|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Range and Habitat: |
Hawaiian Islands | ||
|
Status under Law: |
Endangered (ESA) | ||
|
Conservation issues: |
Direct and indirect fishery interactions, entanglement in marine debris, shark predation, intraspecies aggression by large males, human disturbance on haul-out beaches, contaminants | ||
|
Physical characteristics: |
At Birth | At Maturity | |
| Length | 1 m (3'4") |
2.1-2.4 m (6'11"-7'10") |
|
| Weight | 16-18 kg (35-40 lb) |
230-270 kg (510-600 lb) |
|
|
Age: |
30 years | ||
|
Annual Report: |
For more information, see the Hawaiian Monk Seal section from the 2002 Annual Report
Download a copy: PDF (224 KB) |
||
|
Workshop Reports: |
Workshop on the Management of Hawaiian Monk Seals on Beaches in the Main Hawaiian Islands October 29-31, 2002 Click here for more information on this workshop |
||
|
Commission Letters: |
To view Commission letters concerning Hawaiian Monk Seals choose a date below | ||
|
Additional Links: National Marine Fisheries Service – Stock Assessment Reports U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service – Pacific Islands – Hawaiian Monk Seal National Marine Fisheries Service – Hawaiian Monk Seal U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service – Midway Atoll – Hawaiian Monk Seal |
|||
Revised November 05, 2007 | Questions, Comments? Contact Us | How To Find Our Office | Report Error On This Page | Site Index | Marine Mammal Commission | Site hosted by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
|
The Hawaiian monk seal is one of the world's most endangered seals. Numbering about 1,400 animals, it occurs only in the Hawaiian Archipelago. Most monk seals live in six major colonies (French Frigate Shoals, Laysan Island, Lisianski Island, Pearl and Hermes Reef, the Midway Islands, and Kure Atoll) in the remote, largely uninhabited atolls of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The dearth of historical records or accounts of monk seals in the main Hawaiian Islands suggests that they have been rare in that area throughout the islands' human history. However, over the past decade, both monk seal sightings and births have increased significantly in the main Hawaiian Islands, raising the possibility that the area could become a more important part of the species' range and enhance future recovery prospects.