The Hawaiian monk seal pupping season has started! NOAA Fisheries experts in the Pacific Islands work with partners to protect the pups during this critical time.
In 2022, NOAA Fisheries celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Marine Mammal Protection Act by highlighting conservation and research efforts to protect Hawaiian monk seals.
Listen in to learn how surveys support seafood and fishing central to the Pacific Islands culture and economy, as well as how our scientists study, recover, and care for endangered Hawaiian monk seals.
The Species in the Spotlight initiative is a concerted agency-wide effort to spotlight and save endangered marine species most at-risk of extinction in the near future. This plan focuses on priority actions needed in 2021-2025 for the Hawaiian monk seal.
By examining sighting histories, we infer that 25 unobserved pupping events that had previously gone uncounted. This is the highest reproductive rate reported for any of the Hawaiian monk seal breeding sites.
