HAWAIIAN MONK SEAL REPORT & TRAINING

UPDATE (4/19/14) VOLUNTEER TRAINING IN KIHEI 

Greetings!   If you are interested in joining the NOAA Fisheries Maui Marine Mammal Response Network, please consider attending this upcoming meeting. We will be holding a new volunteer training for the Hawaiian monk seal volunteer response program on Monday, April 21st, 2014, 6pm-8pm, at the Humpback Whale Sanctuary in Kihei (726 South Kihei Rd.)
At the new volunteer monk seal response training, you will learn about Hawaiian monk seals and the NOAA Fisheries Marine Mammal Response Network, as well as volunteer duties, expectations and requirements. (This is NOT related to the semi-annual monk seal count event.)
*Please RSVP to nicole.davis@noaa.gov if you plan to attend, & please include your contact information.*
I look forward to expanding our volunteer network, so please join us! Please feel free to pass along this announcement and spread the word.  Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns, via email (nicole.davis@noaa.gov) or phone (808-292-2372).
Hope to see you there!
Mahalo,
Nicole Davis
Maui Nui Marine Mammal Response Coordinator
Protected Resources Division
NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Regional Office

Phone: (808) 292-2372
Email: nicole.davis@noaa.gov

Fax: (808) 874-3815
726 South Kihei Road
Kihei, HI 9675

Last evening (3/27/14), Dr. Charles Littnan, NOAA’s monk seal chief researcher, offered an interesting and informative presentation concerning the endangered Hawaii Monk Seal at the Maui Ocean Center (MOC) in Maalaea. If you have attended any of their “sea talk” presentations, you recall you need to be very good to retain the audience’s attention, as countless live sharks, rays, Ulua and others swim by just feet away in a never ending animated showing for all.

In spite of that visual distraction, Dr Littnan was able to give credible history of the species, while debunking several myths concerning them. We did our best to bring you a visual imaging of the presentation below, but were unable to reproduce the “critter cam videos,” which closed out the presentation. Sometimes, you just have to be there.