Author: Editor

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Badem escapes summer confinement

From the Hürriyet photo gallery

Turkish media are reporting that Badem has escaped her temporary summer captivity in Gökova Bay and is again interacting with bathers and beach-goers along the busy coasts of Bodrum. Several bathers are reported to have sustained injuries, and monk seal conservation organisation SAD-AFAG has again been appealing to members of the public not to swim or interact with the seal — both for their own sake and for Badem’s.

Rescued in December 2006 as an orphaned pup, Badem underwent rehabilitation in Foça, with AFAG drawing on expertise and nursing skills provided by the Zeehondencrèche Lenie ‘t Hart of the Netherlands. Regrettably, the seal became imprinted on her human carers during the 5-month process, a condition later exacerbated by swimmers’ and beachgoers’ demands for contact with her. She was released in April 2007.

Further info:

Denizde Badem korkusu. Hürriyet, 26 Ağustos 2009.

Hürriyet photo gallery.

Badem undergoes veterinary treatment. 2009. The Monachus Guardian 12(1): June 2009. http://www.monachus-guardian.org/mguard23/2316mednew.htm#Turkey

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Trial set in death of monk seal

Press Watch, Honolulu Advertiser,  August 12, 2009

78-year-old man pleads not guilty in the fatal shooting on Kauai beach

A 78-year-old man accused of shooting to death an endangered Hawaiian monk seal on Kaua’i in May pleaded not guilty to the charge yesterday in U.S. District Court.

Charles Vidinha of Kaua’i was released on a $10,000 unsecured bond after entering his plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leslie Kobayashi. Vidinha’s trial was set for Oct. 14. […]

Vidinha is charged with shooting a pregnant monk seal May 21 at Pila’a Beach, a remote beach on Kaua’i’s north shore. The seal, known as RK-06, was the mother of five pups, federal officials said.

Full article

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i-monk Alliance

The International Monk Seal Conservation Alliance (i-monk Alliance), formed in November last year, has launched its own website at www.i-monk.org.

The Alliance, composed of research and conservation organisations from across the range of the species, is currently developing a number of practical initiatives to improve conservation measures for Europe’s most endangdered marine mammal, the Mediterranean monk seal, Monachus monachus. Current organisational members include CBD-Habitat (Fundación para la Conservación de la Biodiversidad y su Hábitat) of Spain, IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare), MOm (The Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal) of Greece, The Monachus Guardian (an international journal and website dedicated to monk seals), The Parque Natural da Madeira of Portugal, and SAD-AFAG (Underwater Research Society/ Mediterranean Seal Research Group) of Turkey.

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Man indicted in shooting death of monk seal

News Watch, Honolulu Advertiser, August 5, 2009

A 78-year-old Kaua’i man was indicted today on a charge that he violated the U.S. Endangered Species Act in connection with the May 21 shooting death of a Hawaiian monk seal on the island’s north shore.

Charles Vidinha is expected to appear in federal court in Honolulu at 3 p.m. Tuesday for an arraignment on the charge.

Vidinha was indicted by a federal grand jury in Honolulu today.

If convicted, Vidinha faces maximum penalties of one year imprisonment and a fine of $50,000.

Full article

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From pristine reefs to coral wastelands

News Watch, Honolulu Advertiser, July 26, 2009

The scientific projections are ominous.

If substantial steps aren’t taken globally to counter the effects of climate change, reefs in Hawai’i and around the world eventually could become coral wastelands, decimated by increasingly acidic and warming ocean waters.

Some scientists say such a scenario, which would wreak havoc with Hawai’i’s fisheries and the state economy, could come by the end of the century, perhaps even a few decades sooner. […]

One wild card is whether corals, resilient organisms that can rebound from some major stresses, will be able to adapt to climate change-related chemical alterations in the environment that are occurring at rates not seen for millions of years.

Scientists also are uncertain whether the predicted effects will happen as quickly or as severely as the models indicate.

“The thing to worry about is not that it will be as bad as we think,” said Paul Jokiel, researcher at the Hawai’i Institute of Marine Biology. “It’s that it will be much worse than we think.”

Full article

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Monk seal conservation strategy launched in Greece

National Strategy coverMOm (the Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal) has announced the publication of a national conservation strategy for the species to be implemented between 2009 and 2015.

Prepared by marine mammalogist Giuseppe Notarbaratolo di Sciara in association with MOm’s own researchers, the Strategy has now been submitted to the Greek authorities and the European Commission, in the hope that its various recommendations will be officially adopted and implemented.

The report can be downloaded from MOm’s website.

Notarbartolo di Sciara, G., S. Adamantopoulou, E. Androukaki, P. Dendrinos, A.A. Karamanlidis, V. Paravas, S. Kotomatas. 2009. National strategy and action plan for the conservation of the Mediterranean monk seal in Greece, 2009 – 2015. MOm, Athens: 1–19.