ESR prepress abstract  -  doi: 10.3354/esr00090

Foraging interaction between monk seals and large predatory fish in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands

Frank A. Parrish, Gregory J. Marshall, Birgit Buhleier, George Antonelis

*Email: frank.parrish@noaa.gov

ABSTRACT: CRITTERCAMs were deployed on 42 Hawaiian monk seals at French Frigate Shoals, Hawaii to assess the degree to which interaction with large predatory fish may play a role in their foraging success. The presence of sharks, jacks, and large-bodied snappers were seen near the actively foraging seals approximately 17% of the time. Present at all but the greatest depths