[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 106 (Friday, July 31, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9616-S9617]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    STATUS OF THE HAWAIIAN MONK SEAL

 Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, a we continue to celebrate the 
International Year of the Ocean, I would like to inform members of the 
status and efforts to save the endangered Hawaiian monk seal, the only 
seal endemic to the Hawaiian islands.
  As you may know, the Hawaiian monk seal is one of three species of 
monk seal known in the world. The other two are the Caribbean and 
Mediterranean monk seal. The last Caribbean monk seal was sighted in 
1952 and is thought to be extinct; the Mediterranean monk seal still 
survives, but barely, with a population of only 500-1,000 individuals. 
The rarity of the monk seal makes efforts to save the Hawaiian variety 
all the more urgent.
  Monk seals belong to an order known as pinnipedia, which in Latin 
means feather or flipper footed. This order includes seals, sea lions, 
and walruses. Walruses are not found in Hawaii because the weather is 
not cold enough for them to survive; sea lions are also not natural to 
the area. The only pinniped found in Hawaiian waters is a seal--the 
Hawaiian monk seal. Although, Hawaiian monk seals predominately inhabit 
the Northwestern Hawaiian islands, including Kure Atoll, French Frigate 
Shoals, Laysan Island, Lisianski Island, Pearl and Hermes Reef, they 
are occasionally found in the main Hawaiian islands. In fact, the 
Hawaiian monk seal is one of only two mammals that are endemic to the 
Hawaiian islands, the other being the Hoary bat.
  The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) estimates that there is 
a population of approximately 1,200-1,400 Hawaiian monk seals. This is 
half of what the population was in the 1950s. Factors threatening this 
species include entanglement and consumption of marine debris, 
disturbance by humans and animals on pupping and haul out beaches, 
mobbing of females by males, and shark predation.
  The NMFS is leading the effort to save the Hawaiian monk seal from 
further endangerment and ultimate extinction. Under federal law, the 
agency protects Hawaiian monk seals through education, research, and 
recovery programs. For example, NMFS has appointed a Hawaiian Monk Seal 
Recovery team to help with research programs, data analysis, population 
assessment, and addressing specific problems such as mobbing, human 
disturbance, and fishing line/net entanglement. The recovery team's 
mission is to eliminate the causes leading to the declining monk seal 
population and recommend how further efforts should be managed to 
stabilize and impede endangerment of this species.
  Throughout the years, NMFS has monitored activity on primary breeding 
locations and taken appropriate actions to aid young monk seal pups and 
their mothers to a full and healthy life. In order to do this, NMFS has 
initiated recovery plans to protect females and their offspring from 
vicious male mobbing which occurs when adult male monk seals attack 
pups, juveniles, and sub-adult females, probably mistaking them for 
breeding females. Some of the efforts that NMFS has launched include 
removing weaned pups from the beach and placing them in enclosed pens 
until they are strong enough to be released on their own, relocating 
monk seal males from areas where they greatly outnumber females, and 
rehabilitating small abandoned pups until they can be released back 
into the wild.
  NMFS also strives to decrease indirect and direct human activities 
that result in harmful occurrences, like a seal swallowing marine 
debris or entangling itself in fishing lines or nets. In order to 
accomplish the task of cleaning up beaches and ridding the

[[Page S9617]]

oceans of debris, NMFS offers information to schools, marine parks, 
organizations, and individuals who want to learn what they can do to 
help the recovery of this species. NMFS also sets up signs on beaches 
where monk seals are most likely to breed or visit informing visitors 
how to avoid disturbing the sea animals.
  Fortunately, the agency is supported by other organizations that have 
fostered efforts for the recovery of this unique and beautiful species. 
These include: the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, 
which assists and supports NMFS's recovery efforts; Earthtrust and the 
Hawaii Wildlife Fund, which promote awareness of and education about 
the Hawaiian monk seal; Sea Life Park Hawaii, which has in the past 
offered rehabilitation for monk seal pups; and Dolphin Quest, which 
financially supports monk seal recovery efforts.
  In addition to these organized efforts to save the monk seal, I 
should recognize the conservation conscious beachgoers, fishermen, and 
other individuals, who go out of their way to ensure that their 
activities do not disturb or harm Hawaiian monk seals or other marine 
life. By simply picking up trash before they leave the beach, 
beachgoers can do much to promote the survival of the Hawaiian monk 
seal. Fishermen can also help by being aware of where they fish and 
making sure that they do not cast their lines in an area where Hawaiian 
monk seals may inhabit and accidentally bite onto a baited hook. It is 
also important to make sure that fishing lines and nets are not left in 
the ocean for a monk seal to swallow or become entangled in. Thus, 
conscientious citizens can do much to perpetuate the existence of this 
special creature.
  Mr. President, the Hawaiian monk seal is one of Hawaii's biological 
treasures. Through the combined efforts of government agencies, 
community organizations, and ordinary citizens, we may one day witness 
the full recovery of the Hawaiian monk seal. It is my hope that through 
the education and preservation of this rare species, more people will 
learn to respect and value all marine life and, by extension, 
understand our own relationship to our living environment.

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