Tag: Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument

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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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A Privilege to See

Media Watch, The National Parks of the Pacific Region, 4 December 2010

This video, a joint project of various agencies/organizations including NOAA, features members of Kauai’s Native Hawaiian community sharing their perspectives on the Hawaiian monk seal.

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Update from Papahānaumokuākea

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument

The October-November 2010 monthly update from the FWS Papahānaumokuākea team provides the following information on Hawaiian monk seals at French Frigate Shoals and Laysan Island:

“[…] And here’s an update on the monk seals at French Frigate Shoals: 36 monk seal pups have been born; 5 are still nursing; 21 have weaned (3 of those weaned pups were taken by sharks); 1 pup died before it was weaned; 6 pups have disappeared; and finally, 2 weaned pups on East Island suffered nonfatal shark bites. […]

Monk seal deworming efforts on Laysan Island have been cancelled. Results from fecal sampling did not show enough of an improvement to justify the disturbance of the animals. […]”

Source

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Monk seal survival enhancement research continues at Laysan Island and French Frigate Shoals

NOAA PIFSC, Quarterly Research Bulletin, October 2010
Hawaiian monk seal researchers administer dewormer medication to a juvenile monk seal at Laysan Island.

In an effort to assist the recovery of endangered Hawaiian monk seals, researchers in the Center’s Protected Species Division are seeking ways to increase the seals’ survival. As part of this research, the monk seal Survival Enhancement (SE) Program continued its monk seal deworming trial at Laysan Island in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The objective of the study is to rid juvenile seals of parasitic worms, thereby increasing the seals’ growth and chances of survival. In May, program staff completed a fourth treatment of seals at Laysan with the help of visiting veterinarian Eric Anderson, and a fifth treatment with visiting veterinarian Heather Harris in August. The new cohort of 28 pups born on Laysan in 2010 will be added to the deworming study in November.

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Paid not to fish

Media Watch, Christopher Pala, Honolulu Weekly, 13 October 2010

Some folks made a killing depleting the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. Wait ‘til you see how much they’ll make not to fish there anymore.

The news came innocuously enough, in a press release earlier this year from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. As a result of former President George W. Bush’s designation of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands as a marine national monument in June 2006, Congress appropriated funds to compensate the owners of seven bottomfish licenses and 15 lobster licenses because they would no longer be able to fish there. The bottom-fishermen would share $2.2 million, the lobster fishermen $4.3 million. All licenses had been given out for free. […]

After two temporary closures by NOAA, the Honolulu federal court closed the fishery again in 2000 because of still-disputed evidence that the collapse of the lobster population had triggered mass starvation among monk seal pups, and that in turn caused a 5 percent yearly decline in the monk seal population. The fishery was never reopened, presumably because the lobster stocks never recovered, and the monk seal pups in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are still starving. […]

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