Up to 10 Galapagos Sharks May Be Culled To Protect Seal Pups at Northwestern Shoals Galapagos sharks began preying on still-nursing monk seal pups at French Frigate Shoals only within the last decade, according to monk seal expert George “Bud” … Continued
Petrel Predation: A new study by scientists from the University of Hawai`i, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey has confirmed something long suspected: the endangered Hawaiian petrel, or `ua`u, is a sitting duck for feral cats. The study … Continued
Council Loses an Advisor: Robin Baird, one of the leading experts on false killer whales in waters around Hawai`i, has resigned from the Protected Species Advisory Committee of the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Wespac). Baird resigned effective January 31. The … Continued
Use of Monk Seal Bait Sparks Debate Over Permit to Cull Sharks in NWHI “There’s a big difference between taking an action to kill versus using the flesh of an animal already dead,” said at-large Board of Land and Natural … Continued
Humpback Delisting Petition: A newly formed association claiming to represent Hawai`i fishermen wants to remove the North Pacific population of humpback whales from the federal list of endangered species.The group, calling itself Hawai`i Fishermen’s Alliance for Conservation and Tradition, Inc. (HFACT), … Continued
Undocumented Birds: There’s a new bird on Maui, and it arrived without any by-your-leave from the state. The golden pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus) was probably brought into the state sometime in the early 1990s and is now breeding in Waikamoi Preserve, managed … Continued
Monk Seals Are Not Pigs: Hawaiian monk seals are critically endangered, with only about 1,100 remaining in the wild, 140 of which live in the main Hawaiian islands. While federal resource managers are trying to grow those numbers, fishermen have begun … Continued
False Killer Whale Recovery Plan: The beginning of this month was the deadline to submit information to the National Marine Fisheries Service on a recovery plan for the endangered insular stock of Hawaiian false killer whales. On October 2, the day … Continued