Hawaiian Monk Seal: numbers not increasing within protected reserve

Back in June, I wrote about the tenuous state of the Hawaiian monk seal, one of the most endangered marine mammals on the planet. The northwestern Hawaiian islands contains one of the largest marine reserves, the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, and this was hoped to provide the monk seal with a suitable area of refuge to rebuild its numbers.

However, according to researchers, led by conservation biologist Leah Gerber of Arizona State University, the population of monk seals within the reserve is shrinking by 4% each year, while outside of the reserve the seals are increasing by 7% annually.

As reported in NatureNews, "The difference in the seals' survival rates could be a result of an increase in shark predation within the reserve. Locals in the French Frigate Shoals, a group of islands that are part of the protected area, have noticed a steep increase in shark predation, says Gerber. 'They actually started a shark-culling program' to control 'problem sharks', she says. 'It's not something they like to broadcast,' she adds, because of the conservation status of sharks.

Although the authors don't know for sure whether shark numbers have gone up, they speculate that the population could have been boosted by fishing discards before all fishing in the area was banned in 2006. A few of those sharks could now be wreaking havoc on seal pups. 'All you need on each atoll is one really hungry rogue shark,' says conservation biologist Les Kaufman.

Other possible explanations for the decline, which is being caused by a low survival rate of seal pups, include a change to the food supply owing to warming waters; competition for food from large fish called jacks; or the possibility that the reserve is simply too new for its ecosystem to have settled down. It can take 15 years of monitoring, says Kaufman, to properly understand the dynamics of an ecosystem."

Proposals to address the problem have included relocating pups to outside of the reserve until they have grown to an age where they are less vulnerable and could better withstand whatever perils exists within the reserve and then relocate them back. Others have suggested that may not be feasible and it would be better to let nature take its course and find ecological stability at its own pace. Eliminating sharks or jacks may simply put the marine ecology within the reserve further out of whack.

"It depends how you define success," says Gerber. "Is it about saving endangered species, or preserving a functioning ecosystem? It's worth taking a step back. Marine preservation areas may not be the solution in all situations."

Read prior post on Hawaiian monk seal protections.
Read about current Hawaiian monk seal populations in NatureNews.

Hawaiian Monk Seal: proposed protections need public support

When considering marine mammals, whales and dolphins are what come to mind for many. And that's understandable as these animals have been the subject of many conservation battles, from ongoing anti-whaling campaigns to inhumane treatment (as in my post on Wednesday of this week) to the tragedy of the Taji harvest as shown in the documentary, The Cove.

However, also included in the marine mammals group are seals and sea lions and while, perhaps, less severely threatened as whales and dolphins, they are not completely out of the woods. Once extensively hunted for their fur, hide, blubber (for making seal oil) and meat, the populations of many seals and sea lions declined rapidly. But large scale seal hunting has declined, much like whaling in the past, and the number of seals and sea lions have improved despite continued hunting by several countries - personified largely by the harp seal hunts that take place in Canada and Northern Europe and Scandinavia, although it does still take place worldwide.

Being based in Southern California as I am, I have had the opportunity to come in contact in the wild with California sea lions, harbor seals and, occasionally, northern elephant seals. Typically curious and playful, I have had them nipping on my dive fins for fun, sneaking up on my game bag (in my early days of diving when I would go for the occasional lobster or abalone), or I have been repeatedly dive bombed underwater, as many other local divers have experienced, either as playful exercise or as a means of shooing us away if we appeared to be a threat.

Unfortunately, even where hunting is not taking place or is even prohibited, seals and sea lions are still set upon with challenges: caught in fishing nets, tangled up and choked by plastic garbage, poisoned by pollution or naturally occurring substances like domoic acid from algal blooms, and even shot by the occasional fisherman who felt the animal was affecting his potential catch. Add to that, changes in their natural habitat from climate change, and we find seals and sea lions - animals that are important members of the ocean community and add to its natural balance - are in a perilous position not much different than whales and dolphins.

One species of seal I have not had the pleasure yet of seeing in the wild is the Hawaiian monk seal, unfortunately one of the most endangered of all marine mammals. Once heavily hunted, their numbers were reduced to a level that has had them continually at that tipping point of total population collapse. Designated as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, the number of Hawaiian monk seals continues to slowly decline to just a little over one thousand in number. Further reductions would certainly put it on a slippery slope towards extinction.

Several conservation organizations have taken the U.S. government to task to ensure that all is being done to give these ocean mammals a fighting chance. Kahea - The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance and the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) are petitioning concerned citizens to be the voice of the Hawaiian monk seal in demanding the Obama administration to adhere to the Endangered Species Act and grant the seal protected habitat not only on the northwestern islands where it is currently protected but on the main islands as well. Just this month, such a proposal was made, expanding the seal’s habitat to 11,000 square miles, including beaches and coastal waters on all the main Hawaiian Islands and increasing its protected habitat in the Northwestern Islands.

But it is not yet a done deal and so both Kahea and CBD continue to exert legal and public pressure (there's even a Facebook page dedicated to saving the Hawaiian monk seal) through public petitions and filings in the courts to make sure that the National Marine Fisheries Service makes good on the expanded habitat proposal. There is still a chance that one of Hawaii's unique species can be saved from extinction.

Learn about Kahea - The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance.
Learn more about The Center for Biological Diversity and its Hawaiian monk seal campaign.

Hawaiian Monk Seal: stronger legislation proposed to protect island state's biodiversity

While some controversy brews over Hawaii's position regarding shark ecotourism and the legislation it generated, the state has taken a strong and positive position with respect to protecting endangered species. The state senate has proposed legislation (SB2441) that would increase the fines and potential incarceration for the intentional or knowing taking of an endangered species, moving it from a misdemeanor to a felony.

In strengthening its concern for the state's biodiversity, the bill specifically mentions the Hawaiian green sea turtle, nene goose, and Hawaiian monk seal as they are currently considered endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. The bill cited a man who was convicted of shooting a Hawaiian monk seal and, under current state law, was fined only $25.00. The new legislation expands the punishment up to $5,000 (as much as $50,000 for multiple violations) and potential one-year imprisonment.

Threats to sea turtles have been mentioned often in this blog. The Hawaiian monk seal has seen a declining population for decades and its numbers could drop below 1,000 in a few years. Last year, the population - which is declining by 4% annually - saw the lowest number of recorded births during breeding season. But in 2009, the National Marine Fisheries Service, at the behest of several conservation groups, announced it would designate critical habitat on the main islands for the seal.

“The [proposed] law shows that monk seals are an important part of Hawaii’s natural heritage that must be respected,” said Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “This is one among many conservation measures needed to prevent the extinction of Hawaiian monk seals.”

So, some good news for a change. Hopefully, the state legislation (which is currently moving through committees), along with the federal efforts, will help turn the tide in favor of Hawaii's unique and wide-ranging biodiversity.

Read press release from the Center for Biological Diversity.

Wolves, Seals & Tuna: some encouraging news

My apologies for my not keeping up with new postings. I have been immersed in some video & editing assignments. So let's see what's been going on lately . . .

Some good news:

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has placed the wolves of Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin back on the endangered species list. Once protected, these wolves of the Great Lakes were demoted from endangered to threatened by the Bush Administration and then all protection was removed in 2007. Following legal action by several NGOs, protection was reinstated but then it was removed by the new administration just this past April. New legal action again by NGOs has now once again reinstated the wolves endangered status.

It could continue to seesaw back and forth as the anti-wolf lobby, headed by cattle ranching interests, fights back. But the potential loss of these wolves has consequences, as seen in the past when open hunting of wolves caused a spike in the deer population and throughout a wide range of small animals and rodents. Cattle ranchers, in protecting their herds, now had a whole new set of problems to deal with as deer grazed on the lands and small animals ran amok in numbers. Nature demands that we keep our top predators to insure a balanced ecosystem.

Hawaiian Monk Seals have long been considered one of the most endangered of all marine mammals. Their existence in the Hawaiian Island chain, particularly in the northern islands, has been tenuous at best.

But the National Marine Fisheries Services has recently agreed to extend protection for the seals across the entire chain with federally protected habitat, thereby hopefully improving the seals chances for survival. This particularly important in the northern islands where the seals have had the greatest difficulty due to starvation, disease, and entanglement with fishing nets and gear.

Populations of tuna have been decimated worldwide as market demand for this seafood continues to grow. Realizing their future industry is at stake, several of the world's leading tuna processors have formed the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF). Included in the foundation are Bumble Bee, Starkist, and Chicken of the Sea.

The foundation's goals are to commit to processing only tuna that:

• Comes from well-managed, non-depleted stocks
• Can be verified as to being legally caught
• Has not been caught using methods that generate unacceptable levels of bycatch
• Has not been transshipped (offloaded) at sea

All of these news items are good news but will require vigilance on the part of NGOs and government watchdog agencies or organizations to insure that they are properly carried out.

Still, it's nice to start the week on an optimistic note.

Goods News re: Arctic Fishing and Hawaiian Monk Seal

Whether it's due to a sincere interest in conservation or the need for a lame duck administration to establish a favorable legacy, the federal government has taken positive action lately on two oceanic fronts, separated by thousands of miles:

• Oceana reports that the federal government has enacted a policy to halt expansion of commercial fishing in Arctic waters and will continue to support international efforts to do the same, hoping to ultimately reach international agreement on the effective management of commercial fishing throughout the Arctic Ocean. Arctic ecology is already being impacted by the effects of climate change; potential changes to the populations of Arctic marine species do not need to be exacerbated by industrial commercial fishing operations. Read the complete press release.

• According to the Ocean Conservancy, the federal government is preparing to expand the protected area for the Hawaiian Monk Seal, one of the most threatened of all marine mammals. Currently protected in the northwestern Islands, the seal's protected territory could be expanded to include the main islands where a healthier population exists. Read the complete press release.

It feels good to post some encouraging news from time to time!