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Hawaii’s Papahanaumokuakea marine sanctuary named U.N. World Heritage site

Media Watch, Derek Paiva, Hawaii Magazine, 4 August 2010

The Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument — a 140,000 square mile conservation area comprising 10 islands and atolls in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands — has been designated as a United Nations World Heritage site.

The Hawaiian Island Archipelago, with the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument highlighted (click to enlarge). Image: Wikipedia/Commons

With the designation from the U.N.’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the area becomes one of only 26 “mixed” World Heritage sites in the world—and the first ever mixed site in the United States. The “mixed” designation honor’s Papahanaumokuakea’s natural and cultural importance. […]

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Summer field season draws to close in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

NOAA PIFSC, 4 August 2010

The NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette is at sea for 19 days on a scientific expedition to support Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) staff studying monk seals in the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI).

Work on the highly endangered Hawaiian monk seal is being carried out by the Monk Seal Research Program, the PIFSC group responsible for monitoring the status of the seal population, conducting research to better understand factors affecting abundance of the seals, and finding ways to enhance the population’s recovery. Essential to the research program are field camps at the six major monk seal breeding locations in the NWHI. The camps are occupied by researchers during the summer as bases of operations for seal monitoring and other scientific work. During its current expedition, the Sette will pick up scientists and their equipment from field camps at French Frigate Shoals, Lisianski Island, Pearl and Hermes Reef, and Kure Atoll where seasonal studies have been completed. The vessel’s crew will also exchange personnel and resupply an existing camp at Laysan Island, resupply a camp at Kure that will re-commence operations in September, and conduct surveys of seals at Mokumanamana, Nihoa Island, and Kaula Rock.

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Good news/bad news for Hawaiian monk seals

Media Watch, Good news/bad news for Hawaiian monk seals, Earthsky.org, 3 August 2010

Jeff Walters is the Hawaiian monk seal recovery coordinator for NOAA Fisheries Service. Walters said that in the isolated northwest Hawaiian islands, the number of monk seals is declining by four percent every year. That’s the bad news. But the good news is that a smaller population of seals on the main Hawaiian islands is growing and thriving, he said.

Jeff Walters: Over the past few years, we’ve had twenty or more seals born in the main Hawaiian islands every year.

Even though the main Hawaiian islands have a much larger human population, the seals are doing better there because they don’t have as much competition for food, or as many predators, said Walters. But, he added, when people try to feed or play with the seals, it runs the risk of “taming” them, which hurts the seal’s chances of surviving in the wild.

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Pushing for the protections monk seals (and humans) need

Marti Townsend, KAHEA, 30 July 2010

Like a glove across the face, KAHEA and the Center for Biological Diversity sent a Notice of Intent to Sue yesterday warning federal regulators to expedite the critical habitat designation for Hawaiian monk seals… or else.  Critical habitat is the backbone of the Endangered Species Act.  It is the mechanism for shepherding species back from the verge of extinction. Over two years ago, we petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service to expand the critical habitat designation for the highly endangered Hawaiian monk seal.  And NMFS agreed the seal needed more habitat to thrive. Yet, more than a year since they agreed with us, NMFS is not any closer to protecting vitally important nearshore areas and deepwater foraging grounds for the seal.

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Facing the Monachus Conspiracy

Media Watch, Thomas Schultze-Westrum, EcoCommunications, August 1, 2010

Seals and coastal fishermen face identical threats, more than just the rapid depletion of fish resources by exploitive trawlers…

“Indiscriminate seal killers” …  With this unjust accusation against the coastal fishermen – our allies from the beginning – the Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal (MOm) and their associates have demonstrated clearly their incompetence and regardless diffamation [sic], actually the total failure of their strategy. Because, at the time when MOm was founded, already there existed a full collaboration between the cooperative of the fishermen of Alonnisos and the conservation movement on behalf of the seals – see the “Declaration by the Fishermen of Alonnisos” of 1982 below. By this consensus the seals had become valued allies of the fishermen, in their function as guarantors of exclusive fishing rights in the coastal waters of the archipelago.

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Pit Bull attacks Big Island monk seal

Media Watch, The National Parks of the Pacific Islands, July 31, 2010

The following report was received from the Hilo Marine Mammal Response Network:

Unfortunately, a monk seal was attacked by a Pit Bull earlier today (Friday, July 30) in the Kau region. Reports from the NOAA law enforcement agency say the attack lasted for about a minute until the seal retreated into the ocean. The extent of injury is unknown, and very little information is currently known about this matter. If you have any information (location attack may have taken place, name of dog owner, recent seal sightings, etc.) please contact our monk seal line at  808-756-5961, or email hmmrn@hawaii.edu .

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Kau, Hilo, Hawaii