State conservation officers are investigating social media posts that appear to show an adult man throwing an object toward a monk seal swimming off the Lahaina shoreline, while separately warning that people are still breaching the temporary fence around Kaiwi and her pup at Kaimana Beach.
The Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement’s Maui Branch was notified yesterday by Maui Police Department Dispatch about the monk seal harassment report. A DOCARE officer responded and contacted a 37-year-old man from Seattle, Washington, who matched the suspect description. He was detained, identified and advised of his legal rights. He declined to make a statement and asked for an attorney. The Department of Land and Natural Resources said it will turn the state investigation over to NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement for further review and action. The man has not been criminally charged.
The Lahaina case comes as officials continue to report repeated breaches of the temporary fence at Kaimana Beach, where Kaiwi, a 15-year-old female monk seal, gave birth on May 3. The fence marks the resting area for Kaiwi and her pup, and the latest update said members of the public have continued to cross it despite warnings. Chief Jason Redulla said the early life of the puppy is a crucial time and that getting close is not a good idea. He warned that a mother seal may attack if she thinks a person or pet is a threat, pointing to a 2022 encounter at Kaimana Beach in which a swimmer suffered lacerations to the face, back and arm.
Redulla also said past NOAA fines tied to monk-seal incidents have been substantial, totaling several thousand dollars. Hawaiian monk seals are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act and state law, and it is illegal to disturb, harass, feed or otherwise harm them. Violations can bring fines or criminal penalties.
Officials are asking the public to stay away from both the animal and the fence line. The state’s case will now move to NOAA’s law enforcement arm, while the repeated violations at Kaimana show the harder problem remains on the beach itself: keeping people far enough away for a mother seal and her pup to rest safely.
