Vol. 9 (2): November 2006

Probable false alarm at Gibraltar

A monk seal has been seen for the first time in Gibraltar waters. The animal was first reported on the 28th July by a Spanish birdwatcher who saw what he thought was a seal submerging off the cliffs just north of Europa Point. The seal did not reappear and the sighting remained unconfirmed. A week later, on the 3rd August, the Dolphin tour boat 'Dolphin Adventure' sighted the seal just off the North Mole between the bunkering ship and the Spanish Mole. All on board had good views of the animal and comparison to reference books indicated the seal’s identity as a Mediterranean monk seal. The seal was seen once again on 6th August.

This is the first confirmed sighting of the Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus in Gibraltar waters, although there was another report about 20 years ago by a diver.

The nearest populations to Gibraltar are possibly in isolated points on the Atlantic coast of Morocco.

– Albert Yome, Gibraltar Ornithological and Natural History Society (GONHS), 9 August 2006.

On the 11th August, however, additional information came to light which cast doubt on the validity of the identification, and John Cortes, General Secretary of GONHS wrote to us, saying:

Identifying species from other peoples’ reports, as you know, can have its difficulties and there had been recent reports of a hooded seal in waters off Granada, which has made us a little more cautious, so that we are awaiting the photographs from Dolphin Adventure before confirming the identity. We will do an assessment, but would appreciate your assistance in confirming this.

Editor’s reply:

Though higher-resolution photographs have yet to be obtained from the photographers concerned, biologists we consulted voiced certainty that the animal pictured is not a monk seal. However, a genuine monk seal sighting at Gibraltar remains a possibility, if slight. There have been recent confirmed sightings of adults and a pup on the western Algerian coast towards the border with Morocco [see Algeria, this issue]. However, long-time monk seal conservationist in Spain, Xisco Avella, who undertook some 15 years’ of public awareness activities along the Mediterranean coast of Morocco, believes the species to have been virtually wiped out, with habitat under serious threat from coast road construction [see Mediterranean News, Morocco, TMG 7 (2): November 2004].

Conference controversy

The monk seal conference held in Antalya in September 2006 was somewhat different than previous international monk seal gatherings in that it covered such important agenda items as the establishment of a steering committee and a funding mechanism. As far as I know, these agenda items were handled for the very first time on such a large scale in an international meeting. I am sure all the participants made observations from different perspectives and drew some conclusions regarding these two specific issues, for which, unfortunately, no unanimous conclusion could be reached. I have realized, after listening to Bart Romijn of Warner Strategy, that surprisingly, Monachus monachus, although one of the rarest of endangered animals, nevertheless receives the least interest and financial support in the world.

The second realization drawn from that presentation was that all the research and conservation bodies around the world have been spending most of their energy and time searching for and obtaining funding, thereby decreasing their efficiency in real conservation efforts. This subject was also discussed widely during breaks and meal times among different participants, who have certainly come to the same conclusion. Therefore, as SAD-AFAG, we expected at least positive comments or approaches to the initial simple question posed by B. Romijn, Chairperson of Working Group B, during the session on the second day: “do we need funds for monk seal conservation efforts?” Surprisingly, the Greek Cypriot delegation replied “No!” – claiming that there are several funding resources available internationally and these are enough(!) for existing conservation activities; governments should instead focus on legislative issues.

Although this view was not widely accepted during the conference, the apparent dissenting view of the Greek Cypriot representative continued during the plenary as well. A stranger reaction was the silence of some participants, including Turkish scientists, who did not even reply to or comment on this issue. Now we should ask this question frankly… Don’t conservationists and researchers need funding? Yes, indeed. Otherwise, the silence implies to me that there are hesitations or uncertainties on the matter. However, such hesitations were not aired by the silent participants. I believe any questions or doubts of this kind should have been brought openly to the attention of the conference. If we do not discuss how to remove barriers to monk seal conservation in such international monk seal conferences, where else are we supposed to debate these problematic issues? In email messages or MSN chat rooms, or behind closed curtains? SAD-AFAG considered this conference and its agenda items a good opportunity and supported such a funding mechanism and steering committee initiative on the basic condition that clear rules and procedures should be established and all operations arising from these mechanisms be transparent, rather than blocking discussion at the very beginning, or remaining silent during the conference.

There is another threat factor for monk seals and other endangered species; meaningless rivalry among conservationists, scientists and bureaucrats… We hope the results of this meeting will be a starting point to overcome such barriers.

– Cem Orkun Kiraç, Coordinator, SAD-AFAG.

Seal harassed

Last Saturday my friends and I were hiking around Kaena point on the west most point of Oahu and we came across (what we assume is a female) monk seal in the shallow waters on the north side of the point. She was beautiful to watch, but there were people scuba/spear-fishing and all sorts of tourists that were within 3-4 feet of this creature. Needless to say she "barked" at everyone and swam back out into the ocean to try and find another place to give birth to her young. The problem with Oahu is Kaena point is one of the least molested places on the island. I am not sure where she might go. I am not sure who to contact about this, but I heard a rumour that there is some organization in Hawaii that will put up barricades to keep humans out of the nesting area.

– Christopher Bennett, 16 June 2006.

Erin Moreland, Main Hawaiian Islands Monk Seal Sightings Coordinator, replies:

I received your monk seal sighting from Kaena Point and wanted to thank both you and TMG for reporting it. I'm sorry the seal you saw was harassed by visitors back out to sea. It is a frustrating thing to witness. We are in the process of creating a volunteer group of responders who can set up ropes and signs around seals hauled up on popular beaches. Volunteers are also trained to collect basic biological data to help us keep track of the population. Kaena Point is difficult though, due to the time it takes to get out there and the rocks can make it impossible to set up a perimeter – depending on where the seal is located. A woman studying the albatross has helped us a number of times by setting up a perimeter around seals hauled up on the beach.

As far as the data goes, it would be great if you could provide some more information regarding your sighting. We generally record the following:

If you noticed any markings on the seal, we may be able to identify the individual. Some seals have temporary markings on their shoulders.

Seals marked on Oahu start with the letter "N" followed by a number.

Also, some seals have tags in their hind flippers. These would be too difficult to read without binoculars, but presence and colour of the tags add a piece to the puzzle. If there are no applied marks or tags we use natural markings and scars to identify the seal. If you have any photos of the seal I can usually pick out some useful marks to help identify the individual.

Female seals have four teats around a belly button (umbilicus). Male seals have internal organs. You can see a second mark behind the umbilicus (the penile aperture) and a faint line that runs to the anus (the penile grove). It can be challenging to determine the sex of a seal depending on the situation. We do have a few pregnant seals around the island right now, and we definitely pay special attention to where they are and when we're expecting them to pup.

– Erin Moreland, Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, NOAA Protected Species Division, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Honolulu.

Editor’s note:

Thea Johanos-Kam of the NOAA also adds that “We encourage people to report all monk seal sightings and/or harassments by calling (888) 256-9840 (the NOAA Stranding Hotline) or (808) 983-5713 (the Monk Seal Sighting Line). On Oahu, volunteers or NOAA staff members will then set up barricades around seals on public beaches or otherwise respond to the situation as necessary.”

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

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