Senators Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono of Hawai’i have successfully secured $880,000 in congressionally directed spending for Ke Kai Ola, The Marine Mammal Center’s conservation program and veterinary hospital in Hawai’i. This funding will bolster efforts to protect the endangered Hawaiian monk seals and promote the conservation of coastal ecosystems.

“Like so many species native to Hawai’i’s ecosystems, monk seals face a myriad of outside threats,” said Senator Hirono. “This funding is important to educating and informing local communities as well as visitors on best practices to not only protect monk seals but also our broader ocean ecosystem, which is intricately connected to our culture, economy, and way of life in Hawai’i.”

Senator Schatz, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, emphasized the importance of this initiative. “The Marine Mammal Center’s work to protect the endangered Hawaiian monk seal is critical to maintaining the biodiversity of the Hawaiian Archipelago. This new earmark funding we helped secure will support their efforts to educate residents and visitors to be better neighbors and conservation partners in the protection of monk seals.”

As the number of people visiting Hawai’i’s beaches continues to rise, there has been an increase in behaviors harmful to monk seals. The new funding will be used to design a data-driven behavior change campaign, developed in collaboration with cultural advisors and partners. This campaign aims to educate the public on how to protect monk seals, such as maintaining a safe distance, and will provide communication tools free of charge to partners and stakeholders across Hawai’i.

Ke Kai Ola and The Marine Mammal Center:

Ke Kai Ola, The Marine Mammal Center’s facility in Hawai’i, opened in 2014 and is the world’s only dedicated care facility for Hawaiian monk seals. The Center uses its decades of experience in marine mammal medicine to rescue, rehabilitate, and release monk seals, significantly contributing to the species' survival. Researchers estimate that the Center’s conservation efforts, along with partners like NOAA, are responsible for about 30 percent of the Hawaiian monk seal population that is alive today.

Cecily Majerus, CEO of The Marine Mammal Center, expressed gratitude: “We are extremely grateful to Senators Schatz and Hirono for advocating for our important work and directing federal funds to help us expand our efforts to help Hawaiian monk seals. With an estimated population of only 1,600, the survival of Hawaiian monk seals depends on all of us doing our part.”

Background:

This is the second instance of congressionally directed spending received by The Marine Mammal Center. In 2022, the Center received $500,000 in federal funds, secured by Congressman Jared Huffman (CA), to provide timely and humane responses to stranded or distressed marine mammals along the California coast. This funding also supports medical and rehabilitative care for marine mammals affected by vessel strikes, entanglements, and other threats.

The Marine Mammal Center, headquartered in Sausalito, California, is the world’s largest marine mammal hospital, with field offices and facilities on the Island of Hawai’i. The Center also conducts outreach in Maui and other locations throughout California.

For more information, visit The Marine Mammal Center.