Monk seals and fisheries need
attention, education and cooperation
by Trisha Kehaulani Watson
I love monk seals. I have seen them and been around them.
Conversely, my dad, a lifelong fisherman, is not a fan.
Our conversations about monk seals are truly a microcosm of tensions that exist throughout Hawai`i over the monk seal. I believe it was these tensions that led to the brutal shooting of a monk seal on Kaua`i [see Killings on Kauai, this issue].
Fishing is a huge part of life here in Hawai`i, and our fisheries are in trouble. We all need to do something about it, because so many families in Hawai`i depend on these fisheries. We all have an interest in making sure we have fish in our ocean, so we can continue to have fish on our tables. We also need to make sure this industry survives and thrives. We need to realize how much sportsmen contribute to the economy and to conservation efforts.
I do not believe the Hawaiian monk seals are to blame for the decreasing fisheries. They are so few in the main Hawaiian islands, can any fisherman honestly tell me that they really believe this animal is the reason for declining catches?
The Hawaiian monk seal has been here for hundreds of years. It is native. It has primarily lived way up in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, away from people. It is as much a part of our islands as the shark, whale, or nene.
I think the declining fisheries have been the result of three things: 1) poor management practices that allowed commercial fishing to overfish critical fishing nurseries, 2) the introduction of invasive species that critically hurt our ocean environments, and 3) increased non-sustainable fishing practices by people who are not from here.
As a conservationist, I feel like we have done a terrible job of listening to the community. We forget that there is a vast amount of knowledge in the community with the people who live off the land. I feel like the tragedy of this monk seal shooting is a result of our failure to communicate.
The fishing community and conservation community need to come together or fisheries will continue to decline and monk seals will continue to be in danger. The "slap on the wrist" that monk seal shooter received will not deter anyone from doing the same again.
There also needs to be education and dialogue, for both sides. There needs to be the realization that fisherman who live off the ocean would never do anything to harm the ocean – they live off of it. They understood the concept of sustainability long before it was the sexy term de jour. No hunter or fisherman worth his (or her) salt take fish that are too small or females, because they know repopulation depends on those animals being out there. There should be laws in place to severely punish those who do engage in non-sustainable practices. And the fishermen themselves should help draft those laws.
Conservation groups need to stop treating hunters and fisherman like the enemies.
If resources continue to decline, there will have to be some very hard conversations and some very tough decisions made. These are conversations that we need to start having now. And we need better education and communication if we are going to be able to make the best decisions for the well-being of our entire community.
Above all else, there needs to be trust.
It is not okay to kill monk seals, but it’s not okay to continue to keep the fisherman out in the cold either.
Trisha Kehaulani Watson, October 2009.
Trisha Kehaulani Watson was born and raised in Manoa. She is a graduate of Punahou School. She has a J.D. and Ph.D. (American Studies) from the University of Hawai'i, Manoa. She is Native Hawaiian.
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