Do not swim with Hawaiian Monk seals! Kohala Diver's doing this?!?

[ryt]

I heard reports from many of my friends who were working observing a yearling Hawaiian monk seal at Mahukona on the Big Island. Due to the constant human interaction the seal would start to seek out attention of the local fishermen and swimmers and it was creating quite a stir - it even blocked the swim ladder from people entering and exiting (most likley cause it wanted to play). It was also stealing fish from local fishermen, and it is believed that the behaviour is directly linked to the amount of human interaction.

The seal had to be moved by NOAA and NMFS and was done about a week ago cause of all of the disturbance, throughout the whole ordeal DOCARE was less than helpful with pursuing claims of harrassment/swimming/playing of the seal and no enforcement was ever carried out.

There were also reports that disturbed me as a diver on the big island. One of the two dive companies in the area, Kohala divers, was apparently allowing their customers to swim with the seal on regular occassions. This was probably really easy, because once the seal became accustomed to the boat it would seek it out - there were even reports of the seal laying out on the back of their boat where the swim ladder was.

Swimming with any marine mammal and approaching it is illegal under the marine mammal protection act (this includes dolphins). This is because such behaviour can lead to dependence on humans and other behaviour like biting that can really hurt people. This monk seal was close, and its lucky that no divers or swimming were harmed during this whole ordeal. By the end the monk seal needed to be removed not because of the threats to the seal but more beacuse of threats to humans.

In addition it is scary to think that divers would engage in such activity with a monk seal. Hawaiian monk seals are the most endangered marine mammal in the US. There is only 1200 remaining and only 5-6 believed to be on the Big Island itself. In addition these numbers are still declining and people don't know why. Their numbers in the Main islands have risen in the past decade, but overall they are still declining. The seals have shown to be EXTREMELY susceptable to human interaction, and as responsible divers we really just need to stay away. A lot of the problems that were created here were created offshore - by people wanting to swim and interact with the monk seal.

I was wondering if anyone had dived with Kohala divers recently, and especially talk to them about the monk seal that they were swimming with. I am doing a story for a local newspaper and would be interested to hear from them. Does anybody have any pictures? If you were diving with Kohala divers or just in the area and saw a monk seal this one was most likley it - not many in the area. These would be real helpful in trying to figure out how bad this was actually happening. you can email me jtrimble at hawaii.edu or just private message me.

It is a shame that because of a lack of education and people always wanting to swim with these animals that it makes their presence in these areas quite difficult.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

Swimming with any marine mammal and approaching it is illegal under the marine mammal protection act (this includes dolphins).

.....

It is a shame that because of a lack of education and people always wanting to swim with these animals that it makes their presence in these areas quite difficult.

Speaking of education, the MMPA states that it is illegal to harass, feed or attempt to feed marine mammals, with State and Federal agencies recommending not approaching closer than 50 yds. Further recommendations include not swimming with spinner dolphins as it might harass them, but there is no actual law against swimming with dolphins, or monk seals. With regard to enforcement, harassment is in the eyes of the person turning you in, so following the recommendations is a good way to not get in trouble.

With regard to the Hawaiian monk seal, a major problem is adult males fighting over breeding rights, often crushing females and pups during the fight. Females and pups may also be harmed during the act of mating. In reality the males are not in nearly as much danger, it's the females that will make the difference in rehabilitation of the colony.

Another big impact on Hawaiian monk seals is the decline of traditional feeding grounds in the North West Hawaiian Islands. They are having to travel farther and dive deeper to sustain themselves, resulting in only the biggest and strongest males finding enough food, causing more injuries/deaths when fighting/mating.

I am not encouraging or condoning harassment of either dolphins or monk seals, but for the most part if it's harassed it will easily swim away. Getting all worked up over one monk seal interacting with humans off the Big Island is not going to save the monk seals, especially if it's male. Finding a way to recover the NWHI habitat is the only way to save the Hawaiian monk seal and swimming/diving with one might convince the right person/kid to actually accomplish that.

 

[archman]

This must be a rumour. Only a complete idiot or totally ignorant newcomer to the Islands would be fooling around with monk seals. Fish & Wildlife would throw such a poop-fit that the consequences bear not thinking about.

 

[gkndivebum]

Because my wife works with the HIHWNMFS (how's that for an acronym) volunteer program,
I can report that the most commonly sighted monk seal in the Kohala area has recently been
relocated elsewhere.

 

[ryt]

this is not a rumor.

"With regard to the Hawaiian monk seal, a major problem is adult males fighting over breeding rights, often crushing females and pups during the fight. Females and pups may also be harmed during the act of mating. In reality the males are not in nearly as much danger, it's the females that will make the difference in rehabilitation of the colony."

This comment has nothing to do with anything in the main hawaiian islands - this behavour has only been found in the northwest hawaiian islands and is completely not found in the main islands (with 6 seals on a huge island how much competition can there be?). A lot of the problems they are having in the NWHI aren't present in the MHI (shark predation, rouge male gang-rapes, nutrient deficient pups) because of various reasons. This makes the MHI a very good resource for the seals to use to bring back up their numbers and is one of the reasons we really do need to learn to coexist with them.

There are a lot of reasons why monk seals are doing so badly, but we have found nothing that pinpoints the reason for their continued decline. Its surely not just male sexual competition and with feeding grounds in the NWHI declining it makes sense to embrace them as they make their way back south.

There are maybe 50-60 monk seals in all the MHI. There are about 1200 in total, all of the rest residing in the NWHI.

IT IS NOT A RECOMMENDATION to stay at least 150ft from monk seals, but is rather LAW at least in Hawaii. There are gray areas in the event that a seal approaches you, but I am 100% sure that you are not to approach them past 150ft and it is not just a recommendation.

I do not know enough on dolphins to state if that is true or not - I will have to look into that. I have a marine science professor that always claims that it is illegal to swim with dolphins, but even he says the laws are sketchy - might just depend on who you ask.

On another note monk seals are very, very different from dolphins. Dolphins can take human interaction because they have developed pods and social structures. Monk seals (name "monk" because of its solitary lifestyle) will go off on their own and little is really known about their social structure. We do know they are affected by human interaction more than dolphins, significantly more.

Here is what NOAA had to say about Monk seals in the main hawaiian islands in their 2006 stock assessment of the monk seal:

"There are indications that monk seal abundance is increasing in the main Hawaiian Islands (Baker and Johanos 2004). Further, the excellent condition of pups weaned on these islands suggests that there may be ample prey resources available. If the monk seal population does expand in the MHI, it may bode well for the species’ recovery and long-term persistence. In contrast, there are many challenges that may limit the potential for growth in this region. The human population in the MHI is approximately 1.2 million compared to fewer than 100 in the NWHI, so that the potential impact of disturbance in the MHI is great. As noted above, the hooking of monk seals
by fishermen in the MHI is another source of injury and mortality. Finally, vessel traffic in the populated islands carries the potential for collision with seals and impacts from oil spills. Thus, issues surrounding monk seals in the main Hawaiian Islands will likely become an increasing focus for management and recovery of this species."

Dive shops and other places on the big island have never had to deal with monk seal problems - we never really had many at all. We need education in order to show them that they are not animals that can be played around with, and that interactions with the seals can really hurt them.

There is also a very big difference between viewing a monk seal and swimming with it. It is possible for a diver to take pictures of the seal and document what they saw without interacting with it. You should never "play" with a wild animal - thats common sense. It can lead to getting bitten quite easily in fact. Another thing to note is that htis monk seal was only a year old, and it was huge for being a year old. It would have gotten bigger, and scarier. A one year old seal blocking access to a swim ladder may be cute, but a 500lb adult would just be scary.

 

[KrisB]

IT IS NOT A RECOMMENDATION to stay at least 150ft from monk seals, but is rather LAW at least in Hawaii.

Since there's disagreement on this, does anyone want to cite the legal references? And by legal references, I mean Federal, State or County statutes / rules... not NOAA's interpretation of something somebody once said.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

Rats, KrisB beat me to the punch. Here's my version of the same question.

IT IS NOT A RECOMMENDATION to stay at least 150ft from monk seals, but is rather LAW at least in Hawaii. There are gray areas in the event that a seal approaches you, but I am 100% sure that you are not to approach them past 150ft and it is not just a recommendation.

I am glad you are 100% sure, I look forward to my increased knowledge.

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/education/hawaii/guidelines.htm

Hawaii Viewing Guidelines: Detailed Guidelines is the title of the NOAA page (link above) I am quoting below. (the underlines are mine)

Keep a safe distance - Please do not chase, closely approach, surround, swim with, or attempt to touch marine wildlife.

For humpback whales in Hawaii, Federal regulations prohibit approaching closer than: 100 yards (90 m) when on the water 1,000 feet (300 m) when operating an aircraft.

For other species of whales, dolphins and monk seals the recommended distance for observation is:

50 yards (45 m) when on the beaches or on the water

1,000 feet (300 m) when operating an aircraft

Use extra caution in the vicinity of mothers and young and in other sensitive wildlife habitat such as feeding, nursing or resting areas.

Please give us some reputable reference to any relevant State Law with regard to monk seals.

An interesting note is that NOAA asks us to please not swim with any marine wildlife.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

"With regard to the Hawaiian monk seal, a major problem is adult males fighting over breeding rights, often crushing females and pups during the fight. Females and pups may also be harmed during the act of mating. In reality the males are not in nearly as much danger, it's the females that will make the difference in rehabilitation of the colony."

This comment has nothing to do with anything in the main hawaiian islands - this behavour has only been found in the northwest hawaiian islands and is completely not found in the main islands (with 6 seals on a huge island how much competition can there be?).

I was unaware that Hawaiian monk seals are mating in the Main Hawaiian Islands; can anyone direct me to pictures or text documenting this. Part of my previous statement followed my possibly false understanding that the breeding happens in the North West Hawaiian Islands.

 

[onfloat]

When I got to Kaneohe Bay, it was mentioned that the North Beach was breading ground. I did a search, but all I could find was this; http://starbulletin.com/96/12/12/news/oceanwatch.html

There was one that was born on the north side of the island 2 years ago.

I did have the pleasure of one swimming by me at Sharks Cove last year, got it on video too.

 

[dlndavid]

humans, should just go away, let mother nature and wildlife have its way. oh, we aren't part of wildlife