Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary welcomes back volunteers for the 2023 Sanctuary Ocean Count scheduled for Jan. 28, Feb. 25, and March 25.
Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary welcomes back volunteers for the 2023 Sanctuary Ocean Count scheduled for Jan. 28, Feb. 25, and March 25.
This is the first year since March 2020 that both programs will be resuming volunteer operations.
Volunteers must register in advance, and participation is limited for each Sanctuary Ocean Count site. Registration and more information on Sanctuary Ocean Count is online at https://oceancount.org/.
Since 1996, the annual Sanctuary Ocean Count has promoted public awareness about humpback whales, Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, and shore-based whale watching opportunities. Site leaders and volunteers tally humpback whale sightings and document the animals’ surface behavior during the surveys, which provides a snapshot of humpback whale activity from the shorelines of Oahu, Kauai, and Hawaii Island. Sanctuary Ocean Count is supported by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation.
The Pacific Whale Foundation conducts the Great Whale Count on Maui, on the same dates as Sanctuary Ocean Count. More information can be found at https://pacificwhale.org/research/community-science/great-whale-count/.
