HONOLULU — The Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement has ended its 24-hour watch of popular Hawaiian monk seal Rocky and her pup Kaolani at Kaimana Beach.

What You Need To Know

  • DOCARE officers took the unprecedented step of providing enforcement and education at the beach starting Aug. 3 in response to growing concern about the safety of both of the seals and beachgoers

  • Rocky bit a swimmer who came close to her and the pup. The woman suffered minor injuries

  • While they didn’t issue any citations during the two-week watch, officers did “shoo away” several swimmers who got too close to the animals

  • DLNR said it is exploring strategies to keep seals and beachgoers safe as the monk seal population in the main Hawaiian islands grows and more mothers and pups visit populated beaches

Kaolani successfully weaned and was moved to an undisclosed location away from the urban core of Oahu, DOCARE reported on Friday.

DOCARE officers took the unprecedented step of providing enforcement and education at the beach starting Aug. 3 in response to growing concern about the safety of both of the seals and beachgoers after Rocky bit a swimmer who came close to her and the pup. The woman suffered minor injuries.

“While this duty certainly taxed DOCARE resources to the limit, we felt law enforcement presence was called for to prevent any further encounters, which could well have ended tragically,” said DLNR Chair Suzanne Case.

Officers enforced a 50-yard cordon on the beach and in the ocean during the operation, which mirrors NOAA guidance for people to stay at least 150-feet away from resting or swimming seals. While they didn’t issue any citations, officers did “shoo away” several swimmers who got too close to the animals, according to a DLNR release.

“Our men and women responded in force knowing that protection of our natural resources and public safety are part and parcel of DOCARE’s core mission,” said DOCARE Chief Jason Redulla. “We haven’t calculated all the personnel costs, but we estimate the total time devoted to overwatch of the monk seals to be more than 500 manhours.”

DLNR said it is exploring strategies to keep seals and beachgoers safe as the monk seal population in the main Hawaiian islands grows and more mothers and pups visit populated beaches.

“Clearly the presence of our DOCARE officers made a huge difference and were a needed supplement to the great efforts of the volunteers from Hawaii Marine Animal Response, who were constantly monitoring and moving the physical cordon as Rocky and Koalani became more and more active,” Case said.

Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii.