In addition to supervision, another effort being made to revive the Hawaiian Monk Seals is the Marine Mammal Center's Ke Kai Ola hospital. It is the first-ever rehabilitation facility devoted to this critically endangered species. This hospital provides medical care for the seals, monitors their haul out activity which is of when seals temporarily leave the water between periods of foraging activity for sites on land, and manages rescue efforts for sick and injured seals on the beaches of West Hawaii near Ke Kai Ola (Ke Kai Ola, 2000). They also offer a 24-hour hotline for any Hawaiian Monk Seal sightings. By providing this resource to the public it helps create a faster change, by giving anyone the chance to help.
The presence of fishing industries, is quite obvious, especially when their methods alter the entire ecosystem. Specifically speaking of the lobster industry, they have caused a massive decline in the crustacean population, causing the Hawaiian Monk Seal to have a limited food source. Thankfully, there are several legal actions being taken in efforts to prevent overfishing. Such as the Marine Mammal Commission which requested that lobster fishing remain prohibited near French Frigate Shoals and other major Monk Seal colonies until there is sufficient data on the reduction of prey caused by lobster fishing including other bycatch of octopuses, crabs, and small reef fish (MarineBio, 2015). In addition to that, National Marine Fisheries Services “banned commercial lobster fishing in Hawaiian waters in 2000, and later in the year the U.S. Federal District Court issued an injunction extending the ban until an Environmental Impact Statement and analysis of the fishery's impact on the Hawaiian monk seal population under the Endangered Species Act” (MarineBio, 2015) Unfortunately, fishing vessels are causing much more detrimental effects to the environment besides overfishing. When the vessels are traveling through the ocean, they are also polluting the waters below them, killing the coral reefs, which are home to thousands of species. In order to protect endangered species like the Hawaiian Monk Seal, their habitat needs to be taken into consideration as well. Luckily, in January 2001 the Northwest Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve was established covering 339,260 square kilometres along a 1,930 km chain of Hawaiian islands. “Under the terms of the reserve, oil, gas and mineral production and exploration is banned, commercial and recreational fishing is capped at pre-reserve levels, the removal of coral is banned, and dumping is prohibited.” (MarineBio, 2015). These legal actions have helped a great deal with the recovery process of the Hawaiian Monk Seal but they are in desperate need of our help and time is running out to save them. The beautiful islands of Hawaii would simply not be the same without the presence of the gentle Hawaiian Monk Seals, they are an ancient legacy of prehistoric times, offering our generations a piece of the past, in which we must cherish, not destroy.
LAWS AND ECONOMICS
Due to the critical endangerment of Hawaiian Monk Seals, their lives and habitats are protected by numerous laws.
In 1972 the Marine Mammal Protection Act was created. The Act protects all marine mammals within United States waters from harassment, hunting, capturing, collection, and killing as well as insure the formalization of the marine mammal health and stranding response program. The Marine Mammal Protection Act is managed by the Federal Government though smaller corporations such as the National Ocean of Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Plant and Animal Health Inspection Service are responsible for smaller branches of the Act (The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, Amended 1994).
In 1973 the United States passed the Endangered Species Act, created to protect and conserve endangered and threatened species as well as their habitats (Endangered Species Act). The Endangered Species Act protects endangered and threatened species by prohibiting the importation, exportation, possession, sale, or transportation of any endangered or threatened species as well as destruction of any land inhabited by the species (Hodge, Endangered Species Act).
THE EFFECTS OF HUMAN INTERACTIONS
Due to the fact that the Hawaiian Monk Seal occupies a very restricted range of habitat and the population size is minimal, there is little being done outside of their natural habitat. Only five Hawaiian Monk Seals are found outside of their habitat of the Hawaiian Islands and are in captivity. They have been moved from Seaworld to the Minnesota Zoo. These seals have been in captivity since they were juveniles, and cannot be released into the wild due to their limited eye sight (Khon2, 2015). They are serving an educational purpose within the zoo, spreading awareness about their current state. Scientists are mainly focusing all of their efforts on supporting the young pups and female seals, because they are more vulnerable to human activity and aggression from other male Monk Seals (NOAA, 2007). By using methods of tracking the seal pups they can keep a close eye on the young seals to ensure their safety and interfere if it is appropriate. It is important to keep human interactions to a minimum, for the sake of the seals, but to have the helpful buffer zone of the scientists standing by, ensures the safety and protection of the younger seals. The pups are a key factor to achieving success for the whole population. The future generations of the Hawaiian Monk Seal population is in the hands, or fins of the seal pups.
In 2009, Lt. Governor James Aiona of Hawaii passed a bill making intentional harm or killing of a Hawaiian Monk Seal a third degree felony (DePledge, 2010). The Hawaiian law instates a fine of up to $50,000 and five years in prison in addition to any fines or punishments inforced under the Endangered Species Act (Harming Monk Seals Now a Felony Under Hawaii Law, 2010).
HAWAIIAN GOVERNMENT: TAKING ACTION
In 2008, the Hawaiian Monk Seal became the Hawaii state animal (Hawaiian Monk Seal | State Symbols USA). By claiming the Hawaiian Monk Seal as their state animal, Hawaii attached a sense of responsibility and pride to help further inspire the public to save the seal as well as raise awareness towards the fragile state of the species.
Despite the newly found title of the Hawaiian Monk Seal, many intentional killings of the struggling and rare seal still occur. The Hawaiian government is working towards ending these cruel, disheartening killings by setting rewards as high as $50,000 for any information that could point them towards the killers. These high rewards result in more convictions of the killers and therefore have began to lessen the amount of heartbreaking, intentional killings of Hawaiian Monk Seals. As well as the government's actions, many independent organizations have set up hotlines to help insure the safety of Hawaiian Monk Seals and other marine life (News from the Conservation Council for Hawai’i).
