The name Rat Islands is the English translation of the name given to the islands by Captain Fyodor Petrovich Litke in 1827 when he visited the Aleutian Islands on a voyage around the world. The islands are named so because rats were accidentally introduced to Hawadax Island (formerly known as Rat Island) in about 1780.[4] As of 2009[update], after a government-funded eradication program, Rat Island is believed to be rat-free;[5] it was renamed Hawadax Island in 2012. However, a post-operation assessment found that many of the island's local bird populations were negatively impacted—there was a far higher-than-expected nontarget mortality.[6] An internal U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement investigation revealed that several laws may have been violated.[7]