NOAA eyes shark kill to rescue monk seals

Aggressive predators need to be removed, says a federal expert

Federal scientists desperate to save the endangered Hawaiian monk seal from extinction want permission to kill Galapagos sharks that have been attacking and killing young seals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

With just 1,200 seals left, "the seals are globally endangered while the sharks are not," said Dan Polhemus, state Division of Aquatic Resources administrator.

The proposal to kill up to 10 sharks this summer inside the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument is likely to raise impassioned arguments from supporters and opponents tomorrow at the state Board of Land and Natural Resources meeting.

---

Up to 143 endangered Hawaiian monk seal pups have been killed by aggressive Galapagos sharks at French Frigate Shoals in the past decade, says a proposal to kill sharks in order to save seals.

"The consequences of deferring action on this major mortality factor, in terms of the reduced potential for monk seal recovery, are large," George "Bud" Antonelis, protected-species division chief for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Pacific Islands Region, wrote in his proposal.

Scientists estimate the entire population of Hawaiian monk seals, a majority of which live in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands encompassed by the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, at 1,200 -- and dropping.

Antonelis is asking that his monk seal research team be allowed to fish for and kill up to 10 sharks this summer, targeting aggressive animals they see preying on the still-nursing seal pups.

The request must be approved by all three co-managers of the monument: NOAA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

The state Board of Land and Natural Resources will consider Antonelis' proposal at 9 a.m. tomorrow in its conference room at the Kalanimoku Building, 1151 Punchbowl St.

Antonelis was not available for comment yesterday, but is expected to be at the meeting.

Culling particularly aggressive Galapagos sharks is just "one piece of a multifaceted program" that includes captive care to help underweight female pups, researching the diet and foraging habits of seals, and other measures, Mike Tosatto, deputy administrator of the NOAA Pacific Islands Regional Office, said yesterday.

Last year, the state board approved killing up to 10 predatory Galapagos sharks with a rifle, said Dan Polhemus, DLNR aquatic resources administrator. But after a whole summer, there were no kills.

Between 2000 and 2005, scientists killed 12 Galapagos sharks that had been preying on young seals, fishing for the sharks from small boats with pole and line.

This year, the scientists propose fishing for the sharks with 100-foot-long lines left overnight in areas where the sharks have been seen.

Some scientists, including staff at the Fish and Wildlife Service and DLNR, object to that method as too risky for the seals, according to a summary of objections compiled by Polhemus.

Those against shark culling also are not convinced that getting rid of relatively few sharks will help, especially if it turns out other sharks take their place preying on seal pups.

"Clearly, this protocol is controversial," said Polhemus, who is still deciding his position on the matter. "We face a really difficult situation with monk seals up there. If they're gone, they're gone, you can't get them back."