U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument
The August 2010 monthly update provides the following information on Hawaiian monk seals from the FWS Papahānaumokuākea team:
“Hawaiian Islands NWR – French Frigate Shoals/ Tern Island […] Staff conducted marine debris pickups throughout the month. On one day alone, a full pallet tub of debris, nets, rope, wire, and trash was removed from East Island. Removal of netting, ropes, and wire is especially important to prevent Hawaiian monk seals and green turtles from potentially becoming entangled. […]
The French Frigate Shoals updates regarding Hawaiian monk seal activities are: 36 monk seal pups have been born; 5 are still nursing; 21 have weaned (of which 3 were killed by sharks); 1 pup died before it was weaned; and 6 pups have disappeared. Two weaned pups with nonfatal shark bites were frequenting East Island. […]
Midway Atoll NWR: Four volunteers from the Mitsubishi Corporation spent 2 weeks on Midway assisting University of California – Santa Cruz coral reef researchers and Refuge staff with various projects. Mitsubishi and FWS both provided support for the research that UC Santa Cruz conducts at Midway. This is the fifth consecutive year for financial and volunteer support from Mitsubishi. One of the wonderfully beneficial projects undertaken by the Mitsubishi volunteers was removing a large mass of netting and rope from the emergent reef that threatened to entangle several Hawaiian monk seals. […]”