MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION - Annual Report for 1995 



Coast Guard in collecting sediment and fish samples 

 to assess whether remaining contaminants posed a 

 threat to wildlife that would require further clean-up. 



Hawaiian Monk Seal Program 

 Review Follow-up 



Based on the program review, there appeared to be 

 broad agreement and support for most of the Service's 

 monk seal recovery plans and since the meeting 

 substantial progress has been made on most of the key 

 issues. Among other things, the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service: 



• supported field camps at all major breeding sites 

 plus Midway; 



• approved a two-year grant request to significantly 

 increase satellite tracking studies of monk seals at 

 French Frigate Shoals, beginning in 1996; 



• worked with the Navy to develop a $250,000 

 proposal to the Navy's Legacy Program to fund 

 work beginning in 1996 on rebuilding the Midway 

 monk seal colony; 



• convened a 5-6 December 1995 interagency plan- 

 ning meeting to develop a cooperative plan of 

 action for restoring monk seals to Midway; 



• began construction to expand the Kewalo Basin 

 seal holding facilities for its seal rehabilitation 

 work; and 



• removed 12 more underweight pups from French 

 Frigate Shoals for rehabilitation and subsequent 

 release in 1996. 



By letter of 5 October 1995 the Service updated the 

 Commission on these and other actions as part of its 

 response to the Commission's 4 August letter. The 

 Commission replied on 1 December, expressing its 

 support and appreciation for the many significant 

 accomplishments made by the Service over the past 

 year. However, the Commission noted that further 

 action was needed in two areas. The first concerned 

 action on the Commission recommendation that a 

 lobster fishery closure be retained at French Frigate 

 Shoals, given the apparent food limitation for seals at 

 that site and the uncertainty about the importance of 

 lobsters in monk seal diets. The Service's letter stated 

 it did not believe information was sufficient to justify 

 the measure. In its reply, the Commission noted that, 



based on foraging data for other pinniped species, 

 young monk seals may be particularly dependent on 

 slow-moving invertebrates, including lobster, as they 

 learn to feed. Moreover, given the uncertainty 

 surrounding monk seal prey utilization, the Commis- 

 sion observed that the situation was a good example of 

 the need to invoke the precautionary principle support- 

 ed by the United States internationally and not to fish 

 for lobster at the atoll until better data are available on 

 which to base management decisions. 



The second area in which the Commission urged 

 further action was on its recommendation to convene 

 periodic interagency meetings to coordinate efforts 

 among interested parties. The Service's letter indicat- 

 ed that it planned to defer action on this matter 

 because the scope of such implementation teams is 

 narrow compared to recovery teams, and because the 

 evolving partnership on restoring seals to Midway 

 should be evaluated before proceeding with a broader 

 implementation team. In its 1 December reply, the 

 Commission urged that such meetings not be deferred 

 since most key agencies were not members of the 

 recovery team and the positive follow-up to the April 

 1995 interagency review proved the value of such 

 meetings. At the end of 1995 a response from the 

 Service to these further points had not been received. 



In addition to actions by the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service, several cooperating agencies alsc 

 took important steps. In consultation with the Nation- 

 al Marine Fisheries Service, the Coast Guard under- 

 took an assessment of leached contaminants from old 

 navigation light batteries in Midway's lagoon and 

 removed the old batteries for proper disposal. 



The Fish and Wildlife Service accelerated its 

 efforts to transfer ownership of the Midway Islands 

 from the Navy and to prepare for assuming adminis- 

 trative responsibility of the island. It also convened 

 an interagency meeting in December 1995 to reexam- 

 ine alternative actions to respond to the failing seawall 

 on Tern Island at French Frigate Shoals. The Service 

 advised the Commission of these steps by letter of 22 

 September 1995 and on 1 December 1995 the Com- 

 mission replied, expressing interest in following 

 progress on these matters. The Commission recom- 

 mended that the Service contact the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service to schedule section 7 consultations 



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