Years 1986 through 1988, $325,000 a year has been appropri- 

 ated. 



As noted in previous Annual Reports, since the late 

 1970s, the Commission has made numerous recommendations to 

 the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service to further the protection of Hawaiian monk seals and 

 their habitat. Although some of those recommendations have been 

 adopted, others have been addressed only partially or not at 

 all. Therefore, as noted in its previous Annual Report, the 

 Commission wrote to the National Marine Fisheries Service on 

 23 December 1986 recommending further steps to ensure the 

 species' continued survival and recovery. Among other things, 

 the Commission recommended that the Service: re-evaluate and 

 extend designated critical habitat for monk seals from the 

 10-fathom to the 20-fathom isobath around certain Northwest 

 Hawaiian Islands and Maro Reef; reconstitute the Hawaiian 

 Monk Seal Recovery Team to update the Recovery Plan and help 

 identify and address priority research and management needs; 

 pursue efforts to eliminate the disturbance of seals by Coast 

 Guard personnel stationed on Kure Atoll; in consultation with 

 the Fish and Wildlife Service, ensure that the Hawaiian Islands 

 National Wildlife Refuge Field Station on Tern Island remains 

 open and occupied by personnel year-round to protect and 

 monitor seals; undertake studies to better document inter- 

 actions between monk seals and commercial fisheries; and 

 ensure that adequate funds are sought and provided each year 

 to carry forward urgent research and management needs. 



By letter of 5 February 1987, the Service provided an 

 initial response to the Commission's December 1986 letter. In 

 its letter, the Service advised the Commission that: it planned 

 to carry out further research to assess critical foraging 

 habitat for monk seals and, based on the research results, 

 further rulemaking would be considered for extending designated 

 critical habitat around the Northwest Hawaiian Islands out to 

 the 20-fathom isobath; ways to continue operation of the Tern 

 Island field station were being explored with the Fish and 

 Wildlife Service and, if temporary closure of the station 

 became necessary, the possible effects of the decision on monk 

 seals would be reviewed pursuant to section 7 of the Endangered 

 Species Act; similar discussions were underway with the Coast 

 Guard on ways to eliminate disturbance of seals by personnel 

 located at the Kure Island LORAN station; and the Service had 

 not allocated any funds for a study to better document inter- 

 actions between monk seals and commercial fisheries in 1987. 



Tern Island Field Station 



As noted in its previous Annual Report, the Commission 

 wrote to the Fish and Wildlife Service on 1 August and 22 

 December 1986 concerning potential removal of Service per- 



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