The 1st International Conference for Marine Mammal Protected Areas: a long overdue workshop
on both Monachus species

Spyros Kotomatas1, Vangelis Paravas1, Harun Güçlüsoy2 and Rosa Pires3

1. MOm/Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal
2. SAD-AFAG Underwater Research Society – Mediterranean Seal Research Group
3. Divisão de Conservação da Natureza Serviço do Parque Natural da Madeira

It is a very long way from the Mediterranean Sea to the Hawaiian island chain in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. They are actually on opposite sides of the world. However, these two areas have something in common: both host the last remnant populations of the two species of the endangered genus Monachus, the Hawaiian and the Mediterranean monk seals. What brought us 13,000 km away from home was the workshop organized by NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) on “MMPAs and MMPA networks for monk seal conservation: Hawaii vs. Mediterranean”.

	Dr. Spyros Kotomatas of MOm, addressing the ICMMPA.

The workshop was hosted under the umbrella of the 1st International Conference for Marine Mammal Protected Areas (ICMMPA) and took place on Maui, one of the Main Hawaiian Islands, from the 30th of March to the 3rd of April 2009. More than 200 participants from more than 40 countries attended the Conference, to discuss the current status of marine mammal protected areas globally, the threats these areas face, and the potential for establishing networks between them to improve their effectiveness in conserving marine mammals. A entire session was devoted to the Monachus genus, which was actually one of the few topics on pinniped conservation during the ICMMPA.

The week-long experience of the ICMMPA was characterized by contrasts. We were, in fact, visiting the country of contrasts: from the austere faces of the Homeland Security Officers in their black Orwellian uniforms, who “welcomed” us, taking our fingerprints and iris scans for “security reasons”; to the laid-back Hawaiians welcoming us with Alohas and flower necklaces at the Kahului airport in Maui; from the ocean views of the five-star resort rooms at the Grand Wailea Resort and Spa, where the ICMMPA took place, filled with Bottero sculptures; to the tents of the homeless Hawaiians scattered across the park of the famous surfing beach of Waimea in Oahu; from the difficulty in coordinating the various governmental agencies and universities involved in MMPAs in the US; to the severe lack of resources and governmental initiatives criticised by NGOs involved in MMPAs from smaller countries around the globe.

Aside from these distinct contrasts, the Conference was viewed by all participants as a huge success. First and foremost, it brought together scientists, managers, enforcement officers, government officials, NGOs, indigenous people and entrepreneurs concerned with or working on MMPAs. It provided the opportunity to exchange ideas, experiences and techniques on numerous issues, such as marine mammal research, strandings, design and management of MPAs, enforcement, education, participatory processes and even international legislation. A key theme throughout both the formal part of the Conference and the most informal get-togethers was the need for local, regional and international networking between people that work on MMPAs and between the MMPAs themselves. In fact the beginning of several such initiatives was announced at the summary session that closed the ICMMPA.

The monk seal workshop took the lead on this theme. The numerous US participants working on the Hawaiian monk seal Monachus schauinslandi, welcomed wholeheartedly their Mediterranean colleagues from Greece, Turkey and Portugal. In fact, such a meeting was long overdue, since the last time they had met was in 1998 in Monaco, immediately after the distressing die-off of the Mauritanian Monachus monachus population. During the workshop, following several technical presentations, there was in-depth discussion on the status of both Monachus species, the efforts exerted on both sides of the planet to conserve them and the key lessons learned from both successes and failures.

	Hawaiian monk seal on Oahu.

Our US colleagues were pleasantly surprised by the existing collaboration between various countries working on the Mediterranean monk seals and especially by the recent formation of the “i-monk Alliance”. Furthermore, they were impressed by the success of efforts to recover the Mediterranean monk seal in Greece, Turkey, Madeira and Mauritania, especially in view of the extremely limited resources available. To us it became evident that the status of the Hawaiian monk seal remains quite alarming in view of the continuous and steady decline of the North Western Hawaiian Islands population. Despite considerable efforts exerted by the numerous agencies involved, it appears that various factors create quite a complex and not an easily resolved situation. On the other hand we were quite pleased to see a steadily increasing breeding population in the Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI), of approximately 100 individuals. This news brings a new hope for the species, as long as the necessary steps are taken to conserve the MHI population and its habitat from the already existing and intense threats (fisheries, tourism, disease, etc.).

The workshop closed with extended discussion and agreement to establish immediate and continuous exchange of information between the people that work on both species, on issues such as protocols and procedures in enforcement, monitoring and sampling, animal tagging and capture, rehabilitation and health evaluation. The workshop concluded in long-term recommendations on the conservation of the two species of Monachus. The recommendations were addressed to IUCN, aiming at greater representation for the Monachus recovery efforts, and to all other involved institutions, NGOs and governmental agencies, for building capacity and expertise through exchange programs for training and research, for designing strategic plans to build stakeholder support and enhance funding for the support of MMPAs and Monachus recovery, and for developing a classification for levels of protection designated both within and outside MMPAs.

Until we meet again… this time sooner… Aloha.

Copyright © 2009 Spyros Kotomatas, Vangelis Paravas, Harun Güçlüsoy, Rosa Pires, The Monachus Guardian. All Rights Reserved