Volunteers can sign up on the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary website at http://hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov/involved/ocvolunteer.html, or call 1-888-55-WHALE, ext. 253.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park invites volunteers to help count humpback whales during the annual Sanctuary Ocean Count held the last Saturday of January, February and March — Jan. 28, Feb. 25 and March 31 — from 8 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Hawaii Volcanoes’ Ka’ena Point, at the end of Chain of Craters Road, is one of 22 Sanctuary Ocean Count sites islandwide where volunteers onshore monitor humpbacks in nearshore waters for the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.
Residents and visitors enjoy this yearly event which provides important population and distribution information about humpback whales around the Hawaiian Islands.
“This is an ideal opportunity for the community and for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to work together as stewards of our ocean,” said Park Ranger Adrian Boone, site leader for the HVNP Sanctuary Ocean Count.
“These magnificent creatures swim more than 2,000 miles to Hawaii from Arctic waters every winter, and the annual count is one way we can help observe and record their behavior, and ensure their future,” he said.
Volunteers can sign up on the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary website at http://hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov/involved/ocvolunteer.html, or call 1-888-55-WHALE, ext. 253.