14 August 1987 identifying a number of special management 

 needs in the area between 10 and 20 fathoms related to 

 commercial fishing activities, vessel traffic, marine debris, 

 and enforcement. The Commission also repeated its previous 

 recommendations that areas out to the 2 0-fathom isobath, 

 including waters shallower than that depth around Maro Reef, 

 be designated as critical habitat for monk seals. 



Based on the additional information, the Service con- 

 cluded that designating critical habitat out to the 20-fathom 

 isobath around the existing critical habitat boundary and 

 around Maro Reef was warranted. On 9 January 1988, the Service 

 published its findings in a Federal Register notice and proposed 

 that critical habitat be extended accordingly. The Service's 

 analysis and proposed action were consistent with advice pro- 

 vided previously by the Commission, the Hawaiian Monk Seal 

 Recovery Team, and the majority of those providing comments. 

 On 26 May 1988, the Service published a Federal Register 

 notice advising that it was extending critical habitat for 

 Hawaiian monk seals as it had proposed earlier in the year 

 and, on 27 June 1988, the new boundary became effective. 



Research and Management Activities at the Hawaiian Islands 

 National Wildlife Refuge 



As noted above, the Fish and Wildlife Service has important 

 responsibilities for Hawaiian monk seals because of the 

 dependence of seals on beaches in the Hawaiian Island National 

 Wildlife Refuge. As part of its Refuge management program, 

 the Service maintains and operates a field station on Tern 

 Island at French Frigate Shoals. Personnel and facilities on 

 Tern Island provide critical support for monk seal research 

 and management activities throughout the Refuge. As noted in 

 previous Annual Reports, funding constraints led the Service 

 to consider removing personnel from Tern Island, at least 

 seasonally. Because of the importance of the field station 

 for work on monk seals, as well as other endangered species, 

 the Commission wrote to the Service in 1986 urging that 

 personnel be kept on the island year-round. 



The need to remove personnel from the Island was averted 

 in 1987 when Congress provided a special $200, uOO appropriation 

 for operating the Tern Island field station. Appropriated 

 funds were used to upgrade facilities at the island and 

 permitted Service personnel to remain there year-round. 

 Congress again appropriated funds for the Tern Island field 

 station in Fiscal Year 1988. Among other things, continued 

 support for the field station in 1988 enabled Refuge staff to 

 continue working closely with the National Marine Fisheries 

 Service on efforts to: locate and remove emaciated, prematurely 

 weaned monk seal pups from French Frigate Shoals for rehabili- 

 tation; remove and destroy marine debris that potentially 



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