After several endangered Monk Seals were shot and killed on the neighbor islands, I helped come up with an idea that ended up passing into law to protect our endangered seal population. Senator Gary Hooser and I introduced Senate Bill 2441 that makes killing a Monk Seal a class C felony, with up to a $100,000 fine and 40 year jail term. Their total population is estimated at less than 1000 seals, and 2009 saw the fewest seal pups born in the last decade. Only 119 offspring were counted by NOAA Fisheries biologists, compared to 138 in 2008 and 207 in 2004.

Despite endangered species status, two female monk seals were shot to death on Kauai recently, with a three additional deaths on Molokai deemed intentional but currently unresolved. It is my hope this new bill deters any further killings, and brings awareness to the plight of our state mammal which has been living in the islands long before man ever arrived.

Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

Our district actually includes the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, and the newly designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. The area is vast, and home to countless native species found nowhere else in the world. It is managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR).