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Hundreds expected
for annual count of
humpback whales

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By Rod Thompson
Star-Bulletin

KAILUA-KONA -- West Hawaii resident Susan Golden says seeing a whale is a blessing.

She will be among more than 900 people around the state hoping for such a blessing tomorrow as they join in the annual count of whales in the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.

"It's quite a feeling to see a whale," said Golden. "Oh, what a blessed day!"

This will be her third year joining the count as a volunteer coordinator. Ironically, the whales haven't offered her a blessing during any of the counts.

"I've never seen a whale during whale count days, but I've seen them during other times," she said.

Golden, 50, will be doing her observing, and coordinating eight or so other observers at the Royal Kona Resort, while seated in a wheelchair.

And she insists on proper respect for that wheelchair. It's the device that liberates her and gives her mobility to volunteer for the numerous activities which keep her busy, she says.

Liza Simon, a Whale Sanctuary employee stationed at the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, said Golden's observing site will be one of 77 used by 1,062 sanctuary volunteers on Oahu, Kauai, and the Big Island.

That's an increase from 49 sites on Oahu and the Big Island on Feb. 26 of last year and adds Kauai, which held a small count on a different day last year.

The Pacific Whale Foundation also will hold a count on Maui tomorrow, but using a different methodology, Simon said.

While the whale counters haven't fully integrated their methods yet, Simon said the important point is that a body of data about the humpbacks is growing and will provide a basis in the future to see if the whales' number are increasing or decreasing.

New observation methods will also be used for the first time, said Sanctuary employee Jeff Walters.

In the Waianae area, a plane will fly over the sea and observers will make a count from it. That count will then be compared to the county made by observers on shore to see how the two numbers compare.

Another plane will use "hyper Spectral imagery" to see whales as much as 50 feet deep in the sea off the North Shore of Oahu. Again, those numbers will be compared to what land-based observers see.

Golden said the land-based observers will be looking for whales breaching, spouting, slapping their tails, or just popping their eyes out of the water like periscopes to look around.

Some observers will use binoculars, while others will use their naked eyes.

"I do the naked eye," Golden said. "It's a whole lot more fun."