Two tourists in Hawaii have been forced to pay $500 fines after social media videos showed them harassing endangered Hawaiian monk seals in separate incidents. Interfering with the rare species is illegal under state and federal law and can result in larger fines or even imprisonment depending on the severity of the disturbance. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration investigated the incidents and issued the fines.
Fines for bothering endangered seals
The tourists ignored warnings in the area about interfering with endangered wildlife. Neither intended to harm the animals, though the seals were clearly uncomfortable with the interactions.
There are only about 1,400 Hawaiian monk seals left in the wild, all of them spread around the Hawaiian islands as the name suggests.
The population has been in a serious decline since the 1950s, resulting from both intentional and unintentional killings by humans as well as environmental changes.
Numbers have been slowly recovering since the early 2010s, though the species will continue to be considered endangered for the foreseeable future.
The fines given were relatively low because the seals were not physically harmed. The importance of giving out fines for even minor violations demonstrates how serious authorities are about protecting the remaining monk seals.
The humans were not harmed either, though in both cases the seals barked and snapped at them, warning them to keep their distance.
Admire from a distance
Monk seals do not spend much of their time on dry land. When they do leave the water it is typically because they need to rest, molt, or give birth.
The fines reflect the fact that the seals were disturbed in a situation where they could have been in the middle of several vulnerable situations that required time on dry land.
They are usually very private animals and prefer to spend their time alone or in small groups, rather than living in colonies like some other seal species.
They do not migrate seasonally but they do return to the same beaches and rocks repeatedly to sleep and they sometimes use them for a period of several days.
Whatever they are doing on a beach, humans approaching too closely are likely to frighten the seals and force them to devote precious time and energy to finding a new location suitable for resting.
The tourists who received the fines were caught because they posted the interactions on social media but there are likely dozens of similar illegal incidents that are never properly noted and addressed.
