A memorial ceremony for two Hawaiian monk seals who were shot to death earlier this year will be held tomorrow at Poipu Beach Park on Kauai.

The event — which starts at 9:30 a.m. — is being coordinated by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, the Fisheries Division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Hawaiian Monk Seal Conservation Hui.
Kumu Sabra Kauka, a native practitioner from Kauai, will preside over the ceremony, in which the ashes of the seals will be released.
The seals — a 5-year-old male and a female estimated to be in her mid-teens — were shot and killed in April and May.
The male was found dead at Kaumakani on Kauai’s west shore.
The female was found dead at Pilaa beach on Kauai’s north shore. A necropsy revealed she was carrying a near-term male pup.
Hawaiian monk seals are considered endangered. It is believed that less than 1,300 remain and that their population is declining at a rate of about 4 percent per year.
NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement is actively investigating both cases.