Maui has no Sanctuary Ocean Count sites. Its shore count is the Great Whale Count, run by Pacific Whale Foundation and held on the same Saturdays as the Ocean Count since 2019. This site is independent of both programs: we are not part of NOAA, the sanctuary or Pacific Whale Foundation. Registration, the site list and the official results are on Pacific Whale Foundation’s Great Whale Count page.
How the Great Whale Count differs from the Ocean Count
Pacific Whale Foundation dates the Great Whale Count back to 1995. Until 2018 it was held in one month a year; in 2019 it grew to three, on the Ocean Count’s dates.
The joint Ocean Count and Great Whale Count releases on oceancount.org give a whole-day whale total for Maui and the whales counted across the Great Whale Count sites in the busiest 15-minute period. The foundation’s own summaries chart whale sightings per site per year. Neither is the Ocean Count’s island average per 15-minute period, so don’t set the Maui figures on this page beside the other islands’ averages.
From February 2023, each joint release adds after its total for all islands: “This number may represent duplicate sightings of the same whale by different observers or at different time periods or different locations throughout the day.” The Maui day totals below are part of that total.
Maui figures in the joint releases, 2019 to 2026
We copied the Great Whale Count figures from each joint release, 2019 to 2026, into the table as stated: sites that reported, the busiest 15-minute period and the day totals for Maui and, from 2024, the Lānaʻi site. The releases call the busiest-period figure “whales” in some years and “whale sightings” in others; we use each release’s own word. The CSV file has the release sentences behind every row.
A dash means the release does not give that figure. For the February 2024 and February 2025 counts and all three 2026 counts, the releases name a busiest period only for all islands together, so we leave it out. On January 28, 2023, heavy rain meant only one of 12 Maui sites reported, and its counters saw 41 whales.
| Count | Sites reporting | Busiest 15-minute period | Maui, whole day | Lānaʻi, whole day | Pacific Whale Foundation’s card |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 26, 2019 | 12 | 72 whales, 8:30–8:45 am | 359 | – | 359 |
| February 23, 2019 | 12 | 94 whales, 8:30–8:45 am | 774 | – | 774 |
| March 30, 2019 | 12 | 36 whales, 10:00–10:15 am and 10:30–10:45 am | 219 | – | 219 |
| January 25, 2020 | 12 | 135 whale sightings, 9:00–9:15 am | – | – | 840 |
| February 29, 2020 | 12 | 70 whale sightings, 9:30–9:45 am | – | – | 536 |
| January 30, 2021 | 12 | 71 whale sightings, 10:30–10:45 am | – | – | 424 |
| February 27, 2021 | 12 | 34 whale sightings, 8:30–8:45 am | – | – | 250 |
| March 27, 2021 | 12 | 35 whale sightings, 9:30–9:45 am | – | – | 202 |
| January 29, 2022 | 12 | 122 whale sightings, 9:00–9:15 am | – | – | 650 |
| February 26, 2022 | 11 | 94 whale sightings, 8:30–8:45 am | – | – | 729 |
| March 26, 2022 | 12 | 56 whale sightings, 9:30–9:45 am | – | – | 299 |
| January 28, 2023 | 1 | – | 41 | – | – |
| February 25, 2023 | 12 | 105 whales, 11:30–11:45 am | 596 | – | 596 |
| March 25, 2023 | 12 | 55 whales, 9:00–9:15 am | 313 | – | 313 |
| January 27, 2024 | 12 (Maui and Lānaʻi) | 141 whales, 9:00–9:15 am | 821 | 53 | 874 |
| February 24, 2024 | – | – | 948 | 39 | 987 |
| March 30, 2024 | 12 (Maui and Lānaʻi) | 72 whales, 11:30–11:45 am | 367 | 20 | 387 |
| January 25, 2025 | 11 (Maui and Lānaʻi) | 113 whales, 10:00–10:15 am | 702 | – | 702 |
| February 22, 2025 | – | – | 802 | – | 802 |
| March 29, 2025 | 12 (Maui and Lānaʻi) | 61 whales, 9:00–9:15 am | 307 (11 sites) | 26 | 333 |
| January 31, 2026 | – | – | 694 | 49 | – |
| February 28, 2026 | – | – | 847 | 53 | – |
| March 28, 2026 | – | – | 141 | 11 | – |
For every count from 2019 to 2025 except January 2023, which its card lists as canceled, Pacific Whale Foundation posted a card with the number of whales counted, and we copy that number into the last column. The cards give the Maui day total for January and February 2020, all three 2021 counts and all three 2022 counts, where the releases give none. Where both give a figure, they agree: the card equals the release’s Maui total, or Maui plus Lānaʻi where the card includes the Lānaʻi site.
Some cards misprint a date or a percentage change: the dates on the 2023 cards, the January label on the February 2025 card, and the percentages on the February 2020, March 2021 and February 2022 cards. The last column holds only their whale counts.
Pacific Whale Foundation’s yearly totals, 2010 to 2018
For 2010 to 2018, when the Great Whale Count was held in one month a year, the foundation’s summary images print that day’s totals of whales, pods and calves, and the share of whales with calves. We copied only the printed totals, not the values plotted on the charts. The image for 2009 prints the 2013 figures in a box labeled 2013, so we leave it out, and the 2014 image prints 9% although its own totals give 11.6%.
The images give no date or hours for these totals, so don’t compare them with the 2019 to 2026 day totals above. From 2019 the cards on the foundation’s Great Whale Count page give the whales counted but no pods or calves.
| Year | Whales | Pods | Calves | Whales with calves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1,209 | 779 | 149 | 12% |
| 2011 | 1,612 | 901 | 191 | 12% |
| 2012 | 1,057 | 651 | 102 | 10% |
| 2013 | 1,126 | 629 | 83 | 7% |
| 2014 | 1,331 | 752 | 155 | 9% (as printed) |
| 2015 | 1,488 | 898 | 99 | 7% |
| 2016 | 732 | 464 | 83 | 11% |
| 2017 | 984 | 544 | 88 | 8.9% |
| 2018 | 529 | 335 | 62 | 11.7% |
Maui next to the sanctuary islands, season by season
The two programs measure different things, so their figures can’t share a vertical axis. The chart puts them one above the other on the same season axis: the sanctuary islands’ average whales per 15-minute scan (Hawaiʻi Island, Oʻahu and Kauaʻi pooled, from the site tables) and Maui’s whales counted per season. Read the shapes, not the heights. Both series are low around 2018 to 2021 and higher again by 2024 and 2025.
| Season | SOC whales per scan (3 islands) | GWC whales counted (Maui) | GWC figure type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 3.77 | – | – |
| 2008 | 2.70 | – | – |
| 2009 | 2.97 | – | – |
| 2010 | 3.27 | 1,209 | season summary |
| 2011 | 3.44 | 1,612 | season summary |
| 2012 | 2.74 | 1,057 | season summary |
| 2013 | 3.79 | 1,126 | season summary |
| 2014 | 3.73 | 1,331 | season summary |
| 2015 | 4.46 | 1,488 | season summary |
| 2016 | 3.00 | 732 | season summary |
| 2017 | 2.34 | 984 | season summary |
| 2018 | 2.03 | 529 | season summary |
| 2019 | 2.86 | 1,352 | per-count cards |
| 2020 | 2.46 | 1,376 | per-count cards |
| 2021 | 2.19 | 876 | per-count cards |
| 2022 | 3.28 | 1,678 | per-count cards |
| 2023 | 2.33 | 909 | per-count cards |
| 2024 | 3.41 | 2,248 | per-count cards |
| 2025 | 3.46 | 1,837 | per-count cards |
| 2026 | 3.01 | – | – |
The Maui count sites
Pacific Whale Foundation’s page lists 11 Maui sites. The notes below are our summary of its 2025 site guide; check the foundation’s page for the current list before you register. The guide also describes a site at 505 Front Street in Lahaina, marked as not held because of the fires, and Makaluapuna Point in Kapalua, which is not on the current list. The joint releases add one site on Lānaʻi from 2024, which the guide does not cover.
| No. | Site (PWF’s name) | Access and facilities |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua | Not in the 2025 guide. |
| 2 | Pohaku Park | Kahana, at the S-turns. Near a bus stop; showers, a portable toilet and parking. |
| 3 | Ho’okipa | Hoʻokipa Beach Park on the north shore, off Hāna Highway about 2 miles east of Pāʻia. Car only; parking, lifeguards, showers, pavilion, picnic tables and portable toilets. |
| 4 | Marriott’s Maui Ocean Club Lahaina & Napili Towers | Kāʻanapali. Parking, no public transport, no facilities open to the public. |
| 5 | Launiupoko Beach Park | Southeast of Lahaina. No public transport; parking, restrooms, a sandy beach and picnic tables. |
| 6 | Maalaea Harbor | At the Māʻalaea Harbor Shops. Near a bus stop; parking and public restrooms. |
| 7 | McGregor Point and Lighthouse | Along Honoapiʻilani Highway. No public transport; free parking that can be crowded, no restrooms. |
| 8 | Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Visitor Center | Kīhei. Near a bus stop; parking and public restrooms, and wheelchair accessible. |
| 9 | Kihei Surfside Resort | Near a bus stop. Gravel public parking at the Mana Kai and Days Inn; showers and a portable toilet. |
| 10 | Polo Beach | Wailea. No public transport nearby; public restrooms, showers and free parking. |
| 11 | Puu Olai Beach | Puʻu Olaʻi (Red Hill), Mākena. The guide says reaching the site in time takes a steep uphill hike of about 40 minutes at a brisk pace, and that the site is not for people with mobility or joint issues. No facilities; parking on a dirt road, no public transport. |
Taking part in 2027
The 2027 Great Whale Count days are January 30, February 27 and March 27, the same days as the Ocean Count. Pacific Whale Foundation requires volunteers to arrive by 8 am and stay until noon, and says registration opens December 14, 2026, on its Great Whale Count page. To count on Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi or Hawaiʻi Island instead, see how the Ocean Count works.