Encountering Hawaiian Monk Seals in the water: your behavior as a swimmer, snorkeler, or diver makes a difference

As Hawaiian monk seals are increasingly seen at popular diving and snorkeling sites around Hawai‘i, it’s important that people understand the potential impacts of their actions when around these critically endangered animals.

The information below is being shared by NOAA Fisheries, out of concern for the well being of seals that are encountered at popular marine recreation sites. You can help by learning the guidelines, and sharing them with others. Our actions matter!

photo courtesy of Rick Long

Young seals may seek out human attention and attempt to interact with humans – including swimmers, divers, snorkelers and fishermen. Encouraging this behavior and these interactions may cause these young seals to lose their wild tendencies and become habituated to interacting with humans and fishing gear. Please follow the guidelines below when you are around seals.

Do not play with, pet, swim with, feed, or otherwise engage the seal. Seals encouraged to be “friendly,” ultimately will lose their ability to survive in the wild.

Guidelines:
• Do not feed the seal or discard bait or scraps into the water
• If a seal approaches you, ignore it and quickly move away from the seal or exit the water
• When spearfishing and/or wading remove fish as quickly as possible from the water
• Observe the seal from a respectful distance of at least 150 ft on land and in the water

It is important that everyone follow the guidelines because it only takes one person to interact with the seal (including making eye contact) to continue to perpetuate the seal’s undesirable behavior.

Furthermore, it’s very important to report to NOAA Fisheries, as soon as possible: every single time you encounter a monk seal.
On Maui: Nicole Davis, NOAA Fisheries Maui Marine Mammal Response Coordinator, (808) 292-2372
On Oahu: NOAA Fisheries Sightings Line, (808) 220-7802
On Kauai: NOAA Fisheries Kauai Monk Seal Response, (808) 651-7668
On Hawaii Island: NOAA Fisheries Hawaii Monk Seal Response, (808) 987-0765

Also, when reporting your seal sighting, note the interactions you or other divers may have with the seal.
• The kind of info to record, in addition to basic seal sighting information, includes things like:
• Did the seal approach you?
• Did you leave the seal or did it leave you?
• How long did it stick around?
• Did it touch or interact with any of your gear?
• Did it follow you or others?
• Did you try to deter it in any way?
...and so on.

Please keep seals alive and wild by following the guidelines above, spreading the word, and helping others to understand the importance of not interacting with seals in the water, and on land!

For more information, please visit NOAA Fisheries Service's Protected Resources Division Website, where you will find an engaging video, "Good Neighbors: How to Share Hawaii's Beaches with Endangered Hawaiian Monk Seals."

photo courtesy of Rick Long

Hawaii Hotel Coastal Cleanup Challenge 2012

This year, we expanded the scope of the “hotel cleanup challenge” we had previously coordinated in the Ka’anapali region, to include hotels across the state, by providing general guidance and compiling the resources and materials they’d need, and making them readily available through our website. 

CORAL and the Ka’anapali Makai Watch program hosted a cleanup at Kahekili Beach Park, which was supported by nearby resort properties the Honua Kai and the Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas. Check out the previous blog post for a summary of that effort, and mahalo to all the community members and resort staff and guests who came out to volunteer that day!

We would like to thank all the properties on Maui and in West Hawai'i that participated in the Hawaii Hotel Coastal Cleanup Challenge – to date, the following properties have taken part: Aston Mahana at Ka’anapali, Aston at the Whaler on Ka’anapali Beach, Fairmont Kea Lani, Fairmont Orchid, Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, Four Seasons Resort Lanai at Manele Bay, Four Seasons Resort Lanai, The Lodge at Koele, Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, Honua Kai Condominium Association, Inc., Hualalai Resort, Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa, Ka’anapali Beach Resort, Marriott Maui Ocean Club, Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas, Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, and the Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa.

I would like to share a few photos, below, provided to us by the Fairmont Kea Lani cleanup team, and also an account of the event written by Kevin Gavagan, from the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea.

A beautiful morning swim, beach clean up day
by Kevin Gavagan, Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea

One bottle, one tennis ball, some hair bands, a piece of a broken sand toy, and several tourists using their stand up paddles backwards was all we could find. 40 volunteers showed up at the beach at 6:30 in the morning and after 2 hours of swimming and paddling  from Makena’s Puu Olai to the Kihei Boat ramp,  5 miles, and that’s all we had to show for the effort. We ran along that same coastline earlier in the week and found similar conditions on land and therefore decided to send our land crew of about 15 people over to Oneloa beach (Big Beach) to clean it up. They were able to come back with a more formidable load of litter which was catalogued and recorded for the data collection. At first glance I had the thought that we engaged a lot of effort with little result. As I thought more about it I was more than satisfied to report first hand that 5 miles of coast line largely developed with resorts and condominiums is certifiably clean of near shore line ocean debris, both on the land and in the sea. This did not just happen. All of these beaches are used extensively, primarily for recreation. There was a corner of my mind at least that thought with this much human interaction there would be some sign of a larger negative impact.  Humans equal waste and neglect. Well for 5 miles here in Honuaula that was not the case today. I thought of how each of these properties are cared for by landscaping crews, beach boys and the public at large, there is an obvious collective interest in maintaining the cleanliness of this shore line, and the evidence is our lack of data collected today. Often the tide of opinion sheds a negative light on this industry many of us work in, is it green, is it clean is a value we all wish to emulate in what we do or are involved in. Yes we still have to watch our run off and other issues that negatively effect our beautiful ocean resource, but as far as the state of cleanliness in our back yard today, makai loa ka kou. It was truly a good day.   

Mahalo for all the support 
Tyson Kubo for leading the Canoes and Na Wahine of the Kihei canoe club, 
Alissa Baptist, Pat Ware, Liz Foote of CORAL for organizing this event and the grinds, 
Housekeeping, you always send the biggest support crew, 
MUSA for the Kayaks and equipment, and 
Everyone who cared and had the time today! 

Photos of the Fairmont Kea Lani's team conducting the cleanup:

International Coastal Cleanup at Kahekili!

On Saturday, September 15th, coastal cleanups were held all over the world. Maui was no exception! Many thanks to all the volunteers island-wide who donned the gloves and took part in one place or another. 

Of course, as an effort coordinated by Ka'anapali Makai Watch and CORAL, we targeted Kahekili Beach Park and the surrounding area. We also put together an event, the Hawaii Hotel Coastal Cleanup Challenge, encouraging hotels statewide to get involved. (For a summary of other efforts by hotels, check out this blog post.)

For our cleanup at Kahekili, we were joined by an amazing team of community members, Ka'anapali Makai Watch volunteers, students from four different schools (Maui Waena Intermediate, Lahaina Intermediate, Lahainaluna High, and Maui Preparatory Academy), and the Sustainability Team from the Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas, which co-hosted the event and graciously provided refreshments for volunteers. A team from the Honua Kai Resort & Spa was also hard at work cleaning up along a two-mile stretch of highway in the region, while volunteers at the beach split up into smaller teams and covered about 2 miles of shoreline as well.

Check out the facebook album for even more photos!

Mahalo to everyone who put in the time to not only collect the debris, but to tally it using the standardized datasheet. 

The data gets sent to The Ocean Conservancy, which then makes cool infographics like these (incorporating data from the 2011 cleanup):
 
So, what were our results from Kahekili?

The Honua Kai team collected 6 pounds of plastic, 1 pound of aluminum, 5 pounds of glass, and 2 pounds of cardboard along the highway. At the shoreline, volunteers picked up a total of 904 pieces of debris, which were tallied and fell into the following categories:

Of the "smoking-related" activities, the majority of the debris was cigarette butts; not surprising if you've ever been to a beach pretty much anywhere. TOC's data from worldwide cleanups consistently show cigarettes as the top item found.

But what about the debris in the "Shoreline/Recreational Activities" category? It made up over half of the debris found by volunteers. Let's take a closer look at the breakdown of this category:

So, in conclusion, most of the debris found on this particular 2-mile stretch of beach north of Pu'u Keka'a (Black Rock) is from people eating, drinking, and smoking, and not taking their trash out with them. 
Many thanks to all the dedicated volunteers who gave up their Saturday morning to pick up after the people who were unwilling to take responsibility and do it themselves - you made a difference!

Action Alert: Packages in Need of Delivery

I am really excited to put this blog post together, because of the simple fact that this whole thing originated from the fishing community, and is a great example of a case where there is obvious common ground between fishers and non-fishers.

A letter-writing campaign is being coordinated by local Maui fisherman and conservation advocate Darrell Tanaka, who says on facebook, "We are generating a letter campaign addressed to Governor Abercrombie, asking him to direct DLNR to create bag limits for reef fish, something DLNR started over two years ago and never completed....please help by sending the governor a message, or giving him a phone call in support of this effort."

This effort started as a result of the photo below making its rounds on the internet and becoming the target of considerable debate. Mostly focusing on the need for bag limits.

The DLNR does in fact have a rule package that was developed years ago, through statewide community meetings including the opportunity for input. It includes bag limits, and other measures designed to better protect marine resources by considering life history and ecology. However, due to capacity constraints at DLNR and other factors, this effort to improve existing rules and regulations has not moved forward. 

Letters are now being written by those of us who think it's time the effort does move forward. 

If you would like to join in the effort, write a letter to the Maui News (250 word limit), The Honolulu Star-Advertiser (175 word limit), and West Hawaii Today (200 word limit). You can also use this link to contact the Governor's office. Address your letter to both Governor Neil Abercrombie and DLNR Chair William Aila.

While we're at it, a similar effort in West Hawaii is in need of support - a West Hawaii Rules Package has moved forward and is currently at the Governor's office, but needs his support to move to the public hearing stage. See the flowchart below for some insight into the process. According to the Kona Division of Aquatic Resources, the recommended changes in the rule package "are the result of ten years of research, committee meetings, and community discussions, all facilitated by the West Hawai’i Fisheries Council (WHFC). The overall goals of these changes are to ensure continued resource sustainability, to enhance nearshore resources, and to minimize user conflicts in the WHRFMA."  

If that flowchart frightens and confuses you, you're not alone.

So, please check out the letters that have already been printed, compiled below, and consider joining those of us who have submitted letters. This blog post will be updated as new letters are published.

 Letter from Jeremy Selg, Honolulu Star Advertiser

Urgent action needed to protect Hawaii’s reef fish
The Maui News, August 24, 2012

I am writing with great concern regarding the state of the reefs in Hawaii's waters. The amount of fish here is declining and will continue to decline rapidly if no action is taken to improve the fishing regulations that are already in place.

Through social media, I have seen an increasing amount of photos containing absurd amounts of fish from one dive. Although they are not breaking any laws in the type and size of fish, the amount taken is quite frightening to me. For whatever reason that they are raping our reefs, it disgusts me to actually see photos like these; proof that people take a lot.

Updating our current and somewhat outdated state fishing regulations (i.e., setting bag limits, increasing the legal size of a species, etc.) would be the only way to prevent overfishing in our delicate waters, but this can only be done with your help.

Call the governor at (808) 586-0034 and ask him to take the necessary steps to protect our reefs to ensure that there will be fish for generations to come.

Deron Furukawa
Wailuku

Action needed now to save reefs for future fishermen
Maui News, August 26, 2012

One question asked by a younger child: "Eh, uncle, how come no mo fish now days?"

That is one question I never want to answer to a child eager to catch his or her own fish.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie, will you help the fishermen save our reefs?

No more fish in the ocean means no more recreational or commercial fishing, no more locally caught fish to serve in our restaurants. Even the tourists wouldn't waste their valuable time and money to come to Hawaii to see nothing in our waters.

Better bag/fish size limits and active enforcement by the state Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) will ensure that child's question will never be asked in the future. Our local fishing and tourism industries would benefit in the long run.

I challenge all fishermen who want their kids to be able to fish like they did to contact the governor at (808) 586-0034. And please write a letter to The Maui News to support our reefs.

Max Renigado
Lanai City

Moving package forward will preserve resources

The Maui News, August 27, 2012

Oftentimes, when conservationists and resource managers call for increased regulations, there is immediate pushback from whichever stakeholder group is being affected. Status quo requires the least amount of effort and short-term sacrifice in the face of the long-term benefits the science community attempts to describe.

However, when the impact of status quo is so unacceptable that a stakeholder group asks to be regulated, as is the case now with the fishing community, it's time to take action.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie, please do whatever is necessary to assist the state's resource management agency, the Department of Land and Natural Resources, in moving forward a rule package that was developed with extensive community support and involvement more than three years ago. This rule package includes bag limits and other essential changes to existing rules, such as increases in minimum size, based on life history and ecological factors.

Preservation is a much smarter strategy than restoration, which has its limits in a degraded system. There's a point of no return for marine resources and it's critical that we recognize that we're headed in that direction and take action to change course now.

Governor and DLNR Chairman William Aila, please listen to those forward-thinking individuals in the fishing community who are asking for help, and to all those from a diversity of stakeholder groups who will hopefully follow suit and add their voices to this call for action.

Liz Foote

Wailuku

Governor urged to act to halt decline of reef fish

The Maui News, September 2, 2012

The members of the Maui Nui Marine Resource Council respectfully request that Gov. Neil Abercrombie establish bag limits for key species of reef fish as expeditiously as possible.

Our council consists of 28 members and numerous advisers who represent a broad spectrum of the community, including commercial, recreational and subsistence fishers; ocean tourism businesses; and scientists, educators and cultural practitioners. Our goals for Maui County are to have an abundance of reef fishes and clean water.

Fishers from both the council and community have repeatedly asked for our support of bag limits as one tool to address the disappearance of keystone species like uhu.

For five years, we have supported the Division of Aquatic Resources' recommendations, testified to the Legislature and requested change; yet nothing has been done. Reef fish populations continue to decline.

We ask the governor to personally ensure that bag limits are established soon. We also ask that he enact a recreational fishing license and increase the number of Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement officers to help our reefs recover.

Robin Newbold

Chair

Maui Nui Marine Resource Council

Kihei

Limits needed before resource is depleted

The Maui News, September 2, 2012

Something is not right when fishermen have to ask for bag limits for reef fish. Aren't these the guys who want to go fishing and fill their ice chests?

I have been fishing in Hawaii for many years and am asking for bag limits because the resource is dwindling and has been totally depleted in many areas.

It is hoped that the management of the resource will allow for the populations to be maintained and to someday proliferate as it once did.

Action needs to be taken before it is too late. If you feel the same way, I urge you to call, write or meet with your local representatives, Gov. Neil Abercrombie or the Department of Land and Natural Resources and share these concerns.

Karen M. Yamada

Kahului

Act now to stop declining fish populations in Hawaii

The Maui News, September 11, 2012

Do you know that in Hawaii we do not have a bag limit on the number of fish that we can take from the ocean reefs? There are a few exceptions, like the fish managed areas in Honolua Bay and Kahului Harbor, and the kapu and size limits on several species of fish and lobsters (see Hawaii Fishing Regulations August 2011).

Otherwise, it's a free-for-all out there. You can take as many fish as you can carry or drag to your car.

Akule, too, can be caught in large numbers when they migrate seasonally into Kahului Harbor. Adult akule come into the harbor for one reason - and one reason only - and that is to spawn. Within days or moments before spawning, they are netted out. Don't we have any common sense at all? Yes, I did say we - that includes those government agencies that allow us to rape and pillage. And you and I are no better for remaining silent and not raising our voices in protest.

William Aila, the head the Department of Land and Natural Resources, needs the involvement of all of us to support, urge and do whatever is necessary to at least get a bag limit legislation passed to stop the rapidly declining populations of fish in Hawaii.

Takeo Miyaguchi

Kahului

Hawaii needs to protect its ocean resources

The Maui News, September 13, 2012

This letter is in support of bag limits on reef fishing. It has been said that Hawaii does not need to do things the way they do on the Mainland. This is true, but only if the island resources are being protected. They are not being protected.

Hawaii scientists make it clear that overfishing is a big problem for the health of the reefs. Anyone connected with Hawaii's water knows. There are fewer fish to catch or otherwise enjoy, and there are fewer fish left to reproduce.

The recently popularized photograph of dozens of dead fish is an illustration of Hawaii's poor resource management. It is not possible to continue to have few or no restrictions on fishing.

Visitor awareness of lack of fish hurts visitor numbers, particularly on the Neighbor Islands where the percentage of visitors utilizing the ocean is high.

Substantive bag limits on reef fish and other protections are overdue. Please call the governor at (808) 586-0034 and demand bag limits.

Richard Fairclo

Klamath Falls, Ore./Haiku

Hawksbill Sea Turtle Nest Excavation

By Bailey Stewart 

At 5:30 Skippy started to slowly scoop away the sand ... and just a few minutes later a little turtle appeared.  He had barely picked it up when another one appeared.. and then another ... one right after the other.  He carefully handed each one to his assistant and she placed it in a bucket that contained wet sand.  Every so often he would measure the depth of the hole, and scoop out some sand and put it in the plastic bag that Cheryl held open.

There were a few that were still in their cracked shell so they were set aside to wiggle out on their own.  Most of them just came crawling up out of the hole on their own.  After about a half hour or so they were all out.  The shells were dug up and put in bags.  The baby turtles were counted ... 80 in all!

We waited until it was almost dark and the turtles were taken down close to the water.  There was one crab that tried to snatch a baby but someone was right there to take care of that.... and there were several big birds circling around but they were outnumbered by us humans.  We all watched as the baby turtles scrambled towards the ocean ... and a loud applause was made as the last little one disappeared ...

It was truly one of the most amazing things I have ever seen.  I've lived on Maui for 22 years and I have never experienced anything like this.  It was incredible!!! 

Environmental Scientist Robin Knox Explains How all those Water Quality Standards and Criteria Work!

by Robin S. Knox,

President, Water Quality Consulting, Inc.

Coordinator, Southwest Maui Watershed Plan

Founder, Aquanimity Now!

At the Ka’anapali KHFMA Birthday Bash, after feasting on coral conservation-themed culinary art, we had a lively discussion about water quality with concerned members of the public and Makai ‘i Watch volunteers.  We sampled water quality for turbidity and found that it did not meet the criteria in the regulations and might not be attaining state water quality standards.  In our discussion of the results, we found there is a need for education, training, and ongoing monitoring to protect water quality.

It can be confusing to talk about water quality because “not attaining standards” can mean the water quality concentration was above, below or between some criterion depending on which standard you are talking about.

 

The water concentrations in our results were above “water quality criteria concentrations." Often people think if the water concentration does not meet the criteria, that the standard is not met.  But wait, there is one more step!

Each criterion also has a frequency and duration of occurrence that goes with it.  In Hawaii water quality regulations this is expressed as “geometric mean” (a special kind of average), not to exceed 10%, and not to exceed 2%.  Our two results were .60 and .67 nephlometric turbidity units (NTU).  Each of these readings is above the geometric mean criterion (0.20 NTU)  and not to exceed 10% criteria (0.50 NTU).

So what we saw was that the water concentration was above the geometric mean  criteria concentration.  If we monitor over time, and that condition (wq>cc) occurs often enough that the geometric mean of the water quality data set is greater than geometric mean criteria concentration (0.20 NTU), or if the water turbidity greater than 0.5 occurs more than 10%, then the standard is not attained. For toxic and bioaccumulating substances, acute criterion durations are relatively short term – hours, 24 at the most.  Chronic and longer term indicators have longer periods, years or organism life span.

Criterion are also not just numbers and water chemistry; there are criteria for things that directly relate to other monitoring done by DAR and volunteer programs (narrative criteria that prohibit causing nuisance algal growth, prohibit discharge of pollutants that do not support aquatic life use). 

And lastly it is not just the criteria.  With water quality, the proof is in the pudding – the outcome in terms of supported uses. Are the designated and existing uses supported or impaired? Did the aquatic life live, grow and reproduce?  Can people fish there and safely eat the fish?  Can you safely do full body immersion (primary contact recreation – swimming, diving, snorkeling, surfing) or is it secondary contact recreation only (e.g. fishing in ways that protect or not immerse mucous membranes)?

These are the questions addressed by the Clean Water Act in the Water Quality Management and Planning Programs.  Both West Maui (Ridge to Reef Initiative) and South Maui (Southwest Maui Watershed Plan) have watershed planning efforts underway that will include specific water quality goals and monitoring to determine outcomes. The state (DOH) requires 10 representative samples for data to be used in their official assessment.  Data can be collected by anyone and DOH has to consider data of known quality (e.g. has a quality control program).  The programs sponsored by HIHWNMS , DAR, the Southwest Maui Watershed coordinator, CORAL and others have quality control and provide data that is useful for management. Our water quality and aquatic life depend upon all of us to manage pollution and support clean water.  There is plenty of support and no lack of opportunity to help. Citizen scientists, those concerned citizens who are trained to serve as volunteer monitors will surely be a critical part of any successful resource management program on Maui.