Category: Hawaiian Monk Seal

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Tsunami hits Midway

Bonin petrel trapped in the sand. Courtesy: Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge

The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has provided details of the severe impact to wildlife of the Japanese tsunami, as it rolled over the islands comprising Midway Atoll on Thursday March 10th.

A news release issued by FWS states: “Fortunately, Midway residents received approximately 4 hours of advanced warning and successfully implemented its tsunami emergency plan. All essential infrastructure and equipment were secured and all staff, contractors, and visitors evacuated to the third floor of the Charlie Hotel. Fortunately, no one was injured and no major damage occurred to the island’s infrastructure. Debris washed onto the airfield which caused its temporary closure for less than 24 hours.

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Hawaiian monk seal scoping report available

NOAA announcement, 1 February 2011

The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Pacific Islands Regional Office (PIRO) has published the Scoping Summary Report for the Hawaiian Monk Seal Recovery Actions PEIS, which presents a public record and summary of the scoping activities that occurred from October 1, 2010 through November 30, 2010.  The report can be viewed online.

In the coming months, the Hawaiian Monk Seal Recovery Actions Draft PEIS will be released and a 60-day public comment period will be announced.

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Musings: Trails and Seals

Media Watch, Joan Conrow, KauaiEclectic, 26 January 2011

[…] After swimming at the northern end of the beach, I was heading back when I spotted four men and two women mugging an endangered Hawaiian monk seal that I’d previously seen sleeping peacefully among the rocks. The seal’s face was covered with a net, but its eyes met mine and they conveyed terror, which left me with a sickeningly disturbed feeling that still lingers.

Although signs erected around a snoozing seal further down the beach warned the public to stay away, this group was allowed to conduct the equivalent of an alien abduction— taking blood and fat samples, swabbing all its orifices and gluing a radio transmitter onto its back — because they are federal scientists striving to protect the seal, or at least help us humans figure out how to do so — provided it doesn’t cause our species too much inconvenience.

While I understand the NOAA and NMFS folks have the very best intentions — which, as well know, also pave the proverbial road to hell — if you check out the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for studying the dwindling seal population, you really have to wonder just how much trauma will be inflicted upon these native marine mammals in an effort to “recover” them. […]

Full Story: KauaiEclectic

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Medical waste spreads down Leeward Coast

Media Watch, Honolulu Star Advertiser, 18 January 2011

Medical waste and other trash continued to soil Leeward Coast beaches yesterday, washing ashore in spots farther down the shore from where the debris was initially found. […]

Barbara Billand, a volunteer with the Hawaiian Monk Seal Response Team, said her group found a vial of blood, more than a dozen syringes and a bag of plastic medical tubing over the past two days while scouring White Plains, Nimitz and Maipalaoa beaches. The group began its cleanup out of concern over a monk seal in the area that was last seen Saturday at White Plains.

“We are concerned not just for people, but for the monk seals,” Billand said.

The Department of Health issued a statement Sunday saying Waste Management had provided documentation showing the medical waste had been sterilized and was not considered infectious, although the public still was at risk of puncture wounds. […]

Full Story: Honolulu Star Advertiser

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Cell phone tag charts seal’s foraging behaviour

NOAA researchers have released a video compilation depicting the foraging movements of the Hawaiian monk seal code-named RO18, equipped with a mobile phone tag.

“This is a video of an adult male monk seal that NOAA researchers tracked using a cellphone tag,” writes NOAA scientist Charles Littnan. “The tag recorded dive behavior and fine scale movements of the seal. RO18 was tracked from June to the middle of December. RO18 spent most of him time on Kauai and Ni’ihau, but did have one brief excursion to Oahu. RO18 spent most of his time diving deeper than 150 meters (over 500 ft) and his maximum dive was 511 meters. For more information please contact charles.littnan@noaa.gov.”

Related Story: New technology aids study of pelagic habitat use

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Cat parasite threat to Hawaiian monk seals

Media Watch, Environmental Health News, 8 December 2010

On the beaches of the Hawaiian islands, monk seals are dying from a pathogen in cat feces that is carried to the ocean in polluted runoff and sewage. Experts worry that the disease, toxoplasmosis, will derail efforts to restore the endangered species. With only about 1,100 Hawaiian monk seals left in the wild, the deaths are “very concerning and put toxo as one of our primary concerns” for the species, says NOAA scientist Charles Littnan. Throughout most of Hawai`i, surface water quality ranges from “slightly impaired to severely impaired,” according to a state assessment. In particular, runoff from densely populated watersheds on Maui and O`ahu likely contains pathogens that infect the seals. […]

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