Dear Marmamers During the 18th Biennial Conference of the Society for Marine Mammalogy in Quebec/Canada, 12-16 October 2009, a workshop was held focusing on the study and conservation of the critically endangered Monk seals. The workshop, entitled "Research, Management, Conservation and Policy in Monk seal recovery: A global Perspective" provided an excellent opportunity for monk seal researchers and conservationists from around the world to meet and discuss latest advances and achievements in the field. Overall, more than 15 presentations and posters were made, being evidence of the growing efforts to understand and protect these endangered species. Moving in the direction of promoting monk seal recovery through the widest possible dissemination of information and in cooperation with the peer-reviewed, scientific journal Aquatic Mammals, we are launching an effort to prepare a special issue of the journal dedicated to all species of monk seals. We would therefore like to invite monk seal researchers and conservation practitioners interested in contributing to this issue to contact us, no later than April 30, 2010. Prospective authors would then have six months time to prepare a manuscript and submit to Aquatic Mammals, indicating that the manuscript is for consideration in the special issue on monk seals, for peer-review by October 30, 2010. According to a tentative time plan, the special issue would be published early in 2011 - publishing procedures would follow the general guidelines of the journal. In order to speed the process, authors interested in submitting an article related to either the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) or the Caribbean monk seal (Monachus tropicalis) should contact Dr. Alexandros A. Karamanlidis (akaramanlidis@gmail.com); authors interested in submitting an article related to the Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi) should contact David Schofield (David.Schofield@noaa.gov). We look forward to hearing from you! On behalf of the organizers: Dr. Alexandros A. Karamanlidis Scientific Coordinator MOm/Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk seal & David Schofield, M.Sc. Marine Mammal Response Network Coordinator NOAA/NMFS/PIRO