Number: 2012-03
WHEREAS, the Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi), endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, is one of the most endangered marine mammals in the world and on the brink of extinction with a current population of approximately 1,100 and declining at a rate of 4 percent a year; and
WHEREAS, the Hawaiian monk seal, or ‘ïlioholoikauaua (“dog that runs in the rough sea”), is referred to in the Kumulipo (Hawaiian creation chant), place names, mo‘olelo (stories and legends), and mele (chants) indicating that it has been present in the islands for thousands of years; and
WHEREAS, the Hawaiian monk seal is one of only two remaining monk seal species in the world; the other being the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus), with an estimated 600 seals in the wild, and a third monk seal species—the Caribbean monk seal (Monachus tropicalis)—which was last seen in 1952 and officially declared extinct in 2008; and
WHEREAS, recent proposals to expand critical habitat for the Hawaiian monk seal to the main Hawaiian Islands and to bring as many as 20 female pups a year to the main islands from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands for 3 years has resulted in a backlash of opposition by fishers and others who oppose federal regulations and programs; and
WHEREAS, immediate, diverse, and aggressive recovery efforts are needed to prevent the Hawaiian monk seal from going extinct within the next few decades; and
WHEREAS, former National Wildlife Federation Director, Dr. Steven Lee Montgomery, is a current member of the Hawaiian Monk Seal Recovery Team, which identified threats to the Hawaiian monk seal that include: very low survival of juvenile and sub-adult seals due to starvation related to food limitations; reduced prey resources in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands as a result of climate cycles and other factors; entanglement of seals in marine debris; heavy predation of juvenile seals by Galapagos sharks; human interactions in the main Hawaiian Islands including fishery interactions, mother-pup disturbance on popular beaches, and exposure to disease; and loss of haul-out and pupping beaches as a result of erosion, storms, and sea level rise; and
WHEREAS, the National Wildlife Federation and its affiliate, Conservation Council for Hawai‘i, are actively engaged with community, state, and national organizations to raise public awareness and increase legal protection and funding for recovery actions for the Hawaiian monk seal and are working to raise the national visibility of this species; and
WHEREAS, the National Wildlife Federation has worked for more than seven decades to help recover the nation’s threatened and endangered species through habitat protection and restoration, public education and outreach to key constituencies, and active participation in policy and funding decisions at the local, state, and federal levels of government; and
WHEREAS, the Hawaiian monk seal is a national wildlife treasure—on par with the polar bear, bison, sage grouse, and sandhill crane—and part of a natural heritage we, as a nation, hope to leave for our children and generations to come; and
WHEREAS, the National Wildlife Federation has consistently promoted a vision that the nation should protect existing ecological treasures, restore damaged ecosystems, and re-establish and maintain populations of key species;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Wildlife Federation at its 76th Annual Meeting assembled May 18-20, 2012, in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, calls upon the President, Congress and federal agencies to implement policies and funding mechanisms that will serve to protect Hawaiian monk seal habitat and promote the recovery and reestablishment of the species throughout its native range; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation calls on the President and Congress to provide $7 million or more annually in the federal budget to fully implement all actions identified in the National Marine Fisheries Service’s 2007 Recovery Plan for the Hawaiian Monk Seal.