Hawaiian monk seals and local fishermen haven’t been getting along very well. And fishermen aren’t happy about a proposal to extend a conservation zone around the main Hawaiian islands to further protect the endangered species.
This was the message conveyed to representatives of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration throughout two hours of heated testimony on Thursday at Ala Moana Beach Park.
More than 60 people turned out for the public hearing to discuss the proposal that would expand the critical habitat area for the seals, which have been protected under the Endangered Species Act since 1976. It is illegal to harass or kill the seals. [...]
But the plight of the monk seal hasn’t swayed many fishermen, if the testimony at the public hearing is any indication.
“They’re more of a nuisance than anything else right now,” said Brandon Hu. “I fish a lot at night. One of those seals started hiding under my boat. It takes fish from my lines, then my partner’s line. We’re losing fish left and right. We moved three miles down the coast. The monk seal started following us. They are already trained to be looking for our boats for a free handout.”
While only 153 monk seals are believed to be trolling the waters around the main Hawaiian islands, fishermen complained about the economic effects the seals were having on their fishing operations and their concern about the population growing. [...]
Hawaiian monk seals have plenty to worry about these days, what with a sea full of hungry sharks and a long history of being hunted by humans — but now antics of rowdy teenagers has been added to that list. Last March, 19-year-old Cameron Cayaban saw one of the endangered seals and acted on a very bad idea: he ran up to the protected species and slapped it. The seal, undoubtedly confused by the offense, returned to the sea. Cameron, on the other hand, found himself in court.
Little did the seal-slapper realize that the animal had a name, and more than a few powerful friends watching out for it. There were a group of volunteer seal observers that day on Kalaeloa’s White Plains Beach, where the incident occurred, and they reported what young Cameron had done to Kermit (that’s the seal) to local military police. [Continues]
On 26 May 2011, a Mediterranean monk seal mother and her pup visited the harbour of Aegiali, on the Cycaldic island of Amorgos. “They stayed there for around three hours,” reports Amorgos Island Magazine, were extremely friendly and played with people on Aegiali Beach.”
Media Watch, The Huffington Post (Audry McAvoy, Associated Press), 21 May 2011
James Watt / SeaPics / Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument
Federal biologists scouring for ways to spare the critically endangered Hawaiian monk seal from extinction are embracing a desperate if unorthodox strategy: They want to pluck seal pups from the small, pristine island atolls where they’re born and move them closer to Honolulu and other highly populated areas.
Scientists say this counterintuitive step is needed to help save a species that’s declining at a rate of 4 percent annually. But it is already proving to be controversial, and even unpopular among fishermen who don’t want hungry seals eating their bait and accidentally getting caught in their nets and lines.
The National Marine Fisheries Service plans to formally propose the “translocation” of the seals in July, The Associated Press has learned. It wants to bring a few recently weaned female pups to the main Hawaiian Islands each year, keep them here until they’re three years old, and then send them back to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
“We’re desperate. That’s the bottom line. We’re watching this species just crash right in front of our eyes. This is really one of the few things that we think has a chance of making a difference,” said Jeff Walters, the agency’s Hawaiian monk seal recovery coordinator. [...Continues...]
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.
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. [...]
Orphaned Mediterranean monk seal Badem, released from summer captivity in November by her carers, SAD-AFAG, was soon sighted around the Datça Peninsula, according to various Turkish press reports. Although SAD-AFAG has stressed, and stressed again, the importance of avoiding contact with the rescued seal in order to help Badem lose her attachment to humans, curious onlookers continue to disturb and harass the animal.
In the latest case, police intervened to cordon off a boat on which Badem was resting, so that she could catch a few hours’ sleep.
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.
Hawaiian monk seals and local fishermen haven’t been getting along very well. And fishermen aren’t happy about a proposal to extend a conservation zone around the main Hawaiian islands to further protect the endangered species.
The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Pacific Islands Regional Office (PIRO) has published the 
[...] 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.
