Moloka'i residents who protested a federal agency's decision to take the Hawaiian monk seal KP2 from the Kaunakakai Wharf last month have organized a Hawaiian blessing for KP2 at the Waikíkí Aquarium today, Moloka'i resident Walter Ritte said in a news release.

Kahu David Ka'upu, retired Kamehameha Schools chaplain, will conduct the blessing at 1 p.m.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration last month moved KP2 from Kaunakakai to the Waikíkí Aquarium because he was interacting with humans and had become too rough.

KP2 was diagnosed with cataracts, for which he will have surgery. NOAA officials said KP2 will have to remain in captivity because of poor vision and he has become too accustomed to humans. But Ritte said he and others are hopeful that KP2 can be returned to Moloka'i.