There are encouraging signs that certain management actions 

 are helping to increase the number of Hawaiian monk seals, and 

 that improved support and program guidance by the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service are being put in place in an effort to sustain 

 this progress. Of great importance to this species is the future 

 of a remote field station operated by the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service at Tern Island in the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife 

 Refuge. The Island, which includes the field station and an 

 aircraft runway built in World War II, provides a critical 

 research base and Federal presence near the middle of the 

 Hawaiian Islands Archipelago. It is essential habitat for many 

 species of birds, sea turtles, and the Hawaiian monk seal. The 

 integrity of the Island is now threatened as the existing seawall 

 deteriorates and portions of the Island wash away. Furthermore, 

 as underground fuel tanks remaining from World War II become 

 exposed, they constitute more serious environmental threats than 

 in the past. At the close of 1989, it was clear that a major 

 initiative involving the Fish and Wildlife Service and several 

 services in the Department of Defense would be needed to address 

 the situation on Tern Island. 



In 1989, the small threatened population of sea otters along 

 the central California coast continued to show some signs of 

 growth. The greatest threats to the population remain incidental 

 taking by commercial gillnet fishermen and oil spills. To 

 address the former problem, the State of California began 

 restricting gillnet fishing within the population's range in 

 1982. Since then, counts of sea otters have increased. To 

 mitigate the impact of a large oil spill in or near the present 

 range of the population, the Fish and Wildlife Service began a 

 translocation program in 1987 to establish a reserve colony at 

 San Nicolas Island off the California coast. The intent is to 

 establish a colony that would not be affected by a major spill 

 affecting the species' mainland habitat. By the end of 1989, 135 

 otters had been moved to San Nicolas Island. The percentage of 

 animals remaining there at year's end suggests that it may be 

 more difficult and take longer than expected to establish a self- 

 sustaining sea otter colony at San Nicolas Island. The March 

 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska lent further importance to 

 the translocation program; it also delayed efforts to update the 

 Southern Sea Otter Recovery Plan. 



Although North Pacific fur seals and Steller sea lions are 

 not listed as endangered or threatened, their numbers off Alaska 

 today are less than half their estimated levels 25 years ago. 

 The cause or causes of the declines for both species are 

 uncertain but may be related. A number of times since 1984, the 

 Commission has recommended that the National Marine Fisheries 

 Service prepare a conservation plan for North Pacific fur seals 

 to identify and assess priority research and management needs. 

 To help, the Commission provided the Service the outline of such 

 a plan in 1985. The Service failed to act on the Commission's 



ii 



