(Honolulu) – The now famous Hawaiian monk seal pup who spent the past 44 days on busy Kaimana Beach in Waikiki was successfully relocated by a team of expert handlers and veterinarians this morning. Named ‘Kaimana’, the young seal weaned from her mother ‘Rocky’ midday Friday.
Aquatic Resources
(Honolulu) - For several hours this afternoon, ‘Rocky’ the mother of the Hawaiian monk seal pup ‘Kaimana’ has not been spotted at Kaimana Beach. This may indicate that Rocky has weaned her pup, but it’s too soon to know for sure.
The Hawaiian monk seal pup, PO3, born on O‘ahu’s Kaimana Beach in late June will be relocated to a remote, undisclosed shoreline area where she can continue her natural growth as a wild seal with less human interaction and other hazards. The decision to move the seal was made following extensive discussion and analysis by experts, managers and scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries); the DLNR Chair’s Office and its Divisions of Aquatic Resources (DAR) and Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE). Other agencies involved in managing public and seal safety during its time at Kaimana include the City and County (C&C) of Honolulu Emergency Services Department, Division of Ocean Safety and Life Guard Services, C&C Dept. of Parks and Recreation, the Honolulu Mayor’s Office; and Hawai‘i Marine Animal Response (HMAR).
State, federal and City and County officials continue to urge people to use extreme caution at Kaimana Beach as a monk seal mother and her growing pup become more active both on the beach and in the near shore waters.
Marine resource protection officials are asking the public’s cooperation to keep their distance and avoid disturbing a Hawaiian monk seal mother and her newborn pup on the popular Kaimana beach at Waikiki.
A capital improvement project for the DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation’S Manele Small Boat Harbor is scheduled to begin on June 26, 2017, that will include the removal of 11 existing wooden finger piers and installation of new aluminum framed finger piers with slip resistant fiber reinforced plastic decking, plastic lumber fendering, and cleats.
Taking a cue from the successful impact of oysters on water quality in places like the East Coast’s Chesapeake Bay, the DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) and Kualoa Ranch are conducting a study to see how oysters might positively impact the water of Oahu’s iconic Pearl Harbor.
A fish with a lot of “fingers” will be hands-off starting June 1. The season for moi, or Pacific threadfin, will be closed from June through August in Hawaii waters.
The 25 winners of the 11th annual My Hawai‘i Story Contest were announced today. My Hawai‘i is an annual environmental writing contest for middle school students in Grades 6, 7, and 8, from across the state. The top 25 poems and short stories were selected from 305 submissions and will be published in an anthology that is distributed to schools, libraries statewide and online on Hawai'i Conservation Alliance (HCA) site.
(Honolulu) – Two successive summers of serious coral bleaching in waters around the main Hawaiian Islands and in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands has led to the development of the first-ever Hawai‘i Coral Bleaching Recovery Plan.