Please sign and share this petition in an effort to get the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to protect the Hawaiian monk seal and save it from extinction. This seal is highly endangered and the NOAA has been cutting funds for the seal recovery program. Currently there are only about 1200 Hawaiian monk seals in the world.
The Hawaiian monk seal could be totally extinct as soon as 10 years if the NOAA does not engage in efforts to protect and save this species. They are only one of two warm water seals left on earth. Monk seal thrived in the oceanic waters and coral reefs of the Hawaiian Islands for an estimated 13 million years, residing solely in the United States water. However, the Hawaiian monk seal is critically endangered due to a variety of human caused factors.
Just within the past 50 years, the population of Hawaiian monk seals has dropped drastically by more than 60 percent. The NOAA has the fate of the seal in its hands as it runs the program that is responsible for endangered marine mammal recovery. Unfortunately, NOAA seems to be pulling its critical support at a time when the recovery program is finally turning the tide on monk seal losses. With huge financial cuts, costs in helping and saving the Hawaiian monk seal has decreased by 30 percent. These spending cuts will eliminate a substantial amount used for recovery efforts and research taking place in the Northwestern Hawaiian Island where many of these seals populate.
The population of the Hawaiian monk seal continues to struggle for survival and the NOAA plays a crucial role in their existence. While the politics and human dimensions of wildlife management are often complex, extinction itself is eerily simple: once a species is gone, it's gone forever. Extinction would be an awful thing to occur on our watch, since Hawaii and the U.S. government are exclusively responsible for the Hawaiian monk seals' recovery, or demise.
While the politics and human dimensions of wildlife management are often complex, extinction itself is eerily simple: once a species is gone, it's gone forever. Extinction would be an awful thing to occur on our watch since Hawaii and the U.S. government is exclusively responsible for the Hawaiian monk seals' recovery, or demise. Please sign and share this petition in an effort to get the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to protect the Hawaiian monk seal and save it from extinction.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – Please continue your work and efforts in caring for and protection the Hawaiian monk seal. This animal is so close to disappearing from the face of the earth, which would be devastating. Please don’t give up on your work, protection and support of the Hawaiian monk seal. Save them from any possibility of extinction and protect their populations and existence.
