������Ƶ

Federal officials have backed away from a controversial proposal to transport young monk seals from the remote northwest Hawaiian Islands to the main Hawaiian islands, where survival rates are much higher.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had hoped that the program would help save the endangered species. The seals have been declining at a rate of about 4 percent a year and now number about 1,000, according to NOAA.

But now officials say they aren’t ready to deal with the influx of new seals in the main Hawaiian Islands, and the resulting increase in contact — and confrontations — between seals and humans. During public meetings held by NOAA in past months, dozens of local fishermen criticized the proposal.

“Two years ago, this seemed really doable,” said Charles Littnan, lead scientist for NOAA’s Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program. “And it’s not right now.”

NOAA had proposed bringing young seals to the main Hawaiian Islands where shark attacks and competition for food isn’t as high. Pups have an 80 percent chance of dying in the northwest Hawaiian islands. But if they can make it to adulthood, their annual survival rate is 90 percent, according to NOAA.

The pup survival rate is higher in the main Hawaiian Islands. Officials had planned to bring the seals back to the northwest Hawaiian islands after two to three years.

For now, Littnan said that NOAA is still working on reducing negative interactions between humans and seals.

In the past, monk seals have mainly confined themselves to the northwest Hawaiian Islands. But in recent years they have been showing up in increasing numbers around the main Hawaiian Islands on their own.

But this has led to problems with people feeding the seals and interrupting birthing patterns. Monk seals have also been getting caught in fishing hooks, which can prove deadly.

Jeff Walters, the Hawaiian monk seal recovery coordinator for NOAA, said that hookings appear to be on the rise. In 2012, there were 15 reported hookings, up from 11 in 2011. So far this year, there have already been five or six hookings.

“The trend is not looking good,” said Walters. “So, broadly speaking, it’s not a huge problem right now, but it’s trending in the wrong direction. We want to improve our communication and understanding with fishermen.”

Walters said that NOAA has also backed away from the plan because the agency lacked the resources to adequately track and care for the seals.

“That particular action requires extensive capacity in terms of tracking and monitoring the seals that are relocated and intervening to keep them healthy and safe,” said Walters, the Hawaiian monk seal recovery coordinator for NOAA. “And that program capacity needs further development.”

NOAA isn’t abandoning the idea altogether. Littnan said that NOAA might attempt to transfer the monk seals between islands a few years from now. In the interim, NOAA officials will have more time to discuss the proposal with the public, and in particular, fishermen who have opposed the move.

They’ve questioned whether NOAA would be able to catch the monk seals after they are grown and transport them back to the northwest Hawaiian Islands. Some fishermen view the seals as competitors for catch and complain that the seals are aggressive in the water.