Ocean Count results, 2025 season
The highest island figure for 2025 is 6 whales per site per 15-minute period, for Hawaiʻi Island in January and Molokaʻi in February. The lowest is 0, for Hawaiʻi Island in March; the sheet prints whole numbers, and our recount from its site table gives 0.39. March was the lowest of the three figures on every island.
The 2025 Sanctuary Ocean Count ran on three Saturday mornings: January 25, February 22 and March 29. We list the island averages from the preliminary results sheets, and each site’s average per count, computed from the results sheets’ site tables.
Island figures, 2025
| Count | Kauaʻi | Oʻahu | Molokaʻi | Hawaiʻi Island | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January January 25 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | results sheet |
| February February 22 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 3 | results sheet |
| March March 29 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | results sheet |
Headcount and busiest period, 2025
| Count | Headcount | Sites reporting | Busiest period | Whales in busiest period | Day total Kauaʻi | Day total Oʻahu | Day total Molokaʻi | Day total Hawaiʻi Island |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 429 volunteers † | 30 | 10–10:15 a.m. | 183 | 440 | 399 | 87 | 493 |
| February | 498 volunteers † | – | – | – | 321 | 408 | 153 | 263 |
| March | 363 volunteers † | 29 | 8:30–8:45 a.m. | 52 | 122 | 220 | 11 | 28 |
† The headcount includes Pacific Whale Foundation’s Great Whale Count on Maui and Lānaʻi, held on the same mornings.
Day totals add up every whale reported during the morning, so one whale can be counted more than once.
The release’s Molokaʻi day total for March 29, 11, covers Kalaupapa Lookout only; the sheet also prints Sandy’s, for 50 in all.
2025 averages by count site
The highest 2025 site value for a single count is 20.78, at Puʻukoholā Heiau National Park on Hawaiʻi Island in January.
Each figure is the whales seen at that site, adults plus calves, averaged over the 15-minute periods it reported, from the results sheet’s site table. A dash means the site reported no period that morning.
| No. | Site | January | February | March |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Cliffs at Princeville | – | 2.67 | 0.67 |
| 4 | KPNWR-Crater Hill | 9 | 6.44 | 4.67 |
| 5 | Kapaʻa Lookout | 8.22 | 2.56 | 3.56 |
| 6 | Ahukini State Recreation Pier | 2.67 | 2.22 | 0.67 |
| 7 | Ninini Lighthouse | 7.25 | 2.44 | 0.22 |
| 9 | Māhāʻulepū-Makawehi | 6.22 | 5.44 | 1.33 |
| 10 | Makahūʻena Point | 6.33 | 5.78 | 1.78 |
| 11 | Poʻipū Beach Park | 4.11 | 2.67 | 0.22 |
| 13 | Port Allen Cemetery | 1.11 | 0.78 | 0.33 |
| 15 | Pacific Missile Range Facility | 4.78 | 4.67 | 0.11 |
| No. | Site | January | February | March |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Mākua Cave | 4.67 | 2.78 | 0.22 |
| 5 | Kaʻena Point (West Shore) | 3.78 | 2.33 | 0.11 |
| 7 | Mokulēʻia Beach Park | – | 3.11 | – |
| 11 | Lāʻie Point | 2.67 | 1.67 | 0.89 |
| 13 | Kualoa Ranch (Bunkers) | 3.67 | 1.56 | 3.78 |
| 14 | Pyramid Rock | 1.78 | 6.22 | 2.78 |
| 15 | Mōkapu Point (Monument Point Overlook) ¶ | 4.29 | 2.89 | 2.67 |
| 16 | Lanikai | 1.22 | 0.89 | 0 |
| 19 | Hālona Blowhole | 4.67 | 9 | 6.56 |
| 20 | Lānaʻi Lookout | 8.33 | 8.22 | 4.67 |
| 22 | Spitting Caves | 7 | 6.67 | 2.78 |
| No. | Site | January | February | March |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kaiaka Rock/Kaula Ili Way Kaluakoʻi | 2.75 | 6.22 | – |
| 2 | Sandy’s | 7.22 | 8.12 | 4.88 |
| 3 | Kalaupapa Lookout/Palaʻau State Park | – | 3.56 | 1.22 |
| No. | Site | January | February | March |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Hoʻokena Beach Park | 1.11 | 0.33 | – |
| 5 | Hōnaunau Lookout | 0.44 | 0.11 | 0 |
| 6 | Keauhou Scenic Lookout | 4.22 | 2.78 | 0 |
| 7 | Keāhole Point (OTEC) | 4.44 | 2.11 | 0 |
| 9 | Puʻukoholā Heiau National Park | 20.78 | 9.33 | 1.78 |
| 10 | Mile Marker 7 | 12.22 | – | 0 |
| 11 | Lapakahi State Historical Park | – | 6.11 | – |
| 12 | Kapaʻa Beach Park | 6.33 | 3 | 0.33 |
| 13 | Old Coast Guard Road | 4.67 | 5.22 | 0 |
| 21 | Hawaiian Paradise Park | 0.56 | 0.22 | 1 |
¶ We leave the January 25 cell for Mōkapu Point (Monument Point Overlook) at 11 a.m., printed 117/3, out of its site’s average as a probable misprint. A cell of 29 whales reproduces the release’s day total (399) and the printed average (4).
Sources
- Results sheet, January 25
- Press release, January 25
- Results sheet, February 22
- Press release, February 22
- Results sheet, March 29
- Press release, March 29
The official record is on oceancount.org, and registration for the next count is on oceancount.org/registration. The island figures on this page, and the site-table cells behind its site averages, are also in our download files. This site is independent and not part of NOAA or the Sanctuary Ocean Count.