Shark Predation on Hawaiian Monk Seals - Pacific Islands Fisheries ...

and 5.6 (1.7 SE) transitions for pups. Pairs spent 97.1% of the time in coordinated movement
and were asynchronous 1.8% of the time. Pairs were inactive for 89.9% of the time (e.g.,
resting or engaging in low-level activities such as vigilance, grooming, changing posture) and
active for 10.1 % of the time (nursing, swimming, moving to and from the water or engaged in
social interactions with other seals). In this study, 3 pups died in the first week of life, all
attributable to high tides and surf (1 pup disappeared and 2 pups were separated from their
mothers and remained abandoned).
General observations by HMSRP from the tower on Trig (2001 to 2004) in subsequent years
mirrored Boness’ findings. Pups remained within approximately 30 m of the shoreline
throughout the nursing period, spent the majority of their time on the beach, and typically
remained within a few meters of their mothers until weaning and became more precocial as
they matured (NMFS, unpubl. data).
More than a Decade of Mitigation Activities
The HMSRP has implemented a wide variety of activities to curb shark predation on
preweaned and newly weaned pups since the peak in pup losses in 1997. Avenues for reducing
predation have included limiting predation opportunities by removing prey (pup translocation),
preventing predation using deterrents such as devices or harassment, and removing predators
(Fig. 7).
Figure 7.--<strong>Shark</strong> predation mitigation activities conducted by HMSRP from 1997 to 2008.
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