I recently returned from a sabbatical in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands where I was pursuing my research program in evolutionary ecology and demography of long-lived marine animals in relation to large scale environmental change. My graduate students and I are employing capture-mark-recapture techniques and modelling to understand population dynamic processes in relation to ENSO-like oceanographic phenomena.

I'm writing to object in the most strenuous terms to the killing of sharks by NMFS employees at French Frigate Shoals (FFS). The proposed killing is a seriously misguided 'management' activity that is unlikely to benefit the endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal population at FFS. There is no well-supported scientific evidence that the seal population will benefit from the removal of individual sharks from the atoll. Furthermore, killing of predators at FFS atoll may well have negative effects on the marine ecosystem and is certainly incompatible with the aims of the Hawaiian Islands NWR and the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve of which FFS is a component. The shark killing is the most outrageously inappropriate management activity I have ever had close knowledge of.

Having looked at the shark study SUP #12521-01007 carefully, I note the following specific concerns:

It is inferred without any evidence that sharks have had a "large impact on the seal population" – this would be a very difficult hypothesis to confirm, yet I am aware of no peer-reviewed scientific publications in independent journals that support this idea with any quantitative evidence. It seems that the current approach to seal management begins on a false or at most unsubstantiated premise – that sharks are having a large impact. Overwhelming evidence indicates the population decline and failure of recruitment of juvenile seals at FFS has been due to malnutrition, not shark predation.



	Sharks patrolling the shoreline along Trig Island, a Hawaiian monk seal pupping beach at French Frigate Shoals

There is no quantitative evidence to support the idea that "only a few individual sharks" are responsible for attacks on seal pups. What little data there is tends to support the opposite, and in any case, much more intensive tagging and capture-mark-resighting data would be required to confirm this hypothesis. Furthermore, even if there were such evidence, the possibility that new individuals would appear to replace the removed individuals has not been tested. Even the methods used to capture sharks for marking and killing are questionable – e.g., 297 hours of fishing near East and Trig Islands (in 2000 and 2001) using hooks baited with bird and fish tissue. Because sharks are attracted from long distances by the smell of carrion, this suggests that the shark capture protocol itself is likely to attract sharks near to these sites, with unknown effects on other marine wildlife.

The data on Galapagos Sharks presented in SUP #12521-01007 is noteworthy because it tends to undermine the idea that only a few individuals are killing seal pups. For example, over 20 Galapagos Sharks have been marked at Trig Island, but the evidence shows these individuals occur there only occasionally and that they are part of (quote) “a much larger population than previously thought”. The emerging picture seems to be of an irregular visitation of islands in FFS by individuals from a large and highly mobile predator population that roam mainly outside the atoll.

Let us suppose for a minute that, contrary to all indications, the killing of sharks at Trig Island FFS could in fact prolong the lives of very young Monk Seals by temporarily deterring shark predation. If this was the case, the management scheme would be effectively increasing the number of juvenile seals entering into a system which obviously (and according to NMFS research) cannot support them because the current number of seals at FFS is beyond carrying capacity. This would quite likely lead to increased starvation and mortality of juveniles above what we are currently seeing – a net negative impact on the endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal.

Thus the only quantitative evidence, together with basic ecological principles, points to killing of individual Galapagos Sharks as a scientifically unsupportable and entirely useless activity as far as management of seals is concerned. The NMFS killing also follows a NMFS-permitted non-sustainable fishery for sharks in which I understand that hundreds of sharks, including Galapagos Sharks, were killed for their fins within a few miles of FFS during the 1990s.

A major argument for establishing the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve (of which FFS is a part) was the need to conserve the uniquely high numbers of apex predators (especially sharks) within this area. The unjustifiable killing of sharks by NMFS within this no-take reserve is nothing less than the most appalling case of environmental mismanagement I have come across.

I would make the following recommendations:

• No permits should be issued for shark killing until the population biology, movements, and foraging behaviour of Galapagos, Gray Reef and Tiger Sharks at FFS is thoroughly studied and reported in the peer-review independent scientific literature and that this scientific evidence unequivocally shows that removal of sharks is necessary for the continued existence of a Hawaiian Monk Seal population at FFS.
  
  
• Proposals to kill sharks should be reviewed by a committee of independent (of NMFS) marine ecologists before any kill permits are issued. I can make a list of qualified individuals who would be able to do this.
  
  
• No permits for shark capture within three miles of any island in FFS when using animal tissue as bait.
  
  
• The refuge should support efforts to understand shark species' population size, movements and foraging behaviour at FFS by tagging.
  
  
• The refuge should support efforts by NMFS to create an ecosystem-based population model of the endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal at FFS.

Ian L. Jones, Associate Chair, Atlantic Cooperative Wildlife Ecology Research Network, Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada A1B 3X9.
Web: http://www.mun.ca/acwern

Editor’s note: Similar letters of protest have also been addressed to the U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Keep on publishing

Please, do not close such wonderful and useful web site. It's of primary importance for monk seal conservation! Thanks for all you did and will do for the monk seals.

Claudio Groff, Italy.


We at SAD-AFAG have been shocked by the bad news concerning the possible closure of The Monachus Guardian.

We hope, however, that our collective efforts will assist the survival of the journal, a highly effective publication that fills an enormous information gap between the relevant NGOs, scientists, conservationists and governments in the conservation of Monachus monachus and its coastal habitats. It is beyond dispute that we need such a publication – it allows NGOs a platform for information exchange, publishes valuable scientific data on the biology and history of species, practical conservation know-how drawn from field experience, and popular articles and news about monk seals for the general public.

After many years of generally depressing news about the conservation of Mediterranean monk seals, major advances are at last being made in Turkey, Greece, Madeira, Mauritania. We believe that it is time to increase funding to save this critically-endangered species, not cut it back or eliminate it. We will do whatever we can to support the continued publication of the Guardian.

Cem O. Kiraç, Underwater Research Society – Mediterranean Seal Research Group, Ankara, Turkey.


I would like the IFAW to rethink its withdrawal of support for monk seals. Obviously monk seals are an ancient and threatened major marine life-form, hanging on by a thread. The Monachus Guardian has kept all of us informed about monk seal issues and helped us contribute in our ways to its conservation. Without a focus like the Guardian, energy we need to help the monk seals will be diffused and lost.

I have studied seals for thirty years and have recently done some pilot work on monk seals on Kaua'i. We are dealing with only scores of animals on the main Hawai'ian Islands, while numbers on the northwest chain are dropping. These animals need our help.

Joseph Mortenson, Ph.D., USA.


I guess that all conservation activities face funding priorities, and I do not have time to investigate fully the pros and cons of IFAW's decision. However, I am acutely aware of just how tiny is the population of Mediterranean Monk Seals, and how severely it has declined. Your newsletter has played a prominent part in highlighting its fragile state. I can't help thinking that action to save the Monk Seal is a far more deserving conservation priority than some of the more media-grabbing but actually less serious issues (like seal harvesting in the arctic) that IFAW has successfully publicised. I wish you well in your campaign for Monk Seals, and that particularly includes getting funds to publicise their plight.

Dr D.W. Yalden, Editor, Mammal Review, Biological Sciences, University of Manchester, U.K.


It is an ironic situation that The Monachus Guardian has become as endangered as the monk seals it is working to protect. I really appreciate all the assistance that TMG has given me and the Seal Conservation Society over the last few years, including helping out with the Society's Mediterranean monk seal species account on our web site. I sincerely hope that funding is forthcoming and that the Monachus Guardian will survive.

Peter Haddow, Seal Conservation Society, U.K.


The Guardian is the only "journal" that has carried the full conservation story about this most highly endangered marine mammal.

Prof. Keith Ronald, Guelph, Canada.


I would like to speak on behalf of the Italian Gruppo Foca Monaca: we do really hope alternative sources of funds for your meritorious activities may soon be found... Your valuable work of coordination among the diverse players in monk seal conservation cannot be lost or made to be in vain. We do need The Monachus Guardian as the only common reference point to exchange views, to inform, to know what other parties are doing, in a field where communication is sometimes difficult (and not only for "logistical" reasons)...

Luigi Guarrera, Gruppo Foca Monaca, Roma, Italy.


I have read with surprise the news regarding the possible disappearance of The Monachus Guardian due to lack of funds. I want to express my strong support for the maintenance of this communication medium, and the key role it plays between all the organisations working with monk seals in different parts of the world. I really hope that this problem will be solved, since the Monachus Guardian is and will remain necessary as long as these species remain endangered.

Pablo Fernández de Larrinoa, Fundación CBD-Habitat, Madrid, Spain.


Please do your best to ensure that the journal continues. I believe that the monk seals need this web site.

Evelyne Benhenda, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.


I hope your publications and on line web site can be kept alive, because I think you are doing very necessary work for the conservation of Monachus.

Vanessa Labrada Martagón, CICIMAR, Lab. Mamiferos Marinos, La Paz, Baja California Sur, México.

Editor’s note: Frontline conservation organisations, university professors, staff members of government institutions, NGO campaign managers, journalists, students, school pupils and monk seal aficionados – we take this opportunity of thanking the hundreds of people from all over the world who have written in to voice their support for the continued publication of TMG. Your letters, emails and petition signatures are already proving indispensable in the effort to attract alternative institutional funding to The Monachus Guardian. Our deepening ties with frontline monk seal conservation groups, coupled with a much-needed pledge of emergency aid from the Bellerive Foundation in Geneva [see Prince issues appeal, International News, this issue], is making it look increasingly hopeful that the November 2002 issue will appear as originally scheduled.

Sighting in Tilos…

Regarding Keith Ronald’s comments about Tilos [Back to the future, Letters to the Editor, TMG 4(2): November 2001] I’m writing to let you know about a monk seal presence in St. Charles Bay, on the southwest coast of Tilos during May 2001. This information is reliable.

Professor Enrico Cavina, Head Dept. Surgery, University Hospital S. Chiara, Pisa, Italy.

Pay the penalty

I was doing a report on Hawaiian monk seals. I think that it is important that if someone hurts them or kills them that THEY SHOULD PAY A $20,000 FINE AND STAY IN JAIL FOR A YEAR. I think Hawaiian monk seals are COOL. And MY NAME IS Amanda and I'm 10 YEARS OLD. I'm IN FIFTH GRADE.

Amanda, USA.

Beach visitor

I live in Oahu [one of the Main Hawaiian Islands] on Ewa beach, and there is a monk seal that hangs out right in front of our deck. Here are some pictures…

One photo was taken back in May 2001, but we are not sure if he is the same seal that appears in our later pictures. The remaining photographs were all taken earlier this year (with a digital camera), and are all of the same seal. Details of his appearance:
• Thursday, Jan 24, 2002 – 7 am to 11:30 am
• Wednesday, Jan 30, 2002 – 5 am to 4:30 pm
• Friday, Feb 1, 2002 – 10 am to 3:30 pm
• Sunday, Feb 3, 2002 – 7 am to 3:30 pm.
These are known times the seal remained continuously on the beach. I don't know how often he's been out there without our knowledge – we could have sworn we heard a barking sound (not like a dog, but like a seal) on Jan 23 during dinner and also on the night of Jan 29. He normally appears within 100 ft to the left or right of our beach deck.

We live in Navy housing on Oahu. I immediately recognized the animal as a Hawaiian monk seal and notified the police out here as soon as I saw any beachcombers come near him. The police have been roping off the area and guarding the little guy as best they can. I am also watching for them and shoo away any people who try to cross the police tape or disturb the seal. At first, the residents out here mostly did not seem to realize what the creature was (I had one who had heard he was a turtle and one woman asked me if he was a walrus), but word has spread and most people out here know that he is a Hawaiian monk seal, that he is endangered, and that the police will get you if you disturb him or cross the police tape.

I have also been in contact with the National Marine Fisheries Service here on Oahu – I send them pictures and any news of sightings. I also have their hotline number in case I see that he is injured or sick. They have confirmed that he is an adult male Hawaiian monk seal. He is untagged. He does have some scars, but no open wounds or any signs of illness. They have also sent the police special signs to use when roping off the area, posters to put up in common areas to educate people about the monk seal, and they have given info to the police to educate their ranks about the animal and the laws regarding the conservation of the species. I also contacted the Navy Housing office, and they instructed the base police to call the NMFS for more info on the seals and laws concerning them – they are very concerned that the Navy be a "good citizen" regarding our furry little friends.

The police out here seem to be very conscious of the need to protect the seal, especially after I contacted both the Navy Housing Office and the NMFS. And they know I am watching every move they make regarding the seal.

According to what I hear from the base police here, there have been other sightings of seals up and down the coast here, although none as frequent as this little guy. He just seems to like our beach. The beach out here is relatively deserted during weekdays and at night – we don't get much activity except on weekends during the "sunning" hours. The police know that and basically sat out here all day Sunday, while the seal was here, to protect him.

April Moseley, Oahu, Hawaii

Editor’s note: Little is known about the occurrence or population trends of monk seals inhabiting the Main Hawaiian Islands [see Sightings on the Main Hawaiian Islands, TMG 3(1): May 2000] but NMFS hopes to publish results of its survey in the archipelago later this year, according to Jason Baker of the Service’s Hawaiian Monk Seal Population Assessment Program.

Onsite improvements

As a new visitor to your web site after reading a recent article in BBC Wildlife magazine, I was impressed by the site’s informative content and layout. I think it could be slightly improved with the inclusion of a monk seal photo gallery and video clips.

Zahra Thompson, U.K.

Editor’s note: Thanks for the suggestion. Given the time and resources, we are hoping to add a video library and photo gallery to the site. Readers may also be interested to know that the BBC Wildlife article referred to above, Hanging by a thread, was reprinted in TMG 4(2): November 2001.

Management issues in the NMPANS

Having just visited the Northern Sporades, I read your articles with profound interest [The Islands at the End of the Line and All at sea – Adrift in the Northern Sporades Marine Park, TMG 4(2): November 2001]. Your analysis of the situation seems very sound.

Dr Chris Smeenk, Curator of Mammals, National Museum of Natural History, Leiden, the Netherlands.

Editor’s note: The years of campaigning by the NGO community may finally be paying off. Please see this issue’s news from Greece for an important update on the management of the Northern Sporades Marine Park.

Monk seal genetic studies

As a Portuguese student of marine biology at the University of Lisbon (Faculty of Sciences), I have to prepare a report about the differences between monk seal populations, including the possibility of endogamy in the Desertas Islands of Madeira, using genetic data (such as primers). I would like to know if such data already exists and, if so, where they may be found.

Sofia Mendonça, Lisbon, Portugal.

Editor’s reply: As far as we are aware, comparative genetic studies relating to possible differences between Mediterranean and Atlantic populations of Monachus monachus have been limited in scope and number. However, you might wish to obtain:

Global warming and habitat deterioration

I am a student of Natural Sciences in Bologna (Italy), and I would like to ask you if there could be any relationship between rising sea levels and the lack of suitable caves for the birth of monk seal pups.

Is there any possibility that monk seals are diminishing in part because they cannot find caves with suitable beaches inside, thereby putting their pups at risk from storm waves?

Angela Corbari, Bologna, Italy

Editor’s reply: As far as we know, there is no evidence to suggest that rising sea levels are leading to further deterioration of monk seal cave habitat in the Mediterranean. Historically, Mediterranean monk seals were known to inhabit open, sandy beaches or great “arching caverns” whose characteristics favoured social interaction, breeding success and the relative safety of unweaned pups from storm surges. Human persecution and harassment, however, and tourism’s relentless expansion into some of the last isolated and undisturbed reaches of the Mediterranean, have driven surviving monk seals to retreat into increasingly marginal habitat – often rocky caves and crevices that are incapable of meeting the biological needs of the species.

You may find the following references of relevance:

The editor reserves the right to edit letters for the sake of clarity and space