Hawaiian Monk Seal (Monachus schauinslandi) 



The Hawaiian monk seal inhabits a limited area on and 

 around the Leeward Hawaiian Islands and is in grave danger of 

 extinction. It is one of three members of the genus 

 Monachus and may be the only member of the genus with a 

 chance of surviving the 20th century. Of its congeners, 

 the Caribbean species (Monachus tropicalis ) appears to be 

 extinct and the Mediterranean species ( Monachus monachus ) is 

 declining rapidly. 



Responsibility for protection and conservation of the 

 Hawaiian monk seal is delegated to the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and 

 the Endangered Species Act. Because the species' range 

 includes the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge, the 

 Fish and Wildlife Service shares responsibility for protecting 

 the monk seal and its habitat. 



The extent of the Commission's efforts over the past 

 years to enhance the protection and encourage the recovery 

 of the Hawaiian monk seal are set forth in detail in 

 previous Annual Reports. Among the actions taken were 

 recommendations to the National Marine Fisheries Service 

 that it constitute a Hawaiian Monk Seal Recovery Team and 

 designate critical habitat for the species. The Commission 

 has also provided support for a number of population studies 

 and in Fiscal Year 1981 received a special $100,000 

 appropriation to aid in development of an effective research 

 and management plan. 



During 1981, the Commission worked closely with the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service in an effort to facilitate 

 development of a Hawaiian monk seal recovery plan. Congress, 

 recognizing the precarious state of the Hawaiian monk seal, 

 directed the National Marine Fisheries Service to expend 

 $400,000 on monk seal work during Fiscal Year 1982, and 

 the Commission consulted with the Service on the most 

 appropriate use of these funds. 



On 17 November 1981, the Commission received the 

 draft recovery plan for the Hawaiian monk seal from the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service. On 14 January 1982, 

 the Commission, in consultation with its Committee of 

 Scientific Advisors, provided detailed comments on the 

 draft plan. The Commission noted, among other things, 

 that although the draft provided a relatively complete 

 list of actions needed to protect and encourage recovery 

 of the Hawaiian monk seal, it was deficient in a number 

 of ways. It did not, for example, constitute a plan of 



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