MEDIA RELEASE

Approximately 600 volunteers gathered data from the shores of Oahu, Kauai, and Hawaii Island during today’s annual Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Ocean Count.

The count is a yearly shore-based census that provides snapshot data on humpback whales. Participants tally humpback whale sightings and document the animals’ surface behavior during the survey.

Volunteers collected data from 60 sites statewide. A total of 194 whales were seen during the 8:30 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. time period, the most of any time period throughout today’s count (58 sites reported data).

The day began with excellent viewing conditions at most locations, but rain eventually cancelled quite a few sites.

Preliminary data detailing whale sightings by site location is available at: http://www.sanctuaryoceancount.org/resources/

The sanctuary which is administered by a partnership of NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and the State of Hawaii through the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), protects humpback whales and their habitat in Hawaiian waters where they migrate each winter to mate, calve, and nurse their young.

The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation supports this project. Please show your support by purchasing a 2013 Sanctuary Ocean Count T-shirt or making a donation that benefits the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.

— Find out more:
www.sanctuaryoceancount.org
www.hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov
http://nmsfocean.org