travel the Island’s coastline.
The Sanctuary Ocean Counts are a shorebased monitoring project for humpback whales and other marine mammals involving special methods of counting and recording surface behaviors.
The official whale counts are being held at 15 sites located around Kaua‘i, and preregistration is required to be a site counter due to the training needed to learn the specific counting and recording process.
Bushnell, the instructor for the KCC biology lab class, was busy getting her students settled in, when she said, “We needed to get more involved in the community.” The count served as a means of getting involved while providing an educational opportunity for her students.
McCarthy noted that there are 15 students in the class, and of those, at least a dozen showed up Saturday morning.
Susan McFarland, a newcomer to the annual whale count, said she is the Eastside monk seal “roperoffer,” and the progression from monk seals to the Sanctuary Ocean Counts was just natural.
“Now, we’re involved in more than just the seashore. And, it’s a nice way to give something back,” she said.
The next scheduled Sanctuary Ocean Count is on Saturday, Feb. 26.
For more information on the Counts, or the Brown Bag with Whales program, contact the Sanctuary office at 2462860.
Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 2453681 (ext. 253) and Eight firefighters join KFD force
