Listing Hawaiian Monk Seal Under the Endangered Species Act

The Director, National Marine Fisheries Service and the Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hereby issue a notice of final rulemaking listing the Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi) as an endangered species throughout its range, pursuant to section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). This final rulemaking adds the Hawaiian monk seal to the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife found in 50 CFR 17.11 and references such listing in 50 CFR 222.23. This listing is based on a final determination by the Director, National Marine Fisheries Service (hereinafter the “Director” and the “NMFS,” respectively), that the Hawaiian monk seal is an endangered species. The Hawaiian monk seal is found throughout the Hawaiian Archipelago, but is known to breed only on the islands of the Leeward Chain, including French Frigate Shoals, Laysan Island, Lisianski Island, Pearl and Hermes Reef, Midway Atoll, and Kure Atoll.