The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is investigating the death of a Hawaiian monk seal pup found on Molokai in August.

The Molokai-born seal had been previously fitted with flipper ID tags, and a necropsy revealed it died under suspicious circumstances, NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service said. It was the 12th suspicious monk seal death in the last eight years in the main Hawaiian Islands, according to NOAA.

The dead seal was found outside the Moomomi Preserve, a sand dune coastline ecosystem with limited access managed by The Nature Conservancy and the Department of Land and Natural Resources, a conservancy spokesman said.

David Schofield, NOAA’s regional marine mammal stranding coordinator for the Pacific Islands, said because of a NOAA law enforcement investigation, he would not release further details on the seal’s death.

The area where the seal was found, however, is under consideration to be a community-based subsistence fishing area, which would allow the local community to have input in establishing fishing rules, but would be open to anyone.

Because many of Molokai’s local residents rely on subsistence fishing, some hold the view that monk seals are competing for the same food.

Schofield is asking anyone with information concerning the seal’s death to call the NOAA enforcement hotline at 800-853-1964 or email respectwildlife@noaa.gov.