Hooked Seals

Back in April of this year, a juvenile male, new to Kauai, showed up on the Kapaa shoreline and was tagged by our Kauai team as R1KD (1KD in left rear flipper, 1KG in the right rear flipper). The very next day he was found with a circle hook embedded in his left cheek. We spent the next week searching for this seal and finally were able to cut the line attached to the hook. We were unable to get a capture crew there quickly enough to remove the hook. Over the next 4 months, this seal was spotted occasionally on the remote Na Pali coastline looking healthy and strong, but still hooked. Last week we sent a team via boat to the Na Pali coast specifically to scout for this seal, but we were unfortunately unsuccessful. The fact that his body condition has been reported as good indicates that the hook is not affecting his ability to forage. Seals can typically shed hooks themselves, however 4 months is a bit longer than most so we remain on alert. If you see this seal please call the Kauai hotline at 808-651-7668.

Photo credit: D. Lee

Another small seal, N1AA, was tagged on Niihau in 2014 and bears the first black tag specific for Niihau seals. He has been sighted at various locations on Kauai over the past year including the west side where he hauled out with a hook protruding from his muzzle in July. We were able to quickly deploy a de-hooking team, and to easily remove the hook. Most hooks we encounter are barbed, so the technique we use is to cut the hook in half and remove the two halves rather than attempt to back the barb out in reverse. In this case, the hook was barbed originally, but had corroded away and made the de-hooking process very fast and painless for the seal. If you fish, please consider using barbless hooks and encourage others to do the same.

Photo credit: D. Lee

The 2015 pupping season has concluded (we’ve been surprised by new unknown pregnant seals in the past though!) and we are pleased to report that all four seals have weaned and are doing extremely well. Here’s the recap:

Mom ID	Pup ID	Birth Date	`Bleach #	# Nursing Days	Pup Sex
RK13	RG13	4/15/2015	V13	43	Female
RK22	RG22	5/15/2015	V22	34	Male
RO28	RG28	5/26/2015	V29	42	Male
RH58	RG58	7/13/2015	V58	43	Male