Featured Image Credit: James Watt, USFWS
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the NOAA’s 2007 Recovery Plan for the Hawaiian Monk Seal, so it’s kind of time to celebrate: because it’s worked!
The Hawaiian monk seal is still one of the most endangered species in the world… BUT we now can say that their numbers are rising!
The population count is currently 1,400 Hawaiian monk seals, which is up 100 more than last year. Based on their believed count of “only 1,200” monk seals in 2007, NOAA previously predicted that the population would decrease by 1,000 animals “in the next five years.” The fact that the population has actually grown instead is incredible!
And in January, they officially announced that it’s the year of the Hawaiian Monk Seal!
Over the last decade, along with their partners in these efforts, NOAA Fisheries has been a part of almost 300 interventions and efforts to save mother monk seals and their pups, dealing with 847,900 kilograms of marine debris that caused threat of entanglement. Along with removing the threats of entanglement that they could, they also were able to save more than 90 seals from the fishing debris and disentangle some from nets.
Associations such as Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, and the U.S. Coast Guard have partnered with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association to achieve those feats and to ensure the survival of the Hawaiian monk seal. They don’t plan to stop.
While the populations have risen to a stable condition, and trends show that the numbers of monk seals have been growing about 3% each year, for the past three years. Dr. Charles Littnan of NOAA’s Hawaiian Monk Seal Research has added that, “Our recovery goals are roughly 3,400 animals across the entire archipelago, and we’re a little over a third of the way there.”
Despite these rises in numbers, NOAA still needs help. If you see or interact with a monk seal, you can do so by contacting NOAA by visiting their “sightings” site, or if you spot a monk seal or any marine mammal that has been stranded, entangled, or injured, give them a call at 1-888-256-9840.