Recent visits by a five-month-old female Hawaiian monk seal, named Keaka (tag number T64/T65) to Honokōhau Small Boat harbor prompted the DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR), the DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR), and The Marine Mammal Center to step up outreach and education to boaters and fishers.

Keaka is attracted to schools of akule fish, referred to as “bait balls.” The fish float near the surface where fishers gather along the rocky shoreline. The young seal has been feeding on the bait balls.

In a press release DAR monitoring technician Tyler Jeschke said, “She likes to interact with people who are taking pictures of her, and we have been getting reports that she’s being fed, either by coming in and eating the scraps that people are dumping off their boats or by some of the akule fishermen who are throwing her fish.”

These interactions are especially concerning for Keaka’s health and development. If they continue, the pup will likely become conditioned to seek out people, negatively affecting her ability to grow and mature as a wild seal. Reasons like this are why it is illegal to feed Hawaiian monk seals.

Keaka has been hooked twice this month. On Nov. 10, she was reported with a hook in the right side of her mouth and monofilament line trailing from her body. Two days later, she hauled out at O‘oma where staff from Ke Kai Ola, the Center’s monk seal hospital and conservation program, successfully removed the hook. Then she got hooked a second time by eating a live akule that was used as bait. Fishers are being told that she’s known to take live bait, and they should reel it in when she’s around and be careful not to cast around her or over her.

Hawaiian monk seals are protected by both federal and state laws. Female seals get an extra measure of care by marine scientists as they are extremely important to building the population of this critically endangered species.

DLNR Photo