Humpback Whale Count January 2012
Volunteers collected data from 61 sites on the shores of O‘ahu, Kaua‘i, and Hawai‘i Island for the January Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Ocean Count. Over 950 participants tallied humpback whale sightings and documented the animals’ surface behavior during the survey. The sanctuary protects humpback whales and their habitat in Hawaiian waters where they migrate each winter to mate, calve, and nurse their young. Up to 12,000 humpback whales return to their Hawaiian birthplace every year between November to May after migrating from as far away as Alaska.
The following were the average numbers of whales sighted per 15-minute count period on each of the islands:
Kaua‘i – 8 whales
Hawai‘i Island – 3 whales
O‘ahu – 2 whales
On Kauai:
Kapa‘a Lookout – 8 average
Ninini Point Lighthouse – 14 highest 15-minute count
Crater Hill in Kilauea – 13 highest 15-minute count
Makahuena Point – 12 highest 15-minute count
Kilauea Lighthouse – 11 highest 15-minute count
Mahaulepu-Makawehi – 11 highest 15-minute count
Other marine wildlife seen during the Sanctuary Ocean Count included Hawaiian monk seals, sea turtles, spinner dolphins, and a variety of sea birds. Two more Sanctuary Ocean Counts are scheduled to take place on Saturday, February 25 and March 31. For more information on becoming a Sanctuary Ocean Count volunteer visit sanctuaryoceancount.org or call 1-888-55-WHALE ext. 253.
Humpback Whale Ocean Count 2012
The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary offers you a chance to monitor Humpback Whales from the shores of Oahu, Hawaii and Kauai. Volunteers count the number of humpback whales which can be seen around the islands over a four-hour period and record their behavior. The 2012 count will be held the last Saturday of January, February, and March from 8:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
This year, on January 28, February 25, and March 31, the Sanctuary Ocean Count will be conducted at over 60 different shore sites around the islands (15 different sites around Kaua‘i). The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, which is jointly managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the State of Hawai`i, lies within the shallow warm waters surrounding the main Hawaiian Islands and constitutes one of the world’s most important humpback whale habitats.
Scientists estimate that 12,000 swim to Hawaii’s waters to mate and nurse their young, typically between September and March. Since 2006, the annual count has tracked a steady rise in the humpback whale population visiting the sanctuary. Visit Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary for details.
Humpback Whale Rescue
In the holiday spirit of giving and helping, please enjoy this daring whale rescue, and the resulting display of appreciation. The crew found the whale floating in the water barely alive, and after jumping in the water to investigate, found that this creature was tangled in fishing net, preventing it from moving its fins and tail. The crew worked for more than an hour to cut and pull the whale free from the net. Once they made the final cut, the whale swam in circles treating the crew to an amazing show of gratitude.
Humpback Whale Population
Humpback Whales (Kohola) are returning to the warmer waters of Hawaii for the winter. At the end of commercial whaling in 1966, the humpback whale population in the North Pacific Ocean was estimated at 1,400. Humpback whale populations have rebounded from this low to upwards of 20,000 over 40 years later. Scientists have recently come to the conclusion based on one of the largest ever studies on humpback whale populations that their numbers in the North Pacific are actually higher than previously thought. Scientists believe that numbers are actually upwards of 21,000.
The number of North Pacific Humpback Whales in the 2008 study known as the Structure of Populations, Levels of Abundance and Status of Humpbacks SPLASH, was estimated at just under 20,000 based on the initial look at the data. But the new research puts the number at over 21,000 and possibly even higher. These improved numbers are encouraging.
The SPLASH research was a three-year project begun in 2004 involving NOAA scientists and hundreds of other researchers from the United States, Japan, Russia, Mexico, Canada, the Philippines, Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua and Guatemala and was the first systematic survey ever attempted to determine the humpback whales’ overall population, structure, and genetic makeup in the North Pacific.
Researchers were able to quantify the number of Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) by photographing and cataloguing over 18,000 pictures of their tail, or fluke because the pigmentation patterns on the fluke act like a fingerprint and are unique to each animal. Scientists determined population numbers by comparing photographs taken in northern feeding grounds compared with matches of the same animals in the warm tropical waters of southern breeding areas as far as 3000 miles away.
Humpback Whale Song Communication
Humpback Whales create several kinds of sounds to communicate with each other. There are social sounds, communicative sounds between mothers and calves, the feeding siren done in the feeding grounds, and the classic whale songs. In the 1950′s, their singing was discovered when the United States Navy experimented with hydrophones.
Social sounds are short, quick sounds which can hardly be heard under water with the human ear. These sounds can only be picked up with special hydrophones which would have to be close to the whales and pointed directly at them. The social sounds are used to communicate, especially when they travel slowly on the surface or when resting – but not when traveling at higher speeds. The majority of this kind of communication (85%) takes place between mothers and their calves, but also whales within a group communicating with each other.
It has been defined that only Humpback males are singing. Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) go to a depth of between 40 and 130 feet and usually get into a certain position with their head downward, and remain motionless when they sing. Unlike a pop song with a melody, a whale song is more like a string of different sounds in different pitches that can sound like humming, snoring, groaning, sighing, or chirping. Similar to classical music, a whalesong consists of different themes which develop and build over the years. The whale songs can even be heard from a distance of 100 miles or more. The whales are singing mainly in their breeding grounds or on the way from or to their feeding grounds in cooler waters.
Humpback Whales in Papahanaumokuakea
Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) were once on the brink of extinction, but their numbers have dramatically increased to approximately 10,000 migrating to Hawaii each winter. Along with this steady increase in the number of whales, is a geographic expansion from the main Hawaiian Islands into the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.
Researchers deployed nine electronic listening posts known as Ecological Acoustic Recorders (EARs) in both Papahanaumokuakea and main Hawaiian Islands to record the occurrence of humpback whale song. Song is produced by male humpback whales during the winter breeding season. Humpback Whale song was found to be prevalent not only in the Main Hawaiian Islands, but right up the archipelago into the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands from late December to mid-May.
It is not yet clear how many whales use the northern islands, but this area has twice as much shallow warm water habitat as the main islands. More whales were detected in the middle waters of the region, and fewer in the colder waters of the northernmost atolls. Song was found to be prevalent at Maro Reef, Lisianski Island, and French Frigate Shoals, but was also recorded at Kure Atoll, Midway Atoll, and Pearl and Hermes Atoll.
