Protected Species Division

The mission of the Protected Species Division is to provide the scientific foundation for conservation of Hawaiian monk seals, cetaceans and sea turtles in the Pacific islands. More...

News and Highlights

• January 10, 2013
  

  Hooked Seal Rescued, Rehabilitated and Released to Wild

  On November 17, 2012, a hooked adult female Hawaiian monk seal named R5AY was rescued by a team of scientists from the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program with able assistance from the NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Regional Office, Waikiki Aquarium, Honolulu Zoo, Hawaiian Monk Seal Response Team Oahu (HMSRTO), The Marine Mammal Center, and local veterinary specialists. More...
• January 10, 2013
  

  Monk Seals Packing Video Cameras Provide Valuable Information on Their Foraging in the Main Hawaiian Islands

  To learn more about the underwater behavior of monk seals in the main Hawaiian Islands, scientists are outfitting seals with video cameras. More...
• November 26, 2012
  

  Monk Seal Pups Surveyed and Assisted During Abbreviated Field Season

  On August 5th, PIFSC monk seal scientists returned from field camps in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) on board the NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette. In a shorter-than usual 7-week field season, the researchers completed a variety of monitoring protocols to bolster knowledge of the endangered Hawaiian monk seal population in the NWHI. More...
• November 26, 2012
  

  News on PIFSC Sea Turtle Research

  In April, Shawn Murakawa, a biologist in the Marine Turtle Research Program (MTRP) successfully defended her University of Hawaii Master's thesis in Animal Sciences. Her thesis was entitled "Determination of growth spurts in Hawaiian green sea turtles using skeletochronology and histological analysis of gonads". More...

Recent Staff Publications

• January 8, 2013

  Identification of ciguatoxins in Hawaiian monk seals Monochus schauinslandi from the Northwestern and main Hawaiian Islands

  Bottein M-Y D, Kashinsky L, Wang Z, Littnan C, Ramsdell JS
  [2011] Environmental Science and Technology 45: 5403-5409. DOI: 10.1021/es2002887

  View Abstract
• November 26, 2012

  Relative influence of climate variability and direct anthropogenic impact on a sub-tropical Pacific top predator, the Hawaiian monk seal

  Baker JD, Howell EA, Polovina JJ
  [2012] Marine Ecology Progress Series 469: 175-189. DOI: 10.3354/meps09987

  View Abstract Download ( 0.6 MB PDF )
• November 26, 2012

  Reevaluation of the DPS designation for Hawaiian (now main Hawaiian Islands) insular false killer whales

  Oleson EM, Boggs CH, Forney KA, Hanson MB, Kobayashi DR, Taylor BL, Wade PR, Ylitalo GM
  [2012] Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, PIFSC Internal Report, IR-12-038, 39 p

  Download ( 1.1 MB PDF )
• October 10, 2012

  Resource requirements of the Pacific leatherback turtle population

  Jones TT, Bostrom BL, Hastings MD, Van Houtan KS, Pauly D, Jones DR
  [2012] PLoS ONE 7(10): e45447. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0045447

  View Abstract Download ( 0.5 MB PDF )
• October 1, 2012

  Age and growth rates of Hawaiian hawskbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) using skeletochronology

  Snover ML, Balazs GH, Murakawa SKK, Hargrove SK, Rice MR, Seitz WA
  [2013] Marine Biology 160: 37-46. DOI: 10.1007/s00227-012-2058-7

  View Abstract
• September 26, 2012

  Non-lethal efforts to deter shark predation of Hawaiian monk seal pups

  Gobush KS, Farry SC
  [2012] Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 22: 751-761. DOI: 10.1002/aqc.2272

  View Abstract Download ( 0.3 MB PDF )