TT40 is a star. The endangered Hawaiian monk seal who was seen in waters off Kaua‘i with fishing line dangling from his mouth, and subsequently flown to Honolulu for surgery to remove a fish hook he’d swallowed, is a media
TT40 is a star.
The endangered Hawaiian monk seal who was seen in waters off Kaua‘i with fishing line dangling from his mouth, and subsequently flown to Honolulu for surgery to remove a fish hook he’d swallowed, is a media darling on O‘ahu.
So much so that federal fisheries officials have arranged a series of media events Tuesday associated with TT40’s return to Kaua‘i (via U.S. Coast Guard C-130 aircraft) and release back into Kaua‘i waters.
Officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service Pacific Islands Region are taking media reservations on a first-come, first-served basis for the privilege of flying back to Kaua‘i with the monk seal, who had surgery to remove the hook lodged in his esophagus last month.
Before that, though, there is the obligatory media briefing and photography opportunity early Tuesday morning at the NOAA Fisheries’ Kewalo Research Facility along Ala Moana Boulevard in Honolulu, followed by the caravan to Barber’s Point for boarding the C-130 bound for Kaua‘i.
At Lihu‘e Airport, another media briefing is scheduled, followed by another caravan, to a remote beach where the seal will be released, followed by a press conference.
A team of marine-mammal experts assembled by the NOAA Fisheries will accompany the seal back to Kaua‘i for his release, escorted on Kaua‘i by officials from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.
The seal was first observed in waters off Kaua‘i June 4 with fishing line extending from his mouth. About 15 feet of fishing line was removed from the animal before he was airlifted by Coast Guard officials from Kaua‘i to O‘ahu, where he underwent surgery to remove a fish hook from his esophagus.
Following almost three weeks of observation and medical treatment, veterinarians decided it is in the seal’s best interest that he be returned to his natural environment.
Among those expected to be a part of both the O‘ahu and Kaua‘i events are Brad Ryon, NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Regional Office Protected Species Program marine mammal biologist; Charles Littnan, NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Science Center Marine Mammal Research Program ecologist; and Dr. Robert Braun, NOAA Fisheries contract veterinarian and marine-mammal specialist.
Earlier, Dr. Bud Antonelis, chief of the protected species division of the NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Science Center on O‘ahu, said TT40, who had a tracking device attached to his back, normally would haul out of the water for rest between Po‘ipu and Salt Pond.
In April and May, though, he was in waters around Ni‘ihau, tracked by the satellite-tracking device on his back, Antonelis said. After that, TT40 was back in Kaua‘i waters, sighted and tracked from Waimea to the North Shore.
After TT40’s early-June surgery, a period of rehabilitation ensued, during which discussions were held regarding where and when he would be released, Antonelis said.
Last month, Antonelis said he wasn’t sure whether or not TT40 would find his way back to Kaua‘i if released on O‘ahu, though research indicates 10 percent of seals tracked in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands have been known to change haul-out locations from one island to another.
“We’ve seen interisland movement, certainly,” he said.
NOAA Fisheries is attached to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Paul C. Curtis, associate editor, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or pcurtis@pulitzer.net.
