Hawaiian Monk Seal Critical Habitat Controversy
Mixed Reaction to Planned Inclusion of Main Island Beaches and Ocean
Dec 17, 2008
The present level of protection in the Northwest Islands has failed to increase the Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi) population. But further critical habitat designation is not guaranteed to help these ancient marine mammals. Given the loss of habitat from rising sea waters, however, ensuring the monk seals have access to quiet beaches throughout Hawaii may be a key to their survival.
The Petition to Increase Critical Habitat
The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are already designated as critical habitat for the monk seal. In fact, the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument is the second largest marine protected area in the world. But the monk seal population in the area continues to decline. Starvation, shark predation, disease and fishing gear entanglement affect many of the mammals in this area.
In the main islands Hawaiian monk seal numbers are increasing and these animals are in good condition. Conservation organizations are pushing for the critical habitat designation to protect the beaches and waters where the animals are doing well.
The latest proposal asks for protection of important beaches and surrounding waters to a depth of 200 meters in the main Hawaiian Islands. It also requests that the critical habitat in the Northwestern Islands be increased to include waters to a depth of 500 meters.
New Information on Hawaiian Monk Seal Behavior Supports Proposal
Recent studies have shown that juvenile Hawaiian monk seals travel much further and dive much deeper to feed than was originally thought. The data from these studies supports the increased depth restrictions in the present critical habitat. It also suggests that extending protection to the main islands might be warranted.
The Opposition to Further Critical Habitat Designation for Hawaiian Monk Seals
Some native Hawaiians are not happy with the proposal. They contend that the monk seal might not be a native species but rather a migrant population of the now extinct Caribbean monk seal (Monachus tropicalis) and therefore not appropriate for protection.
The more consistent concern expressed is that critical habitat designation will result in loss of access to the beaches and waters of Hawaii. Potential restrictions on farming as a result of concerns about the potential spread of disease from domestic animals are another worry. These people contend that the Hawaiian monk seal would be better protected if the people were left to live in harmony with their land as they always have. The failure of the federal government to effectively manage protected areas in other parts of the country, especially in times of budgetary crisis, supports this concern.
The Response to Local Hawaiian Resident Concerns
Some marine mammal biologists do suggest that the Hawaiian monk seal might be descended from the Caribbean seal but others have proposed that the opposite might be true, that the Caribbean descended from the Hawaiian monk seal. A third working theory is that the two monk seal species evolved concurrently from a shared ancestor. Given the uncertainty of the ancestry and the length of time that monk seals have inhabited Hawaiian waters, this argument seems weak.
According to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Pacific Islands Regional Office the restrictions that come with critical habitat designation only affect federal activities-those that are federally funded or permitted. NMFS contends that the designation will have minimal impact on local Hawaiian people.
The stronger argument would seem to be simply that designating critical habitat has not worked in the Northwestern Islands to date and may not be effective in the Main Islands either. Whether increases in fishing restrictions, which are being implemented slowly in Northwestern Hawaii, will reduce entanglement levels and increase food supply for young monk seals remains to be seen.
Whatever the outcome of this effort to increase critical habitat, the Hawaiian monk seal remains a critically endangered species whose long-term survival is far from guaranteed.
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