WAIKIKI — To help boost the declining population of Hawaiian monk seals, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service implemented a new recovery plan yesterday for this critically endangered species.

The Hawaiian monk seal population is about 1,200 worldwide, the lowest ever recorded.

And if nothing is done, experts say, its population could decline to fewer than 1,000 in the next three years.

"The Hawaiian monk seal is in a crisis," said Bill Hogarth, assistant administrator of the NOAA Fisheries Service, at a ceremony yesterday at the Waikiki Aquarium. "We have to turn this around. The decline (in population) is just not acceptable."

This is the first time the recovery plan has been updated since it was originally drafted in 1983.

Under the Endangered Species Act, recovery plans are designed to describe the threats facing a particular species and the actions needed to address these concerns.

This current plan focuses on the issue of the low survival rate of juveniles, particularly female pups.

Currently, a monk seal pup has less than a 20 percent chance of reaching reproductive age.

The population decline over the past two decades can be attributed to a number of factors, including limited food, entanglement of seals in marine debris, shark predation and human interaction.

The focus of this updated recovery plan is on developing an effective captive care program to increase the survival rate of female pups, Hogarth said.

NOAA hopes to get at least $1.8 million in federal money next year to set up a captive care program to feed and protect juvenile female seals.

The plan details more than $30 million in funding requirements over the first five years.

In March, researchers released six female monk seals that had been in captive care on Midway Atoll. So far, three of the six are still being monitored using satellite tracking devices attached to their backs and are exhibiting normal behaviors.

Researchers are worried that if nothing is done to help female pups survive and breed, the number of these endangered seals could drop below the key threshold of 1,000 worldwide in less than five years.

"We are worse off than when the original plan was formulated," said Bill Robinson, regional administrator of NOAA Fisheries' Pacific Islands Regional Office. "Now more implementation and more drastic measures need to be taken."

But a captive care program is not a long-term solution to the problem, Hogarth said.

"We have to work hard to not let them go extinct," he added.

Part of the challenge is persuading lawmakers to fund such projects, which can be costly.

"Very few people are aware of Hawaiian monk seals outside of Hawai'i," said U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, who attended yesterday's ceremony. "People ask, 'Why spend taxpayers' money to save them? We've got a lot of seals.'

"It's because I want my grandson or granddaughter to be able to see a monk seal, a live one, not a stuffed toy or a poster. That's why I'm in this business. That's why I support this ... I think it's well worth it."

Reach Catherine E. Toth at ctoth@honoluluadvertiser.com.