Coast Guard Transports Hawaiian Monk Seal to Oahu

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Coast Guard crews working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration transported a Hawaiian monk seal from Kauai to Oahu, May 19, 2015. (U.S. Coast Guard courtesy photo)
Coast Guard crews working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration transported a Hawaiian monk seal from Kauai to Oahu, May 19, 2015. (U.S. Coast Guard courtesy photo)

HONOLULU — Coast Guard crews working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration transported a Hawaiian monk seal from Kauai to Oahu, Tuesday.

An HC-130 Hercules airplane crew from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point transported the seal to Oahu for medical attention after it swallowed a fish hook.

“Coast Guard members in Hawaii take great pride in our unique operational ability to help recover and maintain our nation’s marine protected species,” said Eric Roberts, marine mammal response coordinator for the 14th Coast Guard District. “The transport of this critically endangered Hawaiian monk seal showcases the multiagency efforts that are being coordinated to ensure this species is around for future generations.”

The Hawaiian monk seal is one of the rarest marine mammals in the world with an estimated population of less than 1,100. Part of the true seal family, they are one of only two remaining monk seal species.

Safeguarding marine mammals falls under the Coast Guard’s living marine resources mission, one of the service's 11 statutory missions. The nation’s waterways and their ecosystems are vital to the country’s economy and health. This includes ensuring the country’s marine protected species are provided the protection necessary to help their populations recover to healthy, sustainable levels.

The Coast Guard partners with NOAA on many living marine resources missions in Hawaii to protect endangered marine mammals including Hawaiian monk seals, sea turtles and humpback whales.

The 14th Coast Guard District is home to four Marine National Monuments and two National Marine Sanctuaries, more than any other region in the United States.

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