National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Report 241

Abstract

The following report is based on findings from the observational studies on the Hawaiian monk seal in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands during 1995. The objectives of this research were to conduct beach counts (censuses), tag weaned pups and immature seals for permanent identification, identify other seals by previously applied tags and by natural or applied markings, monitor reproduction, survival, injuries, entanglements, interatoll movements, disappearances, and deaths, perform necropsies, collect tissue samples for DNA analysis, and inventory, sample, and destroy debris capable of entangling wildlife