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Essential Fish Habitat
Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) was defined by the U. T. Congress in the 1996 changes to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Preservation and Management Act, or perhaps Magnuson-Stevens Act, as "those waters and substrate necessary to fish for spawning, breeding, nourishing or growth to maturity. "|1| Implementing regulations clarified that marine environments include all aquatic areas and their physical, chemical, and biological properties; substrate involves the associated biological areas that make these areas appropriate for fish habitats, and the description and identification of EFH should include habitats used without notice during the species' life circuit.|2| EFH contains all types of aquatic habitat, including wetlands, coral reefs, mud, seagrasses, and rivers.|3|
NOAA Fisheries works with the regional fishery management local authorities to designate EFH using the best available scientific data. EFH has been described for over a 1, 000 managed types to date.|4| The primary purpose of EFH regulations should be to minimize the adverse effects of fishing and non sport fishing impacts on EFH towards the maximum extent practicable.
In 1996, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act was amended to establish a new requirements to identify and express EFH to protect, conserve and enhance EFH for the main benefit of the fisheries.|5| The Magnuson-Stevens Act possesses jurisdiction over the management and conservation of marine seafood species. Federal agencies must consult with NOAA Fisheries the moment their actions or actions may adversely affect natural environment identified by federal territorial fishery management councils or NOAA Fisheries as EFH.|6| On December 19, 1997, interim last rules were published in the Federal Register (Vol. over 60, No . 244) which indicate procedures for implementation on the EFH provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.|7| These types of rules were amended by publication of final rules in January 17, 2002 (Vol. 67, No . 12).|8| he rules, in two subparts, address requirements for fishery management program (FMP) amendment, and fine detail the coordination, consultation, and recommendation requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Impacts from certain fishing routines and coastal and underwater development and may alter, destruction, or destroy habitats essential for fish. NOAA Fisheries, the regional fishery management local authorities (FMCs), and other federal organizations work together to minimize these threats.|13| Congress has created councils to classify unfavorable affects on fishes in relation to types of fishing gear, coastal developments and non-point and point source pollution, along with, evaluating how well each fishery is managed. The FMCs, with assistance from NOAA Fisheries, has delineated EFH for federally managed species. As new FMPs will be developed, EFH for newly managed species will also be identified.|14| FMPs need to describe and identify EFH for the fishery, minimize to the extent practicable the adverse effects of fishing upon EFH, and identify other actions to encourage the conservation and enhancement of EFH.
Through consultations, NOAA Fisheries can recommend ways federal agencies can avoid or minimize the adverse effects of their actions in the habitat of federally handled commercial and recreational the fishing industry.|16| Federal actions agencies which fund, support, or carry out activities which may adversely affect EFH must consult with NOAA Fisheries.|17| The federal action agency must provide NOAA Fisheries with an assessment of all actions or offered actions authorized, funded, or perhaps undertaken by the agency that may adversely affect EFH.|18| Then NOAA The fishing industry will provide the federal actions agency with EFH Preservation recommendations.|19| These kinds of Conservation Recommendations provide information on keep away from, minimize, mitigate, or balance those adverse effects.|20| Federal action agencies must provide a written explanation to NOAA Fisheries if some of these recommendations have not been implemented.|21| NOAA The fishing industry must also include measures to minimize the adverse effects of sport fishing gear and fishing actions on EFH as well.|22| In addition , NOAA The fishing industry and the FMCs may touch upon and make recommendations to the state agency on their activities which may affect EFH.|23|
Most consultations are done in the NMFS regional offices: Higher Atlantic Regional Fisheries Business office (GARFO), Southeast Regional Business office (SERO), West Coast Regional Office (WCRO), Alaska Territorial Office (AKRO), and Pacific Islands Regional Office (PIRO). National consultations spanning multiple regions can be done at NOAA Fisheries Headquarters.
State firms and private landowners are not required to consult with NMFS. EFH consultations are required if the federal government features authorized, funded, or taken on part or all of a proposed activity, and if the action will adversely have an impact on EFH.|24| Badly affecting EFH includes immediate or indirect physical, substance or biological alterations on the waters or substrate and loss of, or injury to variety and their habitat, and other ecosystem components, or reduction in the quality and/or quantity of EFH.
Natural environment areas of particular concern or perhaps HAPCs are considered high top priority areas for conservation, managing, and research.|26| HAPCs are subsets of EFH that merit special attention because they meet in least one of the following 5 criteria:
provide important environmental function;
are sensitive to environmental degradation;
include a habitat type that is/will become stressed by development;
will include a habitat type that is uncommon.|27|
Current HAPCs involve important habitats like estuaries, canopy kelp, corals, seagrass, and rocky reefs, between other areas of interest. HAPCs happen to be afforded the same regulatory safety as EFH and do not leave out activities from occurring in the area, such as fishing, diving, swimming or surfing.
Necessary Fish Habitat is selected for all federally managed fish under the MSA whereas Essential Habitat is designated meant for the survival and recovery of species listed while threatened or endangered underneath the Endangered Species Act (ESA).|29| Critical g?te include areas occupied by threatened or endangered types that include physical and natural features that are essential to the conservation of the species.|30| Critical Habitat is certainly designated as critical at that time a species is listed underneath the ESA.|31| EFH and Critical Habitat are very different in terms of designation and regulations, but they may overlap for many species such as salmon.|32|
Environment characteristics include sediment type, type of bottoms (sand, silt and clay), structures base the water surface, and marine community structures. These g?te are essential for fish and ecosystem health. The fundamental habitat structure begins with gunk. Erosion is stabilized simply by submerged aquatic vegetation. You will discover two main types of bottoms, hard and delicate.|33| A study by simply Christensen at el. (2004) looked at three bottom natural environment types (vegetated marsh advantage, submerged aquatic vegetation, and shallow non-vegetated bottom) pertaining to juvenile brown shrimp (Farfantepenaeus aztecus). The results from the study showed that brown shrimp selected vegetated areas in salinities 15-25 ppt and they would select vegetated areas over marsh edges if they co-occurred. Finding the areas that had the highest abundance helped to identify EFH of juvenile brown shrimp.|34|
Hard bottom also known as coral reefs or live bottom gives hard complex vertical structure for attachment of sponges, seaweed, and coral, which support a diverse reef seafood community.|35| This community can comprise invertebra, coral, hard coral, bryozoans, ploychaete worms, tunicates, a variety of fin-fishes, alga, and sponges. Areas of compacted or sheered mud and sediment are also a form of hard bottom.|36|
Soft bottom consists of unconsolidated sediment and unvegetated areas. In some regions soft feet are not protected even though they are often primary nursery areas, anadromous fish spawning areas, and anadromous nursery areas. Qualities that affect soft starting in relation to organisms that employ them include sediment feed size, salinity, dissolved oxygen and flow.
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