State officials are reminding the public not to feed or interact with endangered Hawaiian monk seals at Honokohau Small Boat Harbor on Hawaii island as a young pup becomes a frequent visitor.

Keaka, a five-month-old female pup, has become a regular at the harbor, according to the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, likely drawn by schools of akule fish or “bait balls” floating near the rocky shoreline.

There have been reports of her being fed scraps by nearby fishermen.

This, according to officials, is harmful to her development because if she becomes conditioned to seek people for food, that can alter a seal’s normal foraging behavior. That, in turn, will negatively affect her ability to grow and mature as a wild seal.

DLNR’s aquatic resources and boating division have teamed up with The Marine Mammal Center to educate boaters and fishers not to feed the young monk seal. Signs have been posted around the harbor.

Tyler Jeschke, a DAR monitoring technician, said Keaka likes to interact with people taking pictures of her.

“We have been getting reports that she’s being fed,” he said, “either by coming in and eating the scraps that people are dumping off their boats or by some of the akule fishermen who are throwing her fish.”

Keaka is expected to stick around into the new year, and for as long as there’s plenty of food for her to snag, according to Jeannine Rossa, DAR’s acting protected species program lead.

“We hope people will be mindful not to feed her and to slow down and watch for her when entering or exiting the harbor,” said Rossa in a news release. “If we can get everyone to not feed her and to not toss scraps into the water, we hope she leaves on her own.”

Officials said scraps should be put into bags and placed into harbor dumpsters instead of being dumped in the water. Additionally, they are asking fishers to reel it in and not cast out when Keaka is around.

Already, the precocious seal has been hooked twice this month.

Staff from The Marine Mammal Center’s Ke Kai Ola extricated a hook from the right side of her mouth, with a monofilament line trailing from it. Not long after, she got hooked a second time after eating a live akule used as bait.

The Hawaiian monk seal is one of the most endangered seal species in the world, protected by both federal and state laws. Only an estimated 1,600 seals remain in the wild.

To report a hooked seal, call NOAA’s hotline at 888-256-9840.