education program; (d) undertaking replicate aerial surveys 

 to detect trends in manatee abundance and distribution; 

 (e) undertaking radio-tagging studies to determine manatee 

 habitat use and movement patterns; (f) developing manatee 

 protection plans for areas of specific importance; and 

 (g) monitoring the condition of important manatee habitats. 



The Commission, in consultation with its Committee of 

 Scientific Advisors, reviewed the Draft Recovery Plan and, by 

 letter of 23 June 1986, forwarded comments and recom- 

 mendations to the Service. In its letter, the Commission 

 noted that the Draft Recovery Plan provided a sound basis for 

 carrying out required conservation actions for manatees in 

 Puerto Rico and recoinmended that the Plan be adopted and 

 implemented. The Commission further noted, however, that the 

 Plan did not discuss the identified tasks in sufficient 

 detail to determine precisely what should be done under each 

 task, thus making it difficult to determine whether indicated 

 funding levels were appropriate. To ensure that work 

 performed under the various tasks would be well conceived and 

 that estimated funding requirements would be sufficient to 

 cover project costs, the Commission recommended that the 

 Recovery Plan outline be used as a basis for developing a 

 comprehensive work plan similar to the one developed in 1980 

 to facilitate implementation of the Recovery Plan for the 

 Florida manatee population. As of the end of 1986, the 

 Commission had not received a copy of the Service's Final 

 Recovery Plan. 



Hawaiian Monk Seal (Monachus schauinslandi) 



The Hawaiian monk seal occurs entirely within United 

 States waters in a limited area around the Northwestern 

 Hawaiian Islands. It is in serious danger of extinction. 

 During the 19th century, harassment and over-exploitation by 

 sealers reduced the species to precariously low levels. A 

 subsequent cessation of sealing, coupled with the species' 

 isolated habitat in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, has 

 enabled the Hawaiian monk seal to survive. However, the 

 population has declined since the first systematic counts 

 were made in the 1950s. 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 1,2 00 

 and 1,500 animals. 



Protection and conservation of the Hawaiian monk seal is 

 the responsibility of the National Marine Fisheries Service 

 under provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the 

 Endangered Species Act. Because the species' range includes 

 the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge, the Fish and 



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