potential abandonment of the field station. In its letter, 

 the Commission noted that irreversible damage could be done 

 if the field station were closed or if management responsi- 

 bility were transferred to another agency. The Commission 

 reiterated the recommendations included in its 1 August 198 6 

 letter and stressed that any consideration of abandoning Tern 

 Island only be taken after full consultation with all 

 interested and involved parties, both governmental and non- 

 governmental, including members of the Hawaiian Monk Seal 

 Recovery Team. 



For the past several years, the Northwestern Hawaiian 

 Islands — the area inhabited by the Hawaiian monk seal — 

 has been subjected to growing pressure by developing and 

 expanding fisheries. In April 1985, the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service sent to the Commission a Combined Draft 

 Fishery Management Plan, Environmental Assessment, and 

 Regulatory Impact Review for the Bottomfish and Seamount 

 Groundfish Fisheries of the Western Pacific Ocean. The 

 Commission, in consultation with its Committee of Scientific 

 Advisors, reviewed the draft Plan and, by letters 12 April 

 and 7 May 1985, sent its comments and recommendations to the 

 Service. In its letters, the Commission expressed concern 

 that the bottomfish fishery could affect monk seals in a 

 number of ways that were not considered in the Environmental 

 Impact Assessment. It recommended that the Assessment be 

 expanded to provide information and analyses necessary to 

 assure that the fishery would not have an adverse impact on 

 the monk seal population. 



On 4 October 1985, the Service sent to the Commission a 

 revised Combined Draft Fishery Management Plan for the area. 

 After reviewing the revised Plan, in consultation with its 

 Committee of Scientific Advisors, the Commission wrote to the 

 Service on 31 October 1985, expressing its concern that the 

 proposed changes could seriously compromise efforts to 

 control growing fishing pressure and thereby weaken protec- 

 tion for the endangered Hawaiian monk seal. In its letter, 

 the Commission recommended a number of additional steps that 

 should be taken to ensure, insofar as possible, that bottom- 

 fish fisheries in the western Pacific region do not adversely 

 affect the Hawaiian monk seal population or its habitat. 



On 8 April 1986, the National Marine Fisheries Service 

 sent the Commission the final combined Fishery Plan and 

 Assessment for the western Pacific region. The Commission, 

 in consultation with its Committee of Scientific Advisors, 

 reviewed the final Plan and, by letter of 24 July 1986, sent 

 comments and recommendations to the Service. In its letter, 

 the Commission noted that many of its earlier comments and 

 recommendations had been incorporated and that the final Plan 

 included a number of provisions that should help strengthen 



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