Hawaiian Monk Seal (Monachus schauinslandi) 



The Hawaiian monk seal occurs on beaches and in waters 

 surrounding the chain of small remote islands, atolls, and reefs 

 that extend 1,500 miles northwest of the main Hawaiian Islands. 

 Harassment and over-exploitation by sealers during the 19th 

 century reduced the species to precariously low numbers close 

 to extinction. The first systematic counts of animals were 

 made in the 1950s and, although the population was thought to 

 be increasing at that time, numbers in most areas have since 

 declined. The number of animals counted in 1983 was roughly 

 half the number counted in 1958. The size of the current 

 population is estimated to be between 1,200 and 1,500 animals 

 and the species is listed as endangered under the Endangered 

 Species Act. 



The National Marine Fisheries Service is responsible for 

 protection of Hawaiian monk seals and their habitat under the 

 Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act. 

 Because most of the species 1 terrestrial habitat is within 

 the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge, the Fish and 

 Wildlife Service also has important responsibilities for 

 protecting monk seals and their habitat. As discussed in 

 previous Annual Reports, issues critical to the species' con- 

 tinued survival and recovery include: disturbance of seals on 

 pupping and haul-out beaches; interactions between monk seals 

 and commercial fisheries; entanglement in lost and discarded 

 fishing gear and other marine debris; designation of critical 

 habitat under the Endangered Species Act; management of the 

 Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge; and identification 

 of and continued support for priority research and management 

 tasks. 



Congressional concern for survival of the species has 

 been expressed, in part, through special appropriations for 

 monk seal-related activities. In Fiscal Year 1981, Congress 

 provided the Commission $100,000 to develop and initiate an 

 expanded research and management program for monk seals. The 

 Commission's efforts to develop and begin implementing a 

 directed research and management program are discussed in its 

 previous Annual Reports. To carry that program forward, 

 Congress directed that the National Marine Fisheries Service 

 invest $400,000 in monk seal work in Fiscal Year 1982 and 

 $150,000 in Fiscal Year 1983. Congress also provided $150,000 

 to the Commission for monk seal work in Fiscal Year 1983 and, 

 after developing a detailed program plan for allocating those 

 funds among priority research and management tasks, the entire 

 $150,000 was transferred to the Service to carry out the 

 specified activities. For Fiscal Years 1984 and 1985, Congress 

 provided $300,000 and $350,000, respectively, to the Service 

 to continue critically needed monk seal work. For Fiscal 



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