Sanctuary Ocean Count 2003 results by island and site

The highest island figure for 2003 is 5.95 whales per site per 15-minute period, for Hawaiʻi Island in January and February. The lowest is 1.52, for Oʻahu in January. We leave Oʻahu in March out of both, because it is probably a copy error in the report. On every island with all three figures, March was the lowest or tied for lowest.

The 2003 Sanctuary Ocean Count ran on three Saturday mornings: January 25, February 22 and March 29. We list the island means from the sanctuary’s annual report, and each site’s value per count from the sanctuary’s 2010 report.

Island figures, 2003

The annual report gives each island’s mean per site per 15-minute period with its standard error (after ±).

Island figures for the 2003 counts: average whales per site per 15-minute count period, as printed (– means no figure)
Count	Kauaʻi	Oʻahu	Hawaiʻi Island	Source
January January 25	5.05 ± 1.09	1.52 ± 0.35	5.95 ± 0.67	annual report
February February 22	4.42 ± 0.68	2.15 ± 0.38	5.95 ± 0.48	annual report
March March 29	2.15 ± 0.12	2.21 ± 0.15*	2.35 ± 0.24	annual report

* Oʻahu, March: printed as 2.21 (S.E. 0.15); same mean and S.E. as Oʻahu March 2002, while the 2010 report's Oʻahu site values for that count average 1.60. We keep it as printed.

2003 averages by count site

The highest 2003 site value for a single count (from the 2010 report) is 31, at Onekahakaha Beach Park (Hilo Bay) on Hawaiʻi Island in January.

The sanctuary’s 2010 report prints each site’s average whales per 15-minute period for every count from 2002 to 2010, as a whole number. We typed its tables in by hand. A dash means the report prints NA: the site was closed, its counters sent in no data sheet, or its data were unreliable. Site names follow our sites list; the report’s spellings vary.

Kauaʻi, 2003: site values per count as printed in the 2010 report (whole numbers, whales per 15-minute period)
No.	Site	January	February	March
1	Lumahaʻi Lookout	–	2	0
3	KPNWR-Kīlauea Lighthouse	1	6	2
4	KPNWR-Crater Hill	1	4	2
5	Kapaʻa Lookout	5	6	1
6	Ahukini State Recreation Pier	5	7	4
7	Ninini Lighthouse	8	5	5
9	Māhāʻulepū-Makawehi	11	9	1
10	Makahūʻena Point	10	6	1
11	Poʻipū Beach Park	3	2	1
12	Kaʻiwa Point	14	1	8
13	Port Allen Cemetery	5	6	2
14	Waimea Canyon Drive	0	3	1
15	Pacific Missile Range Facility	0	1	1
(2)	Princeville Hotel ‡	1	5	0
(8)	Mahaulepu Haula ‡	7	6	2

Oʻahu, 2003: site values per count as printed in the 2010 report (whole numbers, whales per 15-minute period)
No.	Site	January	February	March
1	Ewa Beach Park	0	0	0
2	Ko ʻOlina	0	0	0
3	Māʻili Point	0	1	0
4	Mākua Cave	1	2	0
5	Kaʻena Point (West Shore) §	3	2	0
6	Kaʻena Point (North Shore)	2	2	5
7	Mokulēʻia Beach Park §	3	2	0
8	Puaʻena Point	0	0	0
9	Shark's Cove	0	2	5
10	Turtle Bay Resort	1	1	2
11	Lāʻie Point	5	6	2
12	Hauʻula Beach Park	1	0	0
13	Kualoa Ranch (Bunkers)	0	2	1
14	Pyramid Rock	0	1	2
15	Mōkapu Point (Monument Point Overlook)	2	3	2
16	Lanikai	0	2	1
17	Waimānalo Beach Park	0	0	0
18	Makapuʻu Lighthouse	6	3	6
19	Hālona Blowhole	4	3	3
20	Lānaʻi Lookout	3	5	3
21	Hanauma Bay	5	8	3
22	Spitting Caves	2	3	3
23	Diamond Head	2	2	2
24	Magic Island	1	1	0
25	Kakaʻako Beach Park	0	2	0

Hawaiʻi Island, 2003: site values per count as printed in the 2010 report (whole numbers, whales per 15-minute period)
No.	Site	January	February	March
1	Punaluʻu Black Sand Beach Park	16	0	3
2	Ka Lae Park	17	6	2
3	Miloliʻi Lookout	0	1	0
4	Hoʻokena Beach Park	0	3	0
5	Hōnaunau Lookout	0	1	–
6	Keauhou Scenic Lookout	2	4	1
7	Keāhole Point (OTEC)	6	3	1
8	Hualālai (Four Seasons Resort)	2	6	1
9	Puʻukoholā Heiau National Park	4	7	0
10	Mile Marker 7	11	17	8
11	Lapakahi State Historical Park	5	10	4
12	Kapaʻa Beach Park	6	9	6
13	Old Coast Guard Road	6	13	3
14	ʻUpolu Point	–	7	–
15	Waipiʻo Valley lookout	2	0	1
16	Laupāhoehoe Scenic Lookout	1	6	1
17	Onekahakaha Beach Park (Hilo Bay)	31	22	9
18	Kumukahi Lighthouse	3	0	0
19	Kehena Lookout	0	0	1
20	Kaʻena Point (Chain of Craters Road)	0	1	0
–	ʻŌʻōkala	2	4	3
–	Paukaʻa Point	0	10	4

Kahoʻolawe, 2003: site values per count as printed in the 2010 report (whole numbers, whales per 15-minute period)
No.	Site	January	February	March
1	Lua Keālia Luna	–	–	–

§ For 2002 to 2005 the report prints the same values for Mokulēʻia Beach Park and Kaʻena Point (West Shore), so one of the two is probably a copy error; we show both as printed.

‡ Report sites we could not match to a site on our sites list; the report’s own site number is in parentheses.

Kahoʻolawe by 15-minute period, 2003

The 2010 report prints NA for Kahoʻolawe in all three 2003 counts, but the 2003 annual report gives them in its own table: whales at its one site that year, which the report calls Kui Kui, in each 15-minute period, with no adult and calf split. The March count on Kahoʻolawe was held on April 5.

Kahoʻolawe, 2003: whales per 15-minute period at Kui Kui, the one site counted, as printed in the annual report
Period starts	January	February	March
8:00 am	4	7	4
8:30 am	3	17	4
9:00 am	3	18	0
9:30 am	2	13	3
10:00 am	6	13	5
10:30 am	6	10	8
11:00 am	0	13	8
11:30 am	0	10	4
12:00 pm	7	9	2

Sources

We link to each document rather than copy it. Where the original page is gone, the link goes to its Internet Archive copy.

Maldini, D. (2003). Abundance, Distribution Patterns and Habitat Use of Humpback Whales in Inshore Waters of the Islands of Oʻahu, Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi and Kahoʻolawe (2003). Beaufort 9 Consulting, August 2003 (Internet Archive copy)
Cullum, A. M. (2010). Sanctuary Ocean Count: Analysis of Humpback Whale Census and Behavior Data 2002-2010, part 1 (Internet Archive copy)
Cullum, A. M. (2010). Sanctuary Ocean Count: Analysis of Humpback Whale Census and Behavior Data 2002-2010, part 2 (Internet Archive copy)
Cullum, A. M. (2010). Sanctuary Ocean Count: Analysis of Humpback Whale Census and Behavior Data 2002-2010, part 3 (Internet Archive copy)

The official record is on oceancount.org, and you register for the next count there too. The island figures and the 2010 report’s site values on this page are also in our download files; the methods page compares how each source averages and rounds its figures. This site is independent and not part of NOAA or the Sanctuary Ocean Count.