The Monachus-Guardian — Headlines-News-Articles — 2008-2018
Dedicated to Monk Seals and their Threatened Habitats
This year NMFS will be undertaking efforts to remove predatory Galapagos sharks at Hawaiian monk seal pupping sites at French Frigate Shoals. Assistants will capture sharks using a variety of techniques, mitigate monk seal mortality, collect biological samples and produce written documents in support of monk seal research efforts.
Continue reading “NMFS Commercial Shark Cull Hawaii”
The NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette is on a 23-day research expedition in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) to study two highly valued components of Hawaii’s marine ecosystem, the endangered Hawaiian monk seal and the threatened green turtle. The information gained will support NOAA’s efforts to recover populations of these protected species.
Monk seal research is a primary focus of scientists at NOAA’s Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center. Staff of the Center’s Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP) annually monitor the status of monk seals at remote locations in the NWHI, conduct research to better understand factors affecting abundance of the seals, and find ways to enhance population recovery. For several months each year, MMRP staff work out of seasonal field camps at the five major monk seal breeding locations in the NWHI. During its current voyage, the Sette will deploy researchers and their equipment at five sites where seasonal camps will be set up: French Frigate Shoals, Laysan Island, Lisianski Island, Pearl and Hermes Reef, and Kure Atoll. The ship will also support seal censuses at 2 other sites, Nihoa Island and Necker Island. No camps will be established at these locations; instead, the Sette will deploy scientists in small boats to conduct work ashore.
LIHU‘E — A critically endangered juvenile female Hawaiian monk seal was found dead at Glass Beach near ‘Ele‘ele and Port Allen [Kauai] on May 6, but the cause of death has not been determined, said National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Hawaiian Monk Seal Recovery Coordinator Jeff Walters.
A necropsy was performed and results are still pending, said NOAA’s Marine Mammal Response Coordinator David Schofield. With tissue samples sent “throughout the country” it could take “several weeks to several months” to ascertain what happened to her, Schofield said. […]
“It’s sad whenever we lose a seal under any circumstances, but to lose a juvenile female, with her future breeding potential, is especially tragic,” said Kaua‘i Monk Seal Watch Program Projects Coordinator Timothy Robinson. […]
A young Mediterranean monk seal remains in critical condition after being shot on the Aegean island of Evia, Greece.
The incident follows a spate of reported monk seal killings in Greece.
Greek monk seal protection NGO MOm dispatched a rescue team to the site after receiving an alert from the Port Police Authority on 27 April.
Estimated at 4 months of age, the male weaned pup was found stranded on the secluded beach of Madoudi in northern Evia. Initial examination on site revealed that it had suffered severe trauma, the bullet entering one side of the head and cutting through the animal’s nasal cavity, before exiting on the other.
Following emergency first aid, the pup was transferred to the Veterinary School of the University of Thessalonica, for further examination and treatment by Professor Natassa Komninou and MOm personnel.
X-rays confirmed that ‘Markos’ — as the pup was subsequently named by MOm — suffered a bullet wound to the head, resulting in the loss of his right eye and a serious fracture to his upper jaw.
Thanks to the support of the Government of the Balearic Islands, Spain, the November 2009 issue of The Monachus Guardian has now been published in Spanish.
If you have Spanish-language friends or colleagues who you think might be interested in the publication, please let them know.
The Spanish translation can be accessed at: http://www.monachus-guardian.org/spanish.
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources is investigating the apparent drowning of a 9 1/2 -month-old Hawaiian monk seal that was discovered tangled in a gillnet—the sixth such death since 1976.
At 10:26 a.m. Tuesday, the female monk seal, identified by scientists as RA14, was spotted floating off Bellows Beach. Lifeguards discovered the seal wrapped in a monofilament gillnet and pulled her from the water.
Necropsy results determined the seal, nicknamed Mikala, died of an apparent drowning due to the entanglement. […]
The Conservation and Resources Enforcement Division seized the netting as part of its investigation. It is unknown who owns the net.
Under state law all lay nets must be registered with the Department of Land and Natural Resources. It is unlawful to leave a lay net unattended for more than a half-hour. Nets also must be inspected within two hours after they are set.
Hawaiian monk seals are protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Killing one is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $50,000 fine. […]