A new healthcare facility for
Hawaiian monk seals in Kona, Hawaii
Jeff Boehm
With less than 1,200 Hawaiian monk seals left in existence, it is particularly alarming that there is currently no facility in Hawaii suitable for long-term care and rehabilitation of these endangered marine mammals when they are sick or injured.
Given that their population has declined at a rate of 4% per year for the past decade, time is running out. With this critical situation in mind, The Marine Mammal Center based in Sausalito, California, has set its sights on building a new healthcare facility for Hawaiian monk seals at Keahole Point, Kona, Hawaii.
For the last decade, The Marine Mammal Center has worked closely with the National Marine Fisheries Service and nonprofit organizations to provide medical assistance to monk seals, often flying out its teams of veterinarians, veterinary technicians and trained volunteers to provide hands-on medical care in temporary, make-shift facilities in Hawaii.
For an endangered species found only in Hawaii, it is vital that the most endangered pinniped in the U.S. receive permanent, year-round help with a facility solely dedicated to monk seals that is at the ready to respond 24 hours a day.
For the past 35 years, The Marine Mammal Center has grown to know the value and necessity of a hospital dedicated to the medical care of sick and injured marine mammals. In 2009 its newly remodelled hospital in Sausalito, California allowed for the care of more than 1,700 animals, many of which would have died had there not been a specialized medical facility, staff, and volunteers to tend to these animals.
It is with this spirit that The Marine Mammal Center and the Hawaii Wildlife Fund, collaborative organizations with the National Marine Fisheries Service of NOAA, launched a $2 million campaign to build a facility for Hawaiian monk seals in Kona on the Big Island on land that is planned to be leased from the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (NELHA). Such a hospital will provide emergency medical care to sick and injured monk seals, and support NOAA Fisheries Service efforts to improve the survival of juvenile seals from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, where currently only 1-in-5 seal pups survive to adulthood.
The site is still in the design process, but so far the planned facility on the NELHA site will provide four separate pools and holding capacity for up to nine animals. Highlights include:
- Two large fibreglass pools 12' x 15' [approx. 3.5 x 4.5m] set in-ground, each surrounded by a dry haul out area of 28' x 36' [8.5 x 11m].
- Two small fibreglass neonate pools 6' x 6' [2 x 2m] set in-ground, each surrounded by a dry haul and work area of approximately 20' x 20' [6 x 6m].
- A large engineered semi-open tent-like structure 60’ x 120’ [18 x 37m] will cover all four pools; this will provide shade and quarantine.
- Solid barriers to prevent lines of sight and noise will be installed to prevent the animals from being habituated to people.
- Saltwater for the pools is provided by the energy lab and is pumped in much like a utility.
- The facility will re-circulate pool water in a semi-closed system, using pumps and filtration equipment to remove animal waste. A pump house and life support equipment area is adjacent to the pools.
- In phase I, before permanent buildings are completed, modular buildings will be brought on site for food preparation, office and laboratory. Permanent buildings next to the pools include a laboratory for the processing of biological and water samples, a food preparation room for the cold storage and breakout of fish, and offices to accommodate on-site staff and colleagues.
Currently, about 150 Hawaiian monk seals are in the main Hawaiian Islands, and about 1,000 are in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Due to food limitation, shark predation, and ocean trash entanglements, the monk seals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are having a harder time than their counterparts in the main Islands. However, the seals in the Main Islands are also increasingly victims of ocean trash and other negative human interactions, such as gunshots and harassment.
Although The Marine Mammal Center is responsible for rescuing marine mammals along more than 600 miles of coastline in California, it cares about all types of marine mammals, and has always been willing to help provide care for species around the world. In addition to the Hawaiian monk seal, the Center has applied its knowledge to the recovery efforts of other endangered and threatened species including Steller sea lions, Guadalupe fur seals, Southern sea otters, Northern fur seals, Hooker sea lions in the Auckland Islands, and Mediterranean monk seals.
Founded in 1975, The Marine Mammal Center has cared for more than 16,000 animals. The Center has also helped to enhance marine mammal medical care and facilities, and has made significant contributions to marine mammal medicine, animal husbandry protocols, and scientific research worldwide.
Because the Center works with a number of marine mammal species, the staff has been able to apply its medical knowledge and resources toward the conservation of the Hawaiian monk seal. The Kona site for the new urgent healthcare facility was picked with accessibility in mind. The area is only 10 minutes from the Kona Airport, which makes transport of both humans and seals to the hospital simple and efficient. In addition, the area already has the necessary basic infrastructure and permits in place that would expedite facility construction and subsequent opening and operation.
A hospital in Kona could serve many significant purposes in addition to its primary goal of helping save the Hawaiian monk seal from extinction. Such a facility would inspire environmental stewardship for the monk seals and the ocean, and it would also be a place to train local residents to help at the hospital, as well as encourage Hawaiian youth to consider veterinary medicine and marine science career options.
For a species that has been in existence for millions of years, there is no time to waste. Sadly, more monk seals are dying each year than are being born and now, more than ever, every seal matters! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to seize the moment and literally save this spectacular creature from extinction.
Further information
http://www.marinemammalcenter.org/about-us/organization-information/awareness-campaigns/save-the-hawaiian-monk-seal.html
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