HONOLULU (KHON2) — The Marine Mammal Center was granted $880 thousand in federal funding for Ke Kai Ola, the center’s conservation program and veterinary hospital in Hawai’i.
On Thursday, U.S. Senators Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono of Hawai’i announced the news that will help “support outreach efforts to protect Hawaiian monk seals and promote coastal ecosystem conservation.”
Reports said the new funding will be used to design a campaign that will inspire the public to behave in a way that will better protect monk seals, such as observing the seals from a safe distance.
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.
Senator Schatz, senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee
According to Senator Hirono, the highly beneficial campaign will help educate and inform both residents and visitors while keeping the culture, economy, and way of life intact through the ocean’s ecosystem.
Currently, Hawaiian monk seals have an estimated population of about 1,600. The Marine Mammal Center’s Ke Kai Ola facility hopes to change that by rescuing and rehabilitating the seal before releasing it back into the ocean.
“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,” expressed the CEO of The Marine Mammal Center, Cecily Majerus.
Officials said The Marine Mammal Center “is responsible for about 30% of the Hawaiian monk seal population that is alive today.”
The funding will be used to provide high-quality medical and rehabilitative care from staff and volunteers.
Stakeholders and partners across Hawai’i will be able to access the campaign at no cost.