Comment from Philip Fernandez

There is no reason to create a critical habitat designation for the monk seals. The only benefit will be to require federal agencies to submit a Section 7 Consultation. In an economy where the citizens and the government is in great trouble why create government spending with no benefit. If the monk seals cannot recover in the northwest Hawaiian Islands where the conditions are pristine and there is no human use, why create a critical habitat in the Main Hawaiian Islands where there is intensive use of the ocean. This does not make sense. The main reason given for the monk seals' decline is shark predation, lack of food, and injury from other monk seals. The main Hawaiian Islands haves seen an increase in shark activity, and as well stocks of reef fish have decreased. Monk seals cannot thrive in this envrionment, so the designation simply does not make sense. Please do not approve the proposed critical habitat.