Monk seal instrument changes table

Hawaiian Monk Seal Public Opinion Survey

Documentation of Changes to the Survey Instrument

The changes made to the survey instrument reflect the suggestions discussed during the conference call on 7/30/10.

Several questions have been eliminated to shorten the overall length and other questions were revised as requested by OMB staff. Overall 12 questions were removed, three questions were revised and one question was added. Justifications for the changes are detailed in the table below. Questions are numbered according to their sequence in the original survey for individuals (long version). All other surveys have been adjusted to reflect these changes as well.

Original #	Action	Original Question	Revision	Justification
Q. 10	Removed	Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: I believe that in general Hawai‘i’s native marine life is declining.		This question was removed to improve the overall survey and reduce survey length.
Q. 11	Not Removed	Are you familiar with the Endangered Species Act?		This question was not removed as it will provide data to help determine the extent to which limited federal funds and resources should be allocated toward public education and outreach regarding the ESA instead of toward other education and outreach priorities.
Q. 12	Removed	Prior to this survey, were you aware that penalties of the Endangered Species Act involve possible jail time and/ or large fines?		This question was removed to improve the overall survey and reduce survey length.
Q. 13	Not Removed	Do you think that violations of the Endangered Species Act are regularly enforced?		This question was not removed as it will provide data to help determine the extent to which limited federal funds and resources should be allocated toward public education and outreach regarding the ESA instead of toward other education and outreach priorities.
Q. 14	Revised	People have different opinions about what is considered harassment of wildlife. Which of the following, if any, do you consider harassment of monk seals? (Mark all that apply)	People have different opinions about what is considered appropriate behavior around wildlife. Which of the following, if any, do you consider appropriate behavior regarding monk seals? (Mark all that apply)	The term harassment was changed to appropriate behavior. Three activities, which are considered acceptable behavior by managers, were added to the list and two, which were very obviously harassment, were eliminated. The changes to this question were made at the request of OMB to create a more neutral question that is less “leading”.
Q. 15	Removed	Have you heard or read that it is illegal to harass monk seals?		The information that could potentially be gathered is covered by other questions.
Q. 18	Removed	If you saw a monk seal would you be likely to report it?		The information that could potentially be gathered is covered by other questions.
	Addition	If you encountered a monk seal while you were on land, what do you think you would do? (Mark all that apply)		This question follows the series of questions discussing human behavior in the presence of monk seals. It is complementary to a similar question that asks about in-water encounters.
Q. 31	Revised	Do you think it is necessary to regulate recreational hook and line fishing in the main Hawaiian Islands to reduce or prevent monk seals from becoming hooked?	Do you agree or disagree that regulations for recreational hook and line fishing in the main Hawaiian Islands should be enacted SPECIFICALLY to reduce or prevent monk seals from becoming hooked? (Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Agree, Strongly Agree, Not sure)	This question has been revised based on recommendations by OMB to carefully word questions related to regulation.
Q. 32.	Removed	Would you support or oppose a restriction that required recreational lay gill nets in the main Hawaiian Islands to be attended at all times?		This question was removed as requested by OMB. It has been eliminated with the idea that the information that may be gained from this question is probably already known. There are several sources of information, such as the public gillnet hearings, from which public opinion on this issue can be gauged.
Q. 34.	Revised	Which human activities do you believe should be prohibited in the known presence of monk seals? (Mark all that apply)	Do you think that any of the following human activities should be prohibited in the known presence of monk seals? (Mark all that apply)	This question was revised to make the presentation more neutral.
Q. 47 Q. 48. Q. 49 Q. 50 Q. 52 Q. 53 Q. 56	Removed			Several demographic questions were removed in order to reduce survey length, as requested by OMB. The remaining demographic questions will provide enough information for the final assessment.

2