Maui residents and visitors may sign up to participate in the Pacific Whale Foundation's Great Whale Count on Feb. 23.

About 135 counters participate each year at 12 shore-based counting stations along Maui's south and west coast, from Makena to Kapalua, and at Ho'okipa Beach Park on the north shore.

The counting is limited to animals sighted within three miles of the shoreline to ensure more accuracy and to allow the counters to best determine the whales' pod composition and behaviors, according to the Pacific Whale Foundation.

In 2006, there were 1,265 humpback whales counted, an all-time high.

Training at each site will begin at 8 a.m., with the official counting from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.

To sign up, call the foundation's volunteer coordinator Kelly Vough at 800-WHALE-1-1 or 244-8394.