FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
A new recovery plan for critically endangered Hawaiian monk seals was announced and signed into action yesterday at the Waikiki Aquarium. Artist Tammy Yee, above, stood next to the poster she created for the program.
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Saving monk seals
A new program aims to protect the animals from starvation in their first years of life
Helping Hawaiian monk seals survive their crucial first few years is the key to a new recovery plan for the endangered species announced yesterday.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hopes that bolder steps will reverse a steep decline in the number of seals.
"As most of you know, the Hawaiian monk seal is in crisis, declining at a rate of 4 percent a year," William Hogarth, NOAA Fisheries administrator, told Hawaii wildlife professionals and supporters yesterday at the Waikiki Aquarium.
The current population of 1,200 seals is expected to drop below 1,000 in the next three to four years, Hogarth said.
The seals live exclusively in the Hawaiian Islands and are among the world's most endangered animals.
The biggest threats to the seals are starvation at an early age or being killed by Galapagos sharks or entanglement in marine debris.
"Outside of Hawaii, very few people are aware of monk seals," said U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii. "We who are interested should make it a point to tell other people about the monk seal and why it's important."
Inouye said he will seek $2.6 million for the monk seals this year, which would amount to about $2,100 per living seal.
"He will do whatever it takes to keep the monk seals from extinction," Hogarth said of Inouye.
NOAA's recovery plan calls for $30 million in spending over the next five years to:
» Capture and care for a number of young female seals each year, then release them back to the wild.
» Continue study of monk seals' food supply.
» Continue removal of marine debris from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, where a majority of monk seals live.
» Continue educational programs in the main Hawaiian islands so people will know to leave monk seals alone.
Although Galapagos sharks have killed at least 140 young monk seals at French Frigate Shoals in recent years, efforts to control the shark population have not worked well, said Bud Antonelis, chief of NOAA's Protected Species Division for the Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center.
Relocating newly weaned seals away from the shark "hot spots" does seem to work, however, Antonelis said.
Raising young females in captivity to a size that stands a better chance of survival in the wild is the centerpiece of the monk seal plan, said Chris Yates, NOAA assistant regional administrator for protected resources.
"It brings out the best (in people) to help other living forms continue surviving," Inouye said.
"As a child, I was interested in Tyrannosaurus rex, and I wish I could have seen them," Inouye said. "I'd like my grandchildren to be able to see the monk seals."
Protecting seals
Online links for monk seal sightings or entanglements:
» The new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Hawaiian monk seal recovery plan: www.fpir.noaa.gov/PRD/prd_hawaiian_monk_seal.html
» Marine Mammal Stranding/Entanglement Hotline: (888) 256-9840
» Hawaiian Monk Seal Sightings Hotline: (808) 983-2958, (808) 220-7802
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