Press Watch — from Scientific American, May 15, 2009
Increased protection on the waters around Hawaii may help save these seals
Dear EarthTalk: What is the status of Hawaiian monk seals and how will the new national monument designation in the waters around the Hawaiian Islands affect them? —Polly LaBarre, New York, NY
Easily exploited by hunters, whalers and fishermen in the 19th century, Hawaiian monk seals essentially never recovered. As early as 1976, the Hawaiian monk seal was listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The species is also on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN’s) Red List of Threatened Species, and trade in the species or its parts is banned under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).