Washington Man Charged With Throwing Rock at Endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal

HONOLULU — Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk, 38, of Covington, Washington, was charged by criminal complaint on May 12 2026 with harassing and attempting to harass an endangered Hawaiian monk seal identified as Lani by throwing a large rock at her head.

The single animal targeted belongs to the Hawaiian monk seal population listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act since 1976. Current estimates place the species at approximately 1,400 individuals, all protected by both the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act which prohibit any form of harassment, pursuit or injury.

Prior to the May 12 incident no federal charges existed in this specific case. The filing of the complaint in U.S. District Court in Hawaii shifts the matter from investigation to active prosecution. Arraignment and any subsequent trial schedule will now be set by the court under standard federal criminal timelines.

Downstream the charges require the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii to prepare evidence for presentation to a judge or jury. Conviction carries potential fines and imprisonment set by federal sentencing guidelines for Endangered Species Act violations.

The National Marine Fisheries Service, which administers monk seal recovery, must be kept informed of case outcomes because prosecution data directly informs the agency’s five-year species recovery plans and any adjustments to protected beach zones on Oahu and other islands.

The case also activates standard inter-agency reporting to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for dual-listed species enforcement statistics.

This prosecution represents the latest federal enforcement action under the Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act for direct physical harassment of Hawaiian monk seals. The Department of Justice has previously brought similar charges in Hawaii for interactions that disturb monk seal haul-out sites or impede nursing pups.

The original Endangered Species Act listing for the species occurred in 1976 after documented population declines linked to human disturbance and habitat loss.