Conservation Guidelines Re-Issued

A new, multilingual edition of The Mediterranean Monk Seal – Conservation Guidelines is now available from IMMA Inc. The original English-language version, published in 1995, has now been complemented by translations in French, Greek, Spanish and Turkish. The new edition also lists individual and organisational endorsements of the Guidelines, of which 78 have been received to date. Click here if you wish to download a copy of the publication.

Captive Breeding on the Hawaiian Horizon

Having exhausted every other single option – except, perhaps, for total, hands-off, in situ protection – Hawaiian scientists and bureaucrats appear to be moving inexorably towards captive breeding of Monachus schauinslandi. European observers, who were treated to two attempts by Antibes Marineland to capture Mediterranean monk seals at the Côte des Phoques, ostensibly for the same purpose, will be no strangers to the controversies, myths and scientific rationalisations that pervade the captive breeding issue. An oral presentation at the January 1998 Workshop on the Biology and Conservation of the World’s Endangered Monk Seals in Monaco noted that the Hawaiian monk seal population "continues to decline at an overall rate of 5-6% per annum," despite largely "successful" conservation efforts mounted by the National Marine Fisheries Service and other agencies. As such, "more aggressive strategies" were called for, including "captive breeding programs." An abstract of the presentation, by Shannon Atkinson of the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii, goes to state that: "With the Hawaiian monk seal we are currently proposing the establishment of a captive colony at a facility that is dedicated to the scientific study of monk seals." While the continuing decline in the species undoubtedly gives cause for concern, Hawaiian participants at the Workshop failed to provide a convincing argument that all avenues of in situ conservation had been exhausted. This is the commonly accepted criterion for instituting captive breeding of monk seals, long considered a measure of last resort.

EC Evaluation Report

The long-awaited review of EC conservation policy towards the Mediterranean monk seal was submitted to the Environment, Nuclear Safety and Civil Protection Directorate (DG XI) of the European Commission on 28 June 1997. John P. Watson of the Evaluation Partnership and Chris Huxley of Fauna and Flora International were commissioned by DGXI to initiate the study, following long-running controversy over the effectiveness of some EC-funded monk seal conservation projects. While the full text of the Final Report remains confidential, an Executive Summary has been circulated within the monk seal conservation community. The report, entitled Evaluation of Actions Taken to Protect the Mediterranean Monk Seal, provides comprehensive scientific, financial and procedural evaluations of relevant EC-funded projects, as well as specific recommendations to remedy perceived faults in policy and implementation. The Monachus Guardian has so far failed to obtain a copy of the full report.

Seal Foundation Still in Limbo

When the Save the Mediterranean Monk Seal Foundation (SMMSF) was first established in 1993, it appeared to herald a major advance in funding needy grassroots conservation projects. Bellerive Foundation President, Sadruddin Aga Khan, took the lead role in setting-up the Athens-based charity, and was joined by several wealthy and influential Greek industrialists. These included ship-owners Andreas Potamianos and the late George P. Livanos, and brandy heir Spyros Metaxas. Founding members each contributed substantial donations to establish the Foundation. It was hoped that this would encourage the support of other wealthy patrons and also provide a mechanism by which influence could be brought to bear upon the Greek government to enhance conservation measures necessary to safeguard the monk seal.

Since then, however, a cloud of uncertainty has hung over both the operation and existence of the Foundation. Despite strenuous efforts, notably by Bellerive, the SMMSF remains in limbo. It has no functioning secretariat, and funds have yet to be disbursed. The proponents of the Foundation remain optimistic, however, that the various legal and administrative impediments delaying operations will shortly be overcome. Certainly, a species with so many enemies could use some real friends in high places.

Monaco Workshop Expresses… Silence

The January 1998 Workshop on the Biology & Conservation of the World’s Endangered Monk Seals may go down in history as the only gathering of its kind that ever failed to produce a set of recommendations for the conservation of the species.

The Workshop, held in Monaco as an adjunct to the World Marine Mammal Science Conference, was dominated by controversy over the cause and subsequent handling of the 1997 mass die-off of Mediterranean monk seals at the Côte des Phoques in the Sahara Occidental (see Harwood et al., 1998). Indeed, opinions proved so divisive during the meeting that only a vague verbal summary could be provided to the WMMSC Conference.