Midway Atoll
Northwest Hawaiian Islands
MIdway Island - The scene of the decisive WWII battle with the Japanese were six months after Pearl Harbor the US Navy sunk four Japanese carriers and turn the tide on the Pacific Theatre. Sixty four years later Midway was renamed Papahānaumokuākea and became part of the Northwest Hawaiian Island National Monument. Now home to over 1.5 million Laysan Albatross, Midway is the center of the impact of ocean plastic pollution and endangered species management by NOAA and US Fish and Wildlife Service.
The two critical issues on the island focus on the endangered species status of the Monk Seal and Laysan Duck. Both species have been at risk of extinction and the government has gone to unbelievable efforts to keep the populations viable. For example Monk Seal pups born on Midway and the surrounding islands are vulnerable to shark attacks. The government’s response was to hire hunters to patrol the beaches during pup season and shoot any sharks swimming around the haul out areas. In some circles that intervention would be considered playing god. This is an island over 1000 mikes from Honolulu with a population of less than 100 people. There is little to no human impact on the existing seal population. So nature has been replaced with human decision making and killing off potential predators. Yea - sorta sucks to do that. I just don’t agree that we humans decide who lives and dies based on arbitrary ideas of managing wildlife in remote areas. Maybe in NY City. But not on Midway. A big part of running MVF is dealing not with climate change or disaster but with humans making wildlife and habitat decisions based on no real science. More on this in a later post.
A Laysan Albatross carcass on Midway Island that died from starvation as plastic filled it stomach
Sarah sorts out plastic recovered from the carcasses of 12 dead Laysan Albatross found on Midway Island.
A young Monk Seal showing shark bite marks on its body. Scientists identify the seals by using bleach to paint ID numbers on their body.
There are an estimated 1100 Monk Seals in the entire Hawaiian Islands. The seals are suffering from malnutrition based on being outcompeted for food by large fish. Video cameras attached to the seals show large school of fish following the seals to sea and swiping their favorite food - octopus - that the seals find on the sea bottom. The seal above is extremely thin and starving.
The Laysan Duck population is estimated to be 700 birds. Declared endangered in 1967, numerous efforts have been made to help to repopulate the species. On Midway Ibis birds were eating the duck's eggs so the US F&W service ordered a .22 calibre gun and shot all the Ibis birds. I was there when the gun arrived from the US. Playing god again...
Once numbering 10 million birds, the Short Tailed Albatross population is estimated to be 4000 birds today. The birds are hunted for their feathers in the the late 19th century. This single male bird has been coming to Midway for years yet no female has ever showed up to mate.
Jimmy Smith looks out one a few of the over 700,000 mating pairs of Laysan Albatross on Midway. Island. There are over 400 nests per acre on this 1500 acre island
