NMFS Biological Opinion on U.S. Navy training ... - Govsupport.us

FINAL PROGRAMMATIC BIOLOGICAL OPINION ON U.S. NAVY ACTIVITIES IN THE HAWAII RANGE COMPLEX 2008-2013
Between 1982 and 2006, a total of 268 entanglements of monk seals were documented, including 118 in fishing
gear. There were 57 serious injuries (including 32 from fishing gear) and 8 mortalities (including 7 from fishery
items). From 1982 – 2000, there was an estimated minimum rate of 2.3 serious injuries or deaths per year
attributable to fishery related marine debris (<strong>NMFS</strong> 2007).
RECOVERY ACTIONS. Over the past decade, there have been several attempts to combat or mitigate the effects of
shark predation on Hawai’ian monk seals. From 2000 through 2003, sharks were removed (through hazing or
targeted fishing) at Trig Island, which was followed by declined in the number of monk sea pups killed at the island.
These effects were only successful temporarily and, in 2002 and 2003, hazing was discontinued because it made the
sharks wary and difficult to catch.
There have been several attempts to balance sex ratios at Laysan Island by removing problem males. In 1984, a
group of ten adult males that had been observed attacking females, or whose behavior profile was similar to those
that attacked females, were captured on Laysan and transported to Johnston Atoll. One of the ten died prior to
release, and of the remaining nine, most were not seen after a few months. The last male was not observed until after
a period of 16 months. Another group of five problem males was removed from Laysan and entered into captivity in
1987 for studies identified in the plan. Males in the 1987 group were used to define the testosterone cycle in males
and to evaluate a drug to suppress testosterone for possible field application to reduce aggressive behavior. The
captive trials proved effective at suppressing testosterone levels in the male seals (Atkinson et al. 1993) and a pilot
field trial was performed (Atkinson et al. 1998). However, severe limitations in the this approach (each male had to
be captured and injected a number of times over the course of the breeding season; these repeated captures would
have resulted in extensive disturbance to most seals on the island during the breeding season) caused it to be
terminated.
In June 2006, the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (71 FR 51134, August 29, 2006) was established
in the Northwest Hawai’ian Islands. The boundary of the Monument includes about 140,000 square miles of
emergent and submerged lands and waters of the northwest Hawai’ian Islands and regulating activities such as
fishing that pose potential risks to the marine habitat of Hawai’ian monk seals.
Status
Hawai’ian monk seals were listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 on November 23, 1976
(41 FR 51611). A 5-year status review completed in 2007 recommended retaining monk seals as an endangered
species (72 FR 46966, August 22, 2007). Critical habitat was originally designated for Hawai’ian monk seals on
April 30, 1986 (51 FR 16047), and was extended on May 26, 1988 (53 FR 18988; CFR 226.201).
Monk seals are considered one of the most endangered groups of pinnipeds on the planet because all of their
populations are either extinct (for example, the Caribbean monk seal) or near exist at numbers that are precariously
close to extinction (Mediterranean and Hawai’ian monk seals). Two periods of decline have been reported for
Hawai’ian monk seals. The first decline occurred in the 1800s when sealers, crews of wrecked vessels, and guano
and feather hunters nearly hunted the population to extinction (Dill and Bryan 1912, Kenyon and Rice 1959).
Following the collapse of this population, expeditions to the Northwest Hawai’ian Islands reported increasing
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