COM 1438.000 2006-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi) is in crisis: the population is in a decline that has lasted 20 yeazs and only azound 1200 monk seals remain. Modeling predicts the species population will fall below 1000 animals in the next five yeazs. Like the extinct Caribbean monk seal and the critically endangered Mediterranean monk seal, the Hawaiian monk seal is headed to extinction if urgent action is not taken. Implementation of this plan, adequate resources, and improved coordination and cooperation provide hope that the species decline can be reversed. For more than two decades, great effort has been made to manage, study, and recover the Hawaiian monk seal. However, actions to date have not been sufficient to result in a recovering population. The species status would undoubtedly have been worse but for these actions. Nonetheless, significant threats face this species: • Very low survival of juveniles and sub-adults due to starvation (believed to be principally related to food limitation) has persisted for many years across much of the population • Entanglement of seals in marine debris has and continues to result in significant levels of seal mortality • Predation of juvenile seals by Galapagos sharks has significantly increased • Human interactions in the Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) including recreational fishery interactions, mother-pup disturbance on populaz beaches, and exposure to disease • Hawaiian monk seal haul-out and pupping beaches are being lost to erosion in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands (NWHI), and monk seal prey resources in the NWHI may have been reduced as a result of climate cycles and other factors • Potential disease outbreaks could have a devastating effect due to small population size and limited geographic range Due to low juvenile survival and an aging, breeding female population, there will not be sufficient replacement of breeding females, and birth rates subsequently will decline. This underscores the irony of past and current efforts to reduce these threats in that initial success may only slow a process of decline and even more actions will be required to reverse the decline and prevent the extinction of this species. Recovery of the Hawaiian monk seal depends upon a range of comprehensive actions detailed in this Recovery Plan, as well as the full participation and support of all federal, state and private stakeholders. These actions should be pursued aggressively to prevent the extinction of this species, and funding decisions should give highest priority to actions that will contribute directly to mitigating impacts and sources of mortality that reduce survival rates of Hawaiian monk seals, pazticularly females and juveniles. In order to preserve the future reproductive potential for recovery, one of the highest priorities being pursued by NMFS is the development of a captive caze program to nutritionally supplement juvenile female seals. The goal of the program will be to increase the survival of female seals during the critical juvenile life stages that aze now experiencing low survival. This will likely be a combined effort of NMFS and animal care organizations. A workshop on the development of a 10-year captive care plan was held in June 2007. Without such efforts, the loss of young females will significantly decrease the recovery potential of the species, as there will not be enough females in the population. C ~DD~,a~yl~