summarized its findings in a report, and in July 
sought emergency authorization from the Service’s 
Permit Office to move underweight animals directly to 
Midway Atoll for rehabilitation and release at that 
location. Given the decline in seal numbers at Mid- 
way Atoll, it was believed that food resources would 
be more plentiful there. 
By letter of 5 August 1992 the Commission recom- 
mended that the Service proceed expeditiously with its 
plans. In its letter, the Commission agreed that the 
situation at French Frigate Shoals appeared to be due 
to limited food availability. In this regard, it noted 
that this could be due to one or a combination of at 
least three causes: recent increased predation due to 
an increase in the number of seals at French Frigate 
Shoals; overfishing of certain prey species; or natural 
perturbations that have acted to reduce prey abun- 
dance. The Commission urged that, if there was any 
question as to whether fishery development could be 
a cause of the reduction in food, the Service immedi- 
ately take steps to stop fishing in this area until the 
uncertainty is resolved or to restructure the fishery to 
help obtain needed information. 
During 1992, 24 underweight seals were collected 
at French Frigate Shoals for rehabilitation and eventu- 
al transfer to Midway Atoll. Although most were 
newly weaned pups and yearlings, some were two- 
and three-year-old seals. Of these 24 animals, six did 
not respond to treatment and died during rehabilita- 
tion, nine were released at Midway, and nine re- 
mained in captivity on Oahu for further rehabilitation 
at the end of 1992. In addition, six weaned pups 
taken from French Frigate Shoals and Kure Atoll in 
1991 and rehabilitated on Oahu were released at 
Midway in 1992. Of the total of 15 seals released at 
Midway during 1992, 12 were believed to be alive at 
the end of the year. 
Tern Island Cleanup and Seawall Repair 
Tern Island, at French Frigate Shoals, is located in 
the middle of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, 500 
miles west-northwest of Honolulu. It is the only 
permanently occupied field station in the Hawaiian 
Islands National Wildlife Refuge and is strategically 
33 
Chapter ITI — Species of Special Concern 
vital for protecting Hawaiian monk seals, seabirds, 
and sea turtles. 
In 1942 the Navy enlarged Tern Island, then an 
unoccupied 11-acre sand island, into a 37-acre island 
with several buildings and a 3,000-foot aircraft 
tunway. To do so, it constructed a sheet metal 
seawall that was back-filled with sand and coral 
rubble. Roughly 20 large underground fuel storage 
tanks were also placed on the island at that time. 
Between 1952 and 1979 the Coast Guard occupied the 
island and operated a LORAN station there. Since 
then, the Fish and Wildlife Service has used the island 
as a field station. 
In recent years the importance of the field station 
to the monk seal recovery program has been demon- 
strated in several ways. Its runway has been essential 
for timely evacuation of underweight seal pups and 
juveniles for rehabilitation and for the efficient move- 
ment of research staff. In addition, Service personnel, 
because they have been living on the island, have been 
able to document commercial fishery-related injuries 
to monk seals and have provided important assistance 
in monitoring the status of the French Frigate Shoals 
seal population which is, as noted above, the species’ 
largest. 
Tern Island’s future, however, is in grave doubt. 
The seawall protecting the runway and buildings has 
deteriorated to the point that complete structural 
failure and massive erosion are imminent. If the 
runway is lost, permanent occupation will become too 
hazardous and the station will have to be vacated. 
Erosion pockets have already formed behind the 
disintegrating seawall and have created traps that 
threaten seals and sea turtles. In addition, the erosion 
has exposed cable and other debris hazardous to 
wildlife, including the underground fuel tanks, some 
of which still contained fuel. 
To plan and organize urgent cleanup efforts and 
seawall repair, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the 
Commission, the Navy, the Corps of Engineers, and 
the National Marine Fisheries Service have cooperated 
on a number of measures. As noted in the previous 
annual report, efforts to remove remaining fuel, 
stabilize the fuel tanks, and make emergency repairs 
