A five-month-old female Hawaiian monk seal named Keaka has been making frequent visits to the Honokōhau Small Boat Harbor in Kailua-Kona on Hawaiʻi Island.
Keaka (tag number T64/T65) has been feeding on schools of akule fish, but there have been reports of the pup being fed by scraps dumped off boats or by fishermen who are tossing fish to her.
This has prompted the DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources, the DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation and The Marine Mammal Center to step up outreach and education to boaters and fishers.
“She's been a little naughty. She likes to interact with people who are taking pictures of her,” said Tyler Jeschke, an outreach associate and monitoring technician with DAR.
Human interactions are especially concerning for the young seal’s health and development. If it continues, Keaka will likely become conditioned to seek out people, negatively affecting her ability to grow and mature as a wild seal.
“Due to the bait ball, Keaka is likely to stick around for a while,” explained Jeannine Rossa, acting protected species program lead for DAR.
“We’re in this for the long run as this seal is likely to stick around well into the new year and certainly for as long as there’s plentiful food for her to snag,” Rossa said.
Agencies have been working to provide bags for fishers so scraps can be placed into harbor dumpsters rather than dumping them in the water. 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 or over her.
Keaka has been hooked twice this month. On Nov. 10, she was reported with a hook in the right side of her mouth and fishing line trailing down her body. Two days later, she hauled out at O‘oma Beach in Kona where staff from Ke Kai Ola, the Marine Mammal Center’s monk seal hospital and conservation program, successfully removed the hook. She got hooked a second time by eating a live akule that was used as bait.
“I’m talking to people I know, especially the fishermen, because I know people have been illegally putting things in the water like fish scraps. So, I’m like hey, get the word out to your buddies, and they’re all about it. They want to be helpful,” Honokōhau Harbor Master David LeDuc said.
Boaters have also been asked to slow their speeds when they drive in and out of the harbor as Keaka likes to linger near the surface of the water.
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.
