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Headlines – News – Articles
30th December, 2011
Media Watch, Honolulu Civil Beat, 28 December 2011
A third monk seal was found dead on Molokai Wednesday and officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are working to determine the cause of death.
The discovery comes after news last week that NOAA is investigating the deaths of two other monk seals in which foul play is suspected. [...]
The monk seal deaths come at a time when tensions between local fishermen and NOAA have escalated as the agency considers expanding protections for the endangered species around the main Hawaiian islands. [More]
Source: Third monk seal found dead on Molokai, Sophie Cocke, Honolulu Civil Beat, 28 December 2011
24th December, 2011
Media Watch, Maui Now, 23 December 2011
State and federal authorities are investigating the suspicious deaths of two Hawaiian monk seals found recently on the south shore of Moloka‘i. [...]
Authorities say foul play cannot be ruled out as the cause in either case. [...]
Molokai resident Walter Ritte issued a statement saying the deaths are an “indication of a dangerous trend that must be stopped.”
Walter Ritte: “Our elders are saying that these seals are not Hawaiian. Our young people are calling these seals an invasive species brought in by government. The seals are now the easy targets of blame for the many ills of our depleting fisheries. We need to stand up for the truth: These seals are not only Hawaiian, but have been here longer than the Hawaiians. These seals are not invasive; they are like the Hawaiian people who are struggling to survive in their own lands. Hawaiians need to see themselves when they see a Hawaiian Monk Seal. How we treat the seals, is how we can be expected to be treated as Hawaiians in Hawaii.” [More]
Source: Moloka‘i monk seal deaths deemed suspicious, Wendy Osher, Maui News, 23 December 2011
16th December, 2011
Media Watch, Audrey McAvoy, Associated Press, 15 December 2011
A nearly blind Hawaiian monk seal found years ago trying to suckle a rock at a Kauai beach after his mother abandoned him is settling into his new home at the Waikiki Aquarium.
Hoailona, also known as KP2, has been poking his snout into the corners and edges of the outdoor pool as he explores the new environment he moved into this week. [Continues]
Source: Hawaiian monk seal finds new home at aquarium, Audrey McAvoy, Associated Press, 15 December 2011.
10th December, 2011
Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara, Tethys Research Institute, Milano
 Photo: Georges Gavanas A workshop on monk seal conservation issues was organised within the framework of the second International Conference on Marine Mammal Protected Areas, held in Martinique from 7-11 November 2011. Nine experts on both extant monk seal species, from eight countries, contributed to the workshop, which I had the honour of coordinating.
The purpose of this workshop was to gather updated information on the status of both the Hawaiian and Mediterranean monk seals within their respective ranges, but in particular to explore ways in which marine protected areas (MPAs) can be used to protect these critically endangered mammals. The conditions under which monk seals survive vary greatly not only between Hawaii and the Mediterranean/North Atlantic, but also in the different localities within each species’ range. Accordingly, the tools to address the different pressures affecting monk seal status include, but are not limited to, the establishment of protected areas, and the application of these tools varies greatly between programmes.
→ Continue reading Workshop report from Martinique
8th December, 2011
MOm/Hellenic Society for the Study & Protection of the Monk Seal, 7 December 2010
 On Tuesday December 6, the Port Police of Rhodes and the Dodecanese Fisheries Director and President of the Management Body of the Protected Area Karpathos-Saria, Ms. Fotaki Marigo, informed MOm of a dead monk seal on the Karavola islet southwest of Rhodes.
On the same day, the Security Chief of the Port Police of Rhodes, Mr. Vasilis Milathianakis, and volunteers from the Free Diving Association of Dodecanese-Rhodes, went to the site to confirm the incident and collect information and data. In consultation with the Director of MOm’s Rescue and Information Network, Ms. Marianna Psaradellis, all necessary arrangements were made for the collection of samples, since the area is remote and transport of the animal was not possible.
→ Continue reading Shot dead on Rhodes
30th November, 2011
Media Watch, News Release, Lingle US Senate 2012, 29 November 2011
HONOLULU – Former Governor Linda Lingle sent a letter today to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration regarding their proposed rule to designate the main Hawaiian Islands as a critical habitat for the Hawaiian Monk Seal.
She released the following statement:
“A recent proposal by the Federal Government to make 4,787 square miles of land and water in Hawaii a federal critical habitat is another example of government over-reach and insensitivity to the concerns of the people of this State.
→ Continue reading Former Governor rejects proposed habitat protections
23rd November, 2011
Media Watch, European Commission Press Release, 21 November 2011
Natura 2000, the EU’s network of protected areas, has undergone a significant expansion. Nearly 18 800 square kilometres have been added, including a major addition of marine areas covering 17 000 square kilometres which will increase protection for many endangered marine species. The network now covers almost 18% of the EU’s landmass and more than 145 000 km² of its seas. The main countries involved in this latest expansion are the UK, France, Belgium, Greece, Cyprus, Hungary, Lithuania and Italy. Natura 2000 is the centrepiece of Europe’s battle to halt biodiversity loss and safeguard ecosystem services. [...]
→ Continue reading Monk seal habitat added to protected area network
21st November, 2011
Letters to the Editor
The last issue of TMG included a “photo quiz” promoted by the Italian Monk Seal Group – Gruppo Foca Monaca: the photo was one out of 41 shots taken by a tourist from a low cliff near the tower of Campese, on the north-western part of Giglio, and the marine mammal was at about 20 meters distance from the coast. The sighting lasted for more than half an hour, and other people were present. TMG staff comment was very clear: “As far as TMG is concerned… we think we see two seals (to judge from the stretched appearance and the subtle foreground shape…)”.
 The quiz picture  Photo 1 and 2 (Courtesy Marco Prete) I would like here to give my personal evaluations to the event. As GFM, we made an accurate evaluation of the photo (including all the others), and we reached the same conclusion: the presence, at the same moment and in the same place, of two animals, something that was not at all noticed by the photographer.
One of the two seals was sighted many times (approx. 10), from 11:58 up to 12:35. The photos were taken in this lapse of time with a professional Canon, using a 200 mm zoom, and with 3 shots/second setting.
The animal looked very disturbed, raising the head out of the water, a behaviour clearly visible in the photo no. 1, the first of seven shots, where the sixth (photo no. 2) shows how the seal was looking towards “something” just behind, and not towards the observers that were standing up on the cliff.
 Photo 3 (Courtesy Marco Prete) A second sequence of three shots (11:59) shows the second seal diving (photo no.3): it is possible to notice the difference from the first seal looking at the skin colour, much darker (typical of adult males). Have a look at the insets included in the same picture: the colour is much lighter.
Several shots, including the one featured in the “photo quiz”, show the lighter seal together with a part view of hind flippers, placed in a position impossible to be its own: the most likely explanation is that the other seal was just underneath, trying to catch her: a behaviour suggestive of courtship.
 Photo 4 (Courtesy Marco Prete) Finally, within the lapse of time between the first and the last picture, the lighter seal did not move away from the cliff, but – as it is shown in the last photo (photo no. 4) – she came closer, further confirming that she did not care very much about the people watching her from the rocks.
If I can add some further considerations to the description of the behaviour of such a still rather unknown species, (I guess somebody could define it as enriched by personal “insights”), I must admit that I was a bit frustrated by the fact that there were no other notes or comments to the “photo quiz”, apart from the one of TMG. This aspect can be assumed as a clear symbol of the lack of ideas or information exchange among the community dealing with monk seal study and conservation. I am personally convinced that monk seals can be saved only through a sincere and clear exchange of ideas and information among all those involved in their conservation. I unfortunately learned, on several occasions, that this does not happen at all, and this “behaviour” often involves those that work “professionally” on the issue. The reasons for such “scientific discretion” can vary and are sometimes understandable, but we should not forget that the monk seal is one of the rarest species on earth, and any information, even partial, is extremely important for the conservation community, to improve the protection.
— Emanuele Coppola – Gruppo Foca Monaca Italia
Photo gallery containing all the photos from Giglio: http://www.naturaindiretta.com/gfm/giglio/index.htm
TMG replies: After making comparisons with other photographs of adult female Mediterranean monk seals TMG had to reverse its opinion that “we think we see two seals” in the picture of the “photo quiz”. Comparing pictures, we thought it much more likely that it shows just one animal. Also now, after finally seeing all the pictures in the gallery, we see no convincing evidence to the contrary. — Matthias Schnellmann
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