Chapter II — Species of Special Concern 



Figure 4. The Hawaiian Archipelago. The Northwestern Hawaiian Island, extending about 1,900 km 

 (1,200 miles) northwest of the main Hawaiian Islands, provides pupping beaches for all major 

 breeding colonies of Hawaiian monk seals. 



Overall, during the 1998 field season there were 13 

 documented cases of male aggression toward females, 

 juveniles, or pups that resulted in injury or death. Of 

 these, three were at French Frigate Shoals, one of 

 which resulted in a death; two were at Laysan Island, 

 one of which resulted in a death; and eight were at 

 Lisianski Island, one of which resulted in a known 

 mortality. In addition to shark attack and mobbing, 

 other namral factors that may affect monk seal popula- 

 tions include disease and biotoxins and enviroimiental 

 changes brought on by climate shifts and perturbations 

 that may affect the abundance of monk seal prey. 



Human-related interactions are a known cause of 

 monk seal mortality through interactions with com- 

 mercial fisheries, entanglement in discarded or lost 

 fishing nets and other debris, pollution from human 

 activities, and entrapment in deteriorating seawalls. 



Theater Missile Defense Program 



In fiscal year 1995 Congress directed the U.S. 

 Navy to develop a theater missile defense program at 



the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Kauai, Hawaii. To 

 meet this directive, the Navy plans to design and test 

 the use of interceptor missiles to destroy or knock 

 down target missiles launched from sites at various 

 distances and locations around Kauai. Additional 

 tracking stations and launch sites within the Hawaiian 

 Islands would be required. A draft environmental 

 impact statement on the proposed program indicated 

 that target missiles potentially could be launched from 

 either of two types of free-floating barges, specially 

 configured aircraft, and/or new land-based launch 

 facilities. Potential sites for land-based launch and 

 tracking facilities include Johnston Atoll, Tern Island 

 in French Frigate Shoals, and Niihau. 



On 26 May 1998 the Commission commented on 

 the draft environmental impact statement, expressing 

 concern about the possible effects on monk seal 

 behavior and survival from the construction, opera- 

 tion, and human presence at new land-based missile 

 launch facilities, particularly on Tern Island. Given 

 the possibility of severe impacts on monk seal survival 

 at Tern Island, the Commission recommended that it 



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