Vol. 11 (2): November 2008

Monk seal may gain ‘Critical Habitat’ on main Hawaiian Islands

In response to a petition filed by three environmental groups, the federal government has announced its intention to consider designating additional critical habitat for the Hawaiian monk seal. The petition, filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, KAHEA: The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance, and Ocean Conservancy, seeks to have beaches and surrounding waters on the main Hawaiian Islands and additional areas in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands protected as critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act.

Input – particularly from the science community – is currently being sought, and will be accepted until 2 December. Of particular interest is information on monk seal habitat needs. Through the process initiated by the petition, the Endangered Species Act requires that the government launch a detailed review on the habitat needs of the monk seal and, if warranted, propose a new critical habitat designation by the summer of 2009.

The monk seal currently has critical habitat designated only in parts of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI), a chain of small islands and atolls northwest of the main islands. In that northwestern area, monk seals are dying of starvation and populations of monk seals are plummeting. Seal pups have only about a one-in-five chance of surviving to adulthood. Other threats include becoming entangled and drowning in abandoned fishing gear, shark predation, and disease.

In contrast, monk seals in the main Hawaiian Islands are thriving and giving birth to healthy pups. Hawaiian monk seals are present on each of the main islands, and their numbers are steadily increasing. Thus, the main islands are becoming important habitat for the monk seals.

“This government finding that it will consider designating critical habitat for monk seals in the main Hawaiian Islands marks an important step toward preventing the extinction of the Hawaiian monk seal,” said Miyoko Sakashita, a staff attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity and author of the petition. “Habitat in the main Hawaiian Islands is essential for the survival of the imperilled monk seals.”

Habitat in the main islands will also provide a refuge for monk seals as sea-level rise floods the low-lying Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Global warming is an overarching threat to the Hawaiian monk seal and its habitat. Already, important beaches where seal pups are born and raised have been lost due to sea-level rise and erosion.

“We have already seen the extinction of the Caribbean monk seal – a relative of the Hawaiian monk seal. The threat is real and we must act now,” said Vicki Cornish, vice president of marine wildlife conservation at Ocean Conservancy. “We are greatly encouraged by this consideration to extend critical habitat designation in the main Hawaiian Islands. It is a necessary step in making sure Hawaiian monk seals do not suffer the same fate as their relatives.”

Critical habitat designation will mean greater protection of Hawaiian monk seal habitat under the Endangered Species Act. Once designated, any federal activities that may affect the critical habitat must undergo review to ensure that those activities do not harm the Hawaiian monk seal or its habitat.

In passing the Endangered Species Act, Congress emphasized the importance of critical habitat, stating that “the ultimate effectiveness of the Endangered Species Act will depend on the designation of critical habitat.” Recent studies have shown that species with critical habitat are twice as likely to recover as species without it.

“What happens in the coming few years will determine the survival of this species,” according to Marti Townsend, Program Director of KAHEA: “We cannot afford the extinction of a creature so sacred in Hawaiian culture and endemic to these islands. And we cannot expect to save this species without engaging in the hard task of meaningfully protecting habitat.” – KAHEA.

Meanwhile, NOAA Fisheries (Pacific Islands Regional Office) states on its website:

‘In July of 2008, the NOAA Fisheries Service (also known as the National Marine Fisheries Service) recieved a petition by three conservation groups to review and establish revised ‘critical habitat’ for the Hawaiian monk seal. Certain areas are given this designation because they are considered necessary for the survival and the recovery of a species. The Endangered Species Act (ESA) in turn prohibits any changes or ‘destruction or adverse modification’ by Federal activities (those that are federally funded or permitted) to these areas that will diminish its value as important habitat for the survival and recovery of the species. It is important to note that critical habitat designation does not turn an area into a reserve, refuge, Marine Protected Area (MPA) or a park. Public access and usage in areas that are designated as critical habitat are NOT affected.

Currently the details and recommendations of the critical habitat petition are being evaluated. The public will have a chance to comment on any critical habitat proposal that may be developed. Any potential critical habitat designation project would take at least a year or more to complete.’

Further information

Center for Biological Diversity / KAHEA / Ocean Conservancy. 2008. Petition to revise critical habitat for the Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi) under the Endangered Species Act, 2 July 2008: 1-46. [PDF  1.2 MB]

Center for Biological Diversity. 2008. Critical habitat protection sought for Hawaiian monk seal. Petition seeks habitat on main Hawaiian Islands for endangered seals seeking refuge from sea-level rise. News Release, 2 July 2008.

NOAA. Critical Habitat. What it is; what it is not; how it will affect you.

Orphan in rehab

As readers will note from the Press Watch section below, an orphaned, three-day old Hawaiian monk seal was taken into care in May on the Main Hawaiian Island of Kauai, following his mother’s rejection.

Attempts to reunite mother and pup failed, leaving the NOAA rescue team to airlift the male neonate to the Kewalo Research Facility on Oahu on a Coast Guard C-130. NOAA staff were later joined by experts from the Marine Mammal Center, an NGO experienced in rehabilitations, and a former partner of NOAA in the Hawaiian monk seal ‘Captive Care’ programme [Captive care lends seals a headstart, TMG 10(1): 2007].

Despite initial concerns that the pup’s survival might be touch-and-go, with rehab specialists voicing concern that this was the youngest captive Hawaiian monk seal ever to undergo treatment, the orphan gradually began to gain weight, from 14.7 kg a day after its arrival at Kewalo to 24.9 kg on 16 June.

Code-named KP2, the pup’s envisaged release date was described as ‘indefinite’, with NOAA staff admitting that the animal would have to weigh in at an optimum 68-79 kg before such a move could be contemplated.

It appears rehab staff, dissatisfied with meagre weight gains in the pup initially, supplemented its diluted milk formula diet with food of a higher calorific value, before moving on to solid fish.

“The population of Hawaiian monk seals has dwindled to 1,100 and continues to decline at around 4% each year,” said Dr. Frances Gulland, Director of Veterinary Science at The Marine Mammal Center. “Every effort we can put forth in helping this young pup and others like him to survive can make a difference in helping the entire species continue to thrive in the wild.”

NOAA’s press spokesperson, Wende Goo, told TMG that “KP2 continues to grow and make progress toward a release back to the wild at the earliest opportunity – no date has been determined at this time. He appears to be enjoying his shore pen, swims throughout the day, is eating well, and is bright and active.”

At the time of writing, no information was available from the Marine Mammal Center or responsible NOAA officials regarding the pup’s specific feeding regime or veterinary treatment. Realising the potential benefits of shared monk seal rehabilitation experiences from the Mediterranean, Atlantic and Hawaii, we hope that such information will eventually find its way into print.

Further information

NOAA. KP2 progress page, NOAA, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center.

NOAA. 2008. Newborn monk seal pup abandoned on Kauai – Pup brought into captive care rehabilitation. News Release, 3 May 2008: 1-2 [PDF  28 KB].

Marine Mammal Center. 2008. The Marine Mammal Center aids abandoned Hawaiian monk seal pup. News Release, 9 May 2008: 1. [PDF  76 KB]

Inbreeding doubtful cause of population decline

Recently-published research in the Journal of Heredity has confirmed that the Hawaiian monk seal exhibits an “extreme paucity of genetic diversity” — the apparent legacy of its encounter with humans in the 19th century, when the species was hunted almost to extinction. Analysing samples from 2409 Hawaiian monk seals researchers found, however, that there is scant evidence for current inbreeding within the population. Pointing out that minimal genetic variation did not prevent a partial recovery up until the 1950s, the authors conclude that the condition is unlikely to be a causative factor in the continuing decline of the species, currently numbered at less than 1,200 individuals, and declining by some 4% per year.

An abstract is available free online; the full text is available via paid access only.

Further information

Schultz, J.K., J.D. Baker, R.J. Toonen and B.W. Bowen. 2008. Extremely low genetic diversity in the endangered Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi). Journal of Heredity Advance Access published online on September 23, 2008.

Marine Mammal Commission. 2008. The biological viability of the most endangered marine mammals and the cost-effectiveness of protection programs. The Marine Mammal Commission’s Report to Congress, February 2008: 1-448. [PDF 5.5MB]

New threats seen in management flaws

The proposed 15-year management plan for the Papahānaumokuākea Marine Monument continues to draw fire, with environmental and cultural organisations charging that envisaged restrictions within the sanctuary are being diluted. In a review of the current draft management plan, KAHEA: the Hawaiian Environmental Alliance, the Sierra Club and the Ilioulaokalani Coalition (a grouping also known as the NWHI hui), charge that the ‘precautionary principle’ that should guide human activities and conservation within the Monument is increasingly being abandoned in favour of various economic and military activities.

“This plan was to be the golden opportunity to look at full conservation of a fragile coral reef ecosystem and perpetuation of our unique Hawaiian culture,” said Marti Townsend, Program Director for KAHEA. “Instead, we see over a quarter of a billion dollars in public money going to open this place up for increased tourism, research, and military use, with little dedicated to reducing the impact of human activity there. For example, over 50% of the proposed budget is for government operations and scientific research, while a mere 12% goes to reducing existing threats, like clean up of marine debris and legacy military contamination.”

According to NWHI hui’s analysis, the current draft management plan, issued by the Department of Commerce, Department of Interior and the State of Hawaii, fails to limit or mitigate the U.S Navy’s plans to expand military exercises in the Monument, and includes proposals to increase extractive research, ecotourism, and vessel traffic among the area’s fragile atolls.

KAHEA states that exercises proposed by the Navy include “ballistic missile tests over the Monument, chemical dumping in the Monument, experiments with hypersonic weapons and vehicles near the Monument, use of high-intensity active sonar, and massive releases of marine debris.”

The “Monument co-trustees,” it continues, “have incorrectly stated that military activities are beyond their jurisdiction.”

NOAA Fisheries initiated a public comment procedure in June, seeking reactions to its proposed measures to protect marine mammals around Hawaii as the Navy conducts sonar exercises.

In a June 2008 press release, NOAA stated: “NOAA’s Fisheries Service does not expect the exercises to result in serious injury or death to marine mammals, and is proposing the Navy use mitigation measures to avoid injury or death. However, exposure to sonar in certain circumstances has been associated with the stranding of some marine mammals, and some injury or death may occur despite the best efforts of the Navy. The draft authorization allows for incidental impacts on marine mammals, including injury or death of up to 10 animals of each of 10 species over the five years covered by the authorization.”

Further information

KAHEA. 2008. NWHI hui issues critical review of the Management Plan proposed for the Papahānaumokuākea Monument in the NWHI, KAHEA, July 2008.

NOAA. 2008. NOAA Seeks comments on measures to protect marine mammals as Navy conducts sonar operations off Hawaiian Islands. News Release, 23 June 2008: 1-2. [PDF  32 KB]

Midway Atoll reopens

Midway Atoll was reopened to the public earlier this year, following a 6-year hiatus in which the only inhabitants were base personnel, Fish & Wildlife Service wardens, researchers, Laysan albatrosses, terns, turtles and monk seals.

A contract was finalised with a new provider of tour services in May last year, the NOAA, Fish & Wildlife Service and State of Hawaii opting for the non-profit Oceanic Society.

Tours to the remote atoll (a four-and-a-half hour flight into the Pacific from Honolulu on a Gulfstream turboprop), had previously been suspended in 2002 by the FWS, following disagreements with its contractor, Midway Phoenix Corporation [Midway births, TMG 5 (2): November 2002].

Midway Phoenix, reportedly operating the franchise at a loss, had been keen to increase visitors, a move the FWS resisted after already experiencing repeated human disturbance to wildlife, including beach-loafing seals and nesting birds.

It remains to be seen whether the new guided expeditions to Midway will placate some critics and avoid previous disturbance issues.

Midway is now the only publicly accessible wildlife refuge within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument and, despite the steep costs attracts both wildlife enthusiasts and military history buffs .

Further information

Oceanic Society’s tours to Midway: Midway Atoll

US Fish & Wildlife Service: Midway Visitor Services Plan

Conference considers Hawaiian seals

The theme of the 2008 Hawai‘i Conservation Conference was ‘Island Ecosystems: The Year of the Reef’. Organised by the Hawaii Conservation Alliance, the July gathering in Honolulu also featured its own symposium on the Hawaiian monk seal, a reflection, perhaps, of gathering anxiety among government officials and conservationists alike that the extinction of the species is becoming an alarmingly tangible possibility.

An introduction to the Symposium states: “Hawaiian monk seals have been sunning themselves on the beaches of Hawai‘i for nearly 13 million years, and are one of only two endemic mammals found in the island Archipelago. Now, critically endangered, monk seals number less than 1200 individuals, and continue to decline by 4% per year. In September of 2007 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a revised recovery plan with a renewed focus on more intensive management actions to recover the seal. These efforts include establishing a captive care program to improve survival of young female monk seals, reducing mortality to all individuals and building better capacity in the Main Hawaiian Islands to manage the monk seals and their interactions with the public. One bright spot for the monk seal in recent years is its reoccupation of the Main Hawaiian Islands. Monk seals are now found on all of the main islands and several islands have recorded births in recent years. The growing numbers of monk seals in the MHI is not without problems however, as increasingly seals are coming into contact with the public and these interactions can be detrimental to the seals. These interactions with the public pose a management challenge, but also a great opportunity to engage local communities in the Hawaiian monk seal’s recovery.

The monk seal is an iconic species of the newly established Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, but it is also the proverbial canary in the coal mine. Caught in between many human impacts – climate change, overfishing, marine waste, coastal development and disease – the monk seal’s recovery will involve improving ocean stewardship in many diverse arenas. Supplementary efforts to recover the monk seal include research identifying and actions mitigating sources of mortality in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands including male aggression, shark attacks, starvation and entanglement in marine debris. The monk seal population is at a critical juncture; efforts at recovery need to aggressively move forward in the next few years. This symposium will highlight the ongoing research and management actions planned and being undertaken by the staff of NOAA to implement the Hawaiian monk seal recovery plan.”

Please refer to our Recent Publications section for further details on papers presented at the Symposium.

News Watch 

300 volunteers carry out critical Hawaiian Monk Seal count

Some 300 volunteers fanned out across the Islands between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. today for the fourth semi-annual Monk Seal Count – a two-year-old program aimed at tracking the endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal on the same times and dates on each of the main Hawaiian Islands.

A primary purpose is to draw attention to and educate the public about Hawaiian Monk Seals, said David Schofield, regional marine mammal response coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries.

“There are fewer than 1,100 of these seals that are known to exist – only 100 of them being in the main Hawaiian Islands,” said Schofield. “And they are declining at a rate of 4 percent a year.”

By tracking them twice a year with volunteer help, Schofield said the hope is that researchers can learn enough about the seals to stem the rate of decline and perhaps even begin to increase their numbers. […]

300 volunteers carry out critical Hawaiian Monk Seal count, Honolulu Advertiser, 20 October 2008.

Government to consider larger habitat for monk seals

The federal government will consider designating areas in the main Hawaiian islands as critical habitat for endangered Hawaiian monk seals.

The announcement, to be published today in the Federal Register, comes in response to a petition filed by three environmental groups.

The petition seeks to expand a protected area now comprised of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands to include the beaches and waters of the main islands. Environmentalists say monk seals in the main Hawaiian islands are thriving.

Government to consider larger habitat for monk seals, Honolulu Star Bulletin, 17 October 2008.

Monk seal pup found dead in Waimanalo

Necropsy findings into what caused the death of a monk seal pup found over the weekend in Waimanalo were inconclusive, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service announced today.

RW18, nicknamed “Hoku”, was born in May on the north shore of O’ahu.

The carcass was relatively decomposed, so drowning or another cause of death could neither be ruled out nor confirmed, officials said. Some samples were taken for analysis for pathogens or toxins. The seal appeared to have been in “good body condition” when it died, NOAA said.

“Over forty volunteers watched over the pup from sun up to sun down for six weeks while it was being reared on the beach by its mother,” said David Schofield, marine mammal response coordinator. “Understandably, a lot of dedicated volunteers are very saddened by the loss. With so few monk seals remaining in the Hawaiian Islands, we can’t afford to lose even one.” […]

“While the evidence doesn’t conclude the seal was drowned, we want to remind people of the existing state laws regarding use of gill nets, which are intended to protect marine mammals,” said Laura H. Thielen, DLNR [Department of Land and Natural Resources] chairperson.

Thielen added, “O’ahu DOCARE [Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement] has pulled over a mile and a half of illegal gill nets out of O’ahu waters in the last year. We ask that people register their nets, make sure they check them within the required time limits, and respect the ‘no-lay’ net zones.”

Monk seal pup found dead in Waimanalo, Honolulu Advertiser, 6 October 2008

America’s Underwater Junkyard

Below America’s waters lies a junkyard. Every year, thousands of boats, barges and ships sink or are abandoned in the U.S., having been rendered unusable due to accidents, weather damage, age or an owner’s financial duress, and the vast majority of them are never recovered. […]

Abandoned ships wreak havoc on the marine ecosystem long after they’ve sunk. Decaying wreckages leach toxic chemicals like petroleum products and PCBs that remain in the water harming or destroying sea life and potentially enter the food chain, eventually getting ingested by humans. Sometimes dead watercraft foster the growth of new sea life that threatens the pre-existing local ecosystem. […]

Sunken vessels can also trail deadly debris. Fishing boats, for example, which are stocked with nets and traps, often continue to “ghost fish” after the ship itself has been abandoned. The biggest man-made threat to the endangered monk seal of Hawaii is entanglement in derelict fishing gear, according to Keith Criddle, a marine-policy professor at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. […]

America’s Underwater Junkyard, Emily V. Driscoll, Time, 30 September 2008

Report: Ocean debris will likely worsen

HONOLULU (AP) — Birds and turtles are developing digestive problems as their stomachs fill with plastic they mistakenly believe is food. The endangered Hawaiian monk seal population is struggling as many of the mammals get entangled in improperly discarded fishing nets.

These examples underscore that efforts to prevent and reduce ocean debris are inadequate and the problem will likely worsen, according to a congressionally mandated report released Friday. [Tackling Marine Debris in the 21st Century]

The report by the National Research Council recommends the U.S. take the lead in coordinating regional management of marine debris.

It said international maritime regulations should be changed to ban the dumping of trash into the ocean. […]

Other findings in the report:

• Ports should have adequate facilities for accepting and managing vessel waste.
• Ships should have incentives to dispose of their waste in port.
• Marine debris responsibilities are spread across organizations, slowing progress.
• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration should develop fishing gear marking protocols to reduce gear loss and abandonment.

Report: Ocean debris will likely worsen, Associated Press, 21 September 2008.

Hot celebs find serenity on cool Kailua Beach

The Kailua Beach neighborhood where Barack Obama is staying for his vacation has seen its share of celebrities over the years.

Neighbors have seen Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake, Harrison Ford, Michelle Pfeiffer and William Shatner enjoying the sandy beach and picturesque views that stretch from the Mokapu Peninsula to Flat Island. […]

As for the other celebrities they’ve spotted, “who cares about them? We’d rather see Barack,” another neighbor added.

But it was only a few months ago when another celebrity drew hundreds of people to the beach.

A monk seal, officially called RK 15 but better known as Chester, spent several weeks on Kailua Beach in January.

The National Marine Fisheries Service had to put up yellow tape to keep people a respectful distance from him.

“As of right now, Chester had more visitors than Obama,” said neighbor Dan Pence.

To which his neighbors added, they hope it stays that way.

Hot celebs find serenity on cool Kailua Beach, Honolulu Star Bulletin, 8 August 2008.

Marine monument languishes
The chain of islands in northwestern Hawaii has seen funding drop and debris accumulate

WASHINGTON – Cleanup efforts have slowed and garbage continues to pile up in a remote chain of Pacific islands that President Bush made the biggest and most environmentally protected area of ocean in the world two years ago.

Winning rare praise from conservationists, Bush declared the 140,000-square-mile chain of islands in northwestern Hawaii the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in June 2006.

His proclamation featured some of the strictest measures ever placed on a marine environment, including a prohibition on any material that might injure its sensitive coral reefs and 7,000 rare species – a fourth of them found nowhere else in the world – even if the debris drifts in from thousands of miles away.

It hasn’t happened.

Ocean currents still bring an estimated 57 tons of garbage and discarded fishing gear each year to the 10 islands and waters surrounding them, where the refuse snares endangered monk seals, smothers coral reefs and fills the guts of albatrosses and their young with indigestible plastic.

Debris removal, meanwhile, has averaged 35 tons a year since the islands became a monument, about a third of the 102 tons of derelict fishing gear collected on average before that.

The Bush administration slashed the debris cleanup budget by 80 percent from the $2.1 million spent in 2005 and requested only $400,000 a year for it through 2008. […]

Marine monument languishes, Honolulu Star Bulletin, 8 August 2008.

Pup makes daily progress
Orphaned monk seal: officials optimistic but cautious

More than a month after a baby Hawaiian monk seal was abandoned by his mother on Kauai, marine mammal experts say the pup continues to improve but will remain in captivity indefinitely.

“We’re pleased with his progress, but we’re still being optimistically cautious because he has a long way to go,” said Wende Goo, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration spokeswoman.

The male pup, identified by marine experts as KP2, was found on May 2 on the North Shore of Kauai. KP2’s mother rejected him and responded aggressively when NOAA specialists attempted to reintroduce the two. […]

KP2 has been under quarantine at the NOAA Fisheries Kewalo Research Facility on Oahu ever since.

“This is uncharted territory because we have never brought a seal that young in before. So our partners, the Marine Mammal Center, are the experienced ones and they’re helping,” Goo said.

At 55 pounds [24.9 kg] and growing every day, KP2 is beginning to show his first teeth. […]

Despite gaining 22 pounds [10 kg] since May 8, there are no immediate plans to release KP2 into the ocean, Goo said.

“We do know that, in the wild, when a pup is weaned he weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 [68 kg] to 175 pounds [79 kg],” she said. […]

The pup’s possible release date will all depend on how quickly he gains weight, while experts continue to closely monitor his health.

Pup makes daily progress, Honolulu Star Bulletin, 18 June 2008.

Monk seal off hook for surgery
A full exam reveals the absence of a hook inside the rare animal

A female Hawaiian monk seal code named “DP4” had a lucky break yesterday when veterinary specialists could not find a fishhook she was believed to have swallowed.

“DP4” was first spotted off Kauai on May 26 with a fishing line coming out of her mouth, said Dr. Bob Braun, contract veterinarian with the National Marine Fisheries Service.

On Tuesday she was found again, this time without any visible fishing line in her mouth. Researchers thought she might have swallowed the hook, and relocated her to Oahu as a team was flown in from the mainland for a potentially risky hook-removal surgery that would entail removal of the stomach and intestines and many stitches.

Yesterday she was examined in preparation for surgery. “What we did was anaesthetize, go in with an endoscope and look inside her whole gi (gastrointestinal) tract,” said Braun. No trace of the hook was found, he said, even after an ultrascan. He was amazed that she had apparently removed the hook and line herself.

“It was certainly a drama for her to be over here and held captive,” said Braun, but he is pleased that she is healthy. “On a scale of 1 to 10, it was definitely a 9,” he added, describing the seal’s health. Federal fisheries officials plan to release the seal soon off Kauai’s south shore. […]

Monk seal off hook for surgery, Bali Fergusson, Honolulu Star Bulletin, 28 June 2008.

Injured monk seal awaits risky surgery on stomach

The Hawaiian monk seal that was airlifted from Kauai will undergo surgery this morning after veterinarians were unable yesterday to remove a swallowed fishhook lodged above its stomach.

Veterinarians located the 5-inch fishhook in the esophagus, just above the entrance to the stomach, said Robert Braun, a veterinarian with the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Veterinarians sedated the monk seal – called ‘TT-40’ after the identification tag that was placed on its flipper earlier this year – and inserted an endoscope (a fiber-optic viewing device) through its mouth down to the stomach.

The two-hour procedure began at 9:04 a.m. yesterday at a laboratory at Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe. Veterinarians said they will try to remove the hook by cutting through the stomach in a risky and delicate procedure that could take even longer.

“Unfortunately, where the hook is and the type of hook the animal has isn’t removable with the endoscope,” said Dr. Martin Haulena, a veterinarian from the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, Calif., flown in to anesthetize the seal. “We have to go in through a more invasive procedure in order to specially remove it.” […]

The seal is now resting at the Marine base. Braun said the chances for survival for the 500-pound, 20-year-old male seal are good, and they hope to release him back into the wild after recovery, which could take weeks or months. […]

Brad Ryon, a NOAA marine biologist, said while endangered monk seals have been hooked before, TT-40’s case is unusual.

“It’s the only one in recent years that swallowed it,” he said. “Most of them, the hooks are still in their mouths.” […]

Injured monk seal awaits risky surgery on stomach, Honolulu Star Bulletin, 16 June 2008.

Monk seal species officially deemed extinct
The Caribbean variety, related to the Hawaii mammal, is no more

The Caribbean monk seal has gone extinct.

The sea mammal had long been thought to be extinct, but the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service said yesterday it was official.

The federal agency warns that the two remaining monk seal species could be next. There are fewer than 1,200 Hawaiian and 500 Mediterranean monk seals remaining, and their populations are declining.

Monk seal species officially deemed extinct, Honolulu Star Bulletin, 7 June 2008.

Hawaiian monk seal named Hawaii’s state mammal

Congratulations to the Hawaiian monk seal – now our official state mammal.

Hawaii Lieutenant Governor Duke Aiona signed a bill into law last week giving the endangered and much-beloved seal the official designation. Wildlife experts – who have long considered the seal one of the world’s most-endangered species – hope the move will raise international awareness about the native Hawaii mammal’s plight. […]

Hawaiian monk seal named Hawaii’s state mammal, Hawai’i Today, 15 June 2008.

Baby boom
The number of monk seals born on Oahu in a year hits a record

Two monk seals were born this week on Oahu, delivering a new record – three – for seals born within a year on the island, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The young seals also raised the total number of pups born in the main Hawaiian Islands since the beginning of the year to 10, compared to seven at this time last year, which saw a total of 13 newborn pups. […]

Baby boom, Honolulu Star Bulletin, 16 May 2008.

See also: Monk seal pupping season in full swing, NOAA, News Release, 15 May 2008 [PDF  28 KB].

Pup critical but stable

Marine experts say a 5-day-old endangered monk seal abandoned by his mother shortly after birth last week on a secluded Kauai beach has about a 50 percent chance of surviving.

The pup is in critical but stable condition and is missing essential nutrients since marine experts believe he did not nurse from his mother, which significantly weakened his immune system. Veterinarians and monk seal experts remain hopeful that the young pup will survive, but acknowledge that its outlook appears grim. […]

This is a unique case for NOAA specialists, who had never cared for a monk seal this young. In the past they took in pups about 2 weeks old.

“This is something pretty foreign to us,” [Charles] Littnan said. “It’s going to be a tragedy if we lose this pup. But this situation is going to help us better respond and treat animals in the future, primarily in learning what pups this young are able to eat.” […]

The pup, which weighs about 32 1/2 pounds [14.7kg] and is about 3 1/2 to 4 feet long [106-120cm], is staying at NOAA’s Kewalo Research Facility near Ward Warehouse. Veterinarians let him swim and sleep in addition to feeding him diluted milk.

Pup critical but stable, Honolulu Star Bulletin, 6 May 2008.

Orphan seal pup found

A team of marine experts is working to save a newborn Hawaiian monk seal abandoned by its mother on Kauai.

“We’ve never dealt with a seal this young before and are guardedly optimistic,” said Charles Littnan of the Monk Seal Research Program in a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration news release. “The animal will be stressed and susceptible to disease so strict quarantine measures will be observed.”

The male pup, believed to be about three days old, was flown yesterday from Kauai to the NOAA Fisheries Kewalo Research Facility on Oahu on a Coast Guard C-130.

A bystander found the animal in a remote area of Kauai’s north shore and reported it Friday morning.

A NOAA team went to Kauai and experts tried to reintroduce the pup to its mother, but the female monk seal barked at it and displayed aggressive behavior. She appeared more interested in an adult male seal, said NOAA spokeswoman Wende Goo. […]

NOAA is working with the Marine Mammal Center to help save the newborn. In 2006, the two organizations cared for malnourished twin monk seals, which were eventually returned to Midway Atoll.

Orphan seal pup found, Honolulu Star Bulletin, 4 May 2008.

Group seeks seal-recovery funds

Funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s recovery plan for the endangered Hawaiian monk seal population falls short, critics charge.

The Marine Conservation Biology Institute is leading a national campaign to urge congressional lawmakers as well as the U.S. Department of Commerce to allocate more.

Hawaii Program Director Keiko Bonk said the institute is focusing now on Hawaii to build a collective, unanimous effort to support the campaign to protect what is described as the “most endangered mammal in America.”

For fiscal year 2008, only $2.2 million was appropriated for the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Pacific Islands’ Region monk seal recovery plan. The same amount is expected to be appropriated in fiscal year 2009, according to Mike Tosatto, deputy regional administrator.

Bill Chandler, vice president of government affairs for the institute, based in Washington, D.C., plans to lead a coalition to Washington to urge an increase in funding to an estimated $7 million a year.

The plan, which took effect in August, calls for research and management that includes capture and care of juvenile females, study of the population’s food supply, marine debris removal from the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, a facility to care for wounded and abandoned seals, and support for ongoing education programs in Hawaii. […]

Charles Littnan, head of NOAA’s Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program, said cuts have reduced staffing and the number of field trips to the monument to assess the seal population.

“If we are going to carry out the scientific and management efforts that have been highlighted in the recovery plan, we’ll need those supported,” Littnan said. […]

The recovery plan, which took effect in August, called for an estimated $35.9 million over a five-year span, but only $2.2 million of a $40 million budget for the National Marine Fisheries Pacific Islands Region was appropriated for fiscal year 2008 to support the recovery plan.

Group seeks seal-recovery funds, Rosemarie Bernardo, Honolulu Star Bulletin, 1 May 2008.

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