The last of three whale counts for the 2025 season concluded on Saturday as 489 volunteers on Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Maui, Lanai and Hawaii Island observed humpback whales from 41 sites.

What You Need To Know

  • Totals for the Sanctuary Ocean Count at 10 sites on Kauai was 122, across Oahu’s 10 sites was 220, on Molokai’s one site was 11, and Hawaii Island’s eight sites saw 28

  • The Great Whale Count saw 307 whales across Maui’s 11 sites and 26 whales at Lanai’s single site

  • The grand total observed across the state was 714 humpback whales

The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Ocean Count took place on Kauai, Oahu, Molokai and Hawaii Island while Pacific Whale Foundation’s Great Whale Count was conducted on Maui and Lanai. This marks the final coordinated whale count of 2025 between the two organizations now in its seventh year of collaborating data.

Volunteers counted a total of 109 whales during the 9:30 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. time period, the most of any time period throughout the day.

Sanctuary Ocean Count volunteers situated at 29 sites across Kauai, Oahu, Molokai and Hawaii Island observed 52 whales during two time periods, from 8:30 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. and from 9:30 a.m. to 9:45 a.m., the most throughout the day.

Great Whale Count volunteers at 12 sites on Maui and Lanai collected data during 15-minute intervals between 8:30 a.m. and 11:50 a.m. The highest number of whales observed during any time period of the day occurred at 9 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. with a total of 61 whales.

A whale expels moist air to breathe as it surfaces just off Halona Blowhole on Oahu. (Photo by Ipolani Kekina)

The total number of whales observed throughout the day at 10 sites on Kauai was 122, across Oahu’s 10 sites was 220, on Molokai’s one site was 11, and Hawaii Island’s eight sites saw 28. The Great Whale Count saw 307 whales across Maui’s 11 sites and 26 whales at Lanai’s single site.

The grand total observed across the state was 714 humpback whales. The final number could include duplicate sightings of the same whale by different observers at different time periods at different locations throughout the day. The coordinated effort between the two organizations provides data that when combined with other research efforts can help reveal trends in humpback whale occurrence within and among whale seasons.

Conditions across the main Hawaiian Islands on Saturday were mostly sunny with light winds, calm seas and some vog. Volunteers also spotted honu (green sea turtles), ʻilioholoikauaua (Hawaiian monk seals), manō (shark), naiʻa (spinner dolphins), and multiple bird species such as ʻiwa (great frigatebird), mōlī (Laysan albatross), koaʻe ʻula (red-tailed tropic bird), nēnē (Hawaiian goose), manu-o-kū (white tern) and more.