This is a petition to protect our Endangered 'Ilioholoikauaua (Hawaiian Monk Seal) from extinction. This is a call to prohibit extraction of any potential Hawaiian monk seal prey resources from Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (72% of the reefs in the United States are in the NWHI)
We, the undersigned, are gravely concerned about the continued decline in numbers of Ïlioholoikauaua, (Hawaiian monk seal, Monachus schauinslandi) and strongly encourage the National Marine Fisheries Service and the National Marine Sanctuary Program to place recovery of this highly endangered marine mammal at the highest possible priority.
NOAA should immediately fund implementation of the recommendations of the Marine Mammal Commission and the Hawaiian Monk Seal Recovery Team.
Given that the Northwestern Hawaiian (Küpuna or Revered Elders) Islands serve as the primary breeding grounds for the Ïlioholoikauaua, we support the prohibition of activities in the Küpuna Islands where there is monk seal activity.
Because the current situation for the monk seal is so dire and the main cause of death is starvation, we urge the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve to prohibit extraction of any potential Hawaiian monk seal prey resources from NWHI Reserve waters.
Mahalo, for acting with utmost urgency necessary to save the Hawaiian monk seal from extinction.
