Essential Fish Habitat
Fundamental Fish Habitat (EFH) was defined by the U. T. Congress in the 1996 amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Preservation and Management Act, or Magnuson-Stevens Act, as "those waters and substrate needed to fish for spawning, breeding, nourishing or growth to maturity. "|1| Applying regulations clarified that waters include all aquatic areas and their physical, chemical, and biological properties; substrate comes with the associated biological organizations that make these areas suitable for fish habitats, and the explanation and identification of EFH should include habitats used without notice during the species' life circuit.|2| EFH includes all types of aquatic habitat, such as wetlands, coral reefs, yellow sand, seagrasses, and rivers.|3|
NOAA Fisheries works with the regional fishery management councils to designate EFH making use of the best available scientific info. EFH has been described for over a 1, 000 managed kinds to date.|4| The primary purpose of EFH regulations is usually to minimize the adverse effects of fishing and non sport fishing impacts on EFH for the maximum extent practicable.
In 1996, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Take action was amended to establish a new requirements to identify and illustrate EFH to protect, conserve and enhance EFH for the main advantage of the fisheries.|5| The Magnuson-Stevens Act possesses jurisdiction over the management and conservation of marine seafood species. Federal agencies need to consult with NOAA Fisheries the moment their actions or actions may adversely affect home identified by federal territorial fishery management councils or perhaps NOAA Fisheries as EFH.|6| On Dec 19, 1997, interim final rules were published inside the Federal Register (Vol. 62, No . 244) which designate procedures for implementation in the EFH provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.|7| These types of rules were amended simply by publication of final rules on January 17, 2002 (Vol. 67, No . 12).|8| he rules, in two subparts, address requirements for fishery management plan (FMP) amendment, and aspect the coordination, consultation, and recommendation requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Effects from certain fishing practices and coastal and nautical development and may alter, destruction, or destroy habitats essential for fish. NOAA Fisheries, the regional fishery management local authorities (FMCs), and other federal agencies work together to minimize these risks.|13| Congress has created councils to classify unfavorable has an effect on on fishes in relation to types of fishing gear, coast developments and nonpoint and point source pollution, and, evaluating how well each fishery is managed. The FMCs, with assistance from NOAA Fisheries, has delineated EFH for federally managed variety. As new FMPs happen to be developed, EFH for newly managed species will also be defined.|14| FMPs must describe and identify EFH for the fishery, reduce to the extent practicable the adverse effects of fishing upon EFH, and identify various other actions to encourage the conservation and enhancement of EFH.
Through consultations, NOAA Fisheries can suggest ways federal agencies can avoid or minimize the adverse effects of their actions in the habitat of federally supervised commercial and recreational the fishing industry.|16| Federal action agencies which fund, grant, or carry out activities which may adversely affect EFH are required to consult with NOAA Fisheries.|17| The federal actions agency must provide NOAA Fisheries with an examination 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 action agency with EFH Resource efficiency recommendations.|19| These Conservation Recommendations provide information on keep away from, minimize, mitigate, or balance out those adverse effects.|20| Federal action agencies need to provide a written explanation to NOAA Fisheries if these recommendations have not been implemented.|21| NOAA Fisheries must also include measures to reduce the adverse effects of fishing gear and fishing activities on EFH as well.|22| In addition , NOAA Fisheries and the FMCs may discuss and make recommendations to any state agency on their actions which may affect EFH.|23|
Most consultations are done in the NMFS regional offices: Higher Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO), Southeast Regional Business office (SERO), West Coast Territorial Office (WCRO), Alaska Territorial Office (AKRO), and Ocean Islands Regional Office (PIRO). National consultations spanning multiple regions can be done at NOAA Fisheries Headquarters.
State businesses and private landowners are not forced to consult with NMFS. EFH services are required if the federal government provides authorized, funded, or taken on part or all of a proposed activity, and if the action will adversely influence EFH.|24| Detrimentally affecting EFH includes immediate or indirect physical, chemical substance or biological alterations in the waters or substrate and loss of, or injury to species and their habitat, and other environment components, or reduction in the quality and/or quantity of EFH.
Environment areas of particular concern or perhaps HAPCs are considered high main concern areas for conservation, management, and research.|26| HAPCs are subsets of EFH that merit attention because they meet for least one of the following 4 criteria:
provide important ecological function;
are sensitive to environmental degradation;
include a environment type that is/will become stressed by development;
add a habitat type that is uncommon.|27|
Current HAPCs incorporate important habitats like estuaries, canopy kelp, corals, seagrass, and rocky reefs, between other areas of interest. HAPCs will be afforded the same regulatory safety as EFH and do not don't include activities from occurring inside the area, such as fishing, snorkeling, swimming or surfing.
Imperative Fish Habitat is designated for all federally managed seafood under the MSA whereas Crucial Habitat is designated to get the survival and restoration of species listed seeing that threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).|29| Critical habitats include areas occupied by the threatened or endangered species that include physical and scientific features that are essential to the conservation of the species.|30| Critical Habitat is usually designated as critical during the time a species is listed underneath the ESA.|31| EFH and Critical Habitat are different in terms of designation and rules, but they may overlap for many species such as salmon.|32|
An environment characteristics include sediment type, type of bottoms (sand, silt and clay), structures underlying the water surface, and marine community structures. These demeure are essential for fish and ecosystem health. The fundamental natural environment structure begins with residue. Erosion is stabilized by simply submerged aquatic vegetation. You will discover two main types of bottoms, hard and smooth.|33| A study by simply Christensen at el. (2004) looked at three bottom environment types (vegetated marsh advantage, submerged aquatic vegetation, and shallow non-vegetated bottom) with regards 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 when they co-occurred. Finding the areas that had the highest abundance helped to identify EFH of teen brown shrimp.|34|
Hard bottom also known as coral reefs or live bottom gives hard complex vertical composition for attachment of sponges, seaweed, and coral, which often support a diverse reef seafood community.|35| This kind of community can comprise invertebra, coral, hard coral, bryozoans, ploychaete worms, tunicates, various fin-fishes, alga, and a dry sponge. 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 bottoms are not protected even though they may be primary nursery areas, anadromous fish spawning areas, and anadromous nursery areas. Qualities that affect soft lower part in relation to organisms that employ them include sediment materials size, salinity, dissolved air and flow.
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