***Update! As a safety precaution, the January Ocean Count event will only have trained site leaders at designated sites. February and March events will be reassessed by the 15th of each month to determine if volunteers may join the trained site leaders!
The 2022 Ocean Counts are scheduled for the following Saturday’s: January 29, February 26, and March 26.
For the 2022 Sanctuary Ocean Count events we are hoping to take a small step into normalcy by allowing a handful of volunteers at various sites. This will be dependent on many factors to ensure the safety of all participants! ***We are monitoring the current covid situations in Hawai’i closely as safety of all participants is our top priority. Mahalo!
General volunteer registration for the February and March events is TBD. We apologize for the inconvenience.
See registration page for more information!
The Sanctuary Ocean Count is a signature education outreach and citizen science project that the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary hosts annually. Ocean Count serves to promote public awareness about humpback whales, the sanctuary, and shore-based whale watching opportunities in the Hawaiian Islands. The count is conducted three times per year during peak whale season and provides a snapshot of humpback whales sightings from the shoreline.
Participants tally humpback whale sightings and document the animals’ surface behavior during the survey which is from 8 am to 12 noon. Since it is an Ocean Count we also encourage noting down any other species you might see during the count. The Sanctuary Ocean Count project is highly dependent on and hugely successful due to our enthusiastic and dedicated volunteers! A similar effort is also done on Maui with the Pacific Whale Foundation.