3rd whale count of year wraps up

By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

About 400 whale watchers along the shores of O'ahu, Kaua'i and the Big Island spotted an average of two whales every 15 minutes during the end-of-season annual humpback whale count yesterday.

Three counts are sponsored each year by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.

The count at the end of January measures the beginning of the mating season, February's count takes in the midpoint and March measures the end of the season.

A separate count, sponsored by the Pacific Whale Foundation, estimates the number of whales off Maui.

Christine Brammer of NOAA said O'ahu watchers saw the highest number of whales yesterday, averaging three every 15 minutes.

A pod of male humpbacks competing for the attentions of a female entertained whale watchers off Hanauma Bay for nearly two hours, she said.

"A lot of slapping and blowing," she said. "A lot of surface activities."

Big Island whale watchers were short shrifted by bad weather and low visibility in some areas. The average tally there was one whale per 15 minutes.

Kaua'i watchers saw about two whales every 15 minutes.

Final results of the three-phase count will be analyzed and compiled by the fall and can be viewed on the sanctuary's Web site, hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov.

Previous Sanctuary Ocean Count reports are also available there.

The waters around the Hawaiian Islands serve as winter breeding habitat for about 5,000 whales, a total that has been growing by about 7 percent a year during the past 10 years, according to studies.

About two-thirds of North Pacific humpbacks winter in Hawai'i.

Reach Karen Blakeman at 535-2430 or kblakeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.