Essential Fish Habitat
Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) was defined by the U. S. Congress in the 1996 amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, or Magnuson-Stevens Act, as "those waters and substrate important to fish for spawning, breeding, nourishing or growth to maturity. "|1| Utilizing regulations clarified that seas include all aquatic areas and their physical, chemical, and biological properties; substrate incorporates the associated biological organizations that make these areas suitable for fish habitats, and the explanation and identification of EFH should include habitats used at any time during the species' life cycle.|2| EFH comes with all types of aquatic habitat, such as wetlands, coral reefs, fine sand, seagrasses, and rivers.|3|
NOAA Fisheries works with the regional fishery management local authorities to designate EFH making use of the best available scientific data. EFH has been described for more than a 1, 000 managed variety to date.|4| The main purpose of EFH regulations is always to minimize the adverse effects of fishing and non sportfishing impacts on EFH for the maximum extent practicable.
In 1996, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Work was amended to establish a new requirements to identify and express 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 fish species. Federal agencies must consult with NOAA Fisheries once their actions or actions may adversely affect environment identified by federal territorial fishery management councils or perhaps NOAA Fisheries as EFH.|6| On Dec 19, 1997, interim last rules were published inside the Federal Register (Vol. sixty two, No . 244) which stipulate procedures for implementation on the EFH provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.|7| These types of rules were amended simply by publication of final rules about January 17, 2002 (Vol. 67, No . 12).|8| he rules, in two subparts, address requirements for fishery management approach (FMP) amendment, and fine detail the coordination, consultation, and recommendation requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Affects from certain fishing methods and coastal and underwater development and may alter, damage, or destroy habitats important for fish. NOAA Fisheries, the regional fishery management local authorities (FMCs), and other federal companies 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, coastal 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 species. As new FMPs will be developed, EFH for newly managed species will also be defined.|14| FMPs need to describe and identify EFH for the fishery, decrease to the extent practicable the adverse effects of fishing on EFH, and identify different actions to encourage the conservation and enhancement of EFH.
Through consultations, NOAA Fisheries can recommend ways federal agencies can easily avoid or minimize the adverse effects of their actions within the habitat of federally handled commercial and recreational the fishing industry.|16| Federal actions agencies which fund, permit, or carry out activities that may adversely affect EFH must consult with NOAA Fisheries.|17| The federal actions agency must provide NOAA Fisheries with an assessment of all actions or offered actions authorized, funded, or undertaken by the agency that may adversely affect EFH.|18| Then NOAA The fishing industry will provide the federal actions agency with EFH Conservation recommendations.|19| These types of Conservation Recommendations provide information on how to avoid, minimize, mitigate, or counter those adverse effects.|20| Federal action agencies must provide a written explanation to NOAA Fisheries if these recommendations have not been used.|21| NOAA Fisheries must also include measures to reduce the adverse effects of reef fishing gear and fishing activities on EFH as well.|22| In addition , NOAA The fishing industry and the FMCs may comment on and make recommendations to the state agency on their actions which may affect EFH.|23|
Most consultations are done in the NMFS regional offices: Increased Atlantic Regional Fisheries Business 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 agencies and private landowners are not required to consult with NMFS. EFH services are required if the federal government offers authorized, funded, or performed part or all of a proposed activity, and if the action will adversely impact EFH.|24| Adversely affecting EFH includes immediate or indirect physical, substance or biological alterations with the waters or substrate and loss of, or injury to varieties and their habitat, and other environment components, or reduction on the quality and/or quantity of EFH.
Habitat areas of particular concern or perhaps HAPCs are considered high goal areas for conservation, managing, and research.|26| HAPCs are subsets of EFH that merit special attention because they meet by least one of the following 4 criteria:
provide important environmental function;
are sensitive to environmental degradation;
include a environment type that is/will be stressed by development;
incorporate a habitat type that is exceptional.|27|
Current HAPCs contain 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 banish activities from occurring inside the area, such as fishing, diving, swimming or surfing.
Essential Fish Habitat is chosen for all federally managed seafood under the MSA whereas Crucial Habitat is designated for the survival and recovery of species listed as threatened or endangered beneath the Endangered Species Act (ESA).|29| Critical habitats include areas occupied by threatened or endangered species that include physical and scientific features that are essential to the conservation of the species.|30| Critical Habitat can be designated as critical at the time a species is listed beneath the ESA.|31| EFH and Critical Habitat will vary in terms of designation and regulations, but they may overlap for several species such as salmon.|32|
Natural environment characteristics include sediment type, type of bottoms (sand, silt and clay), structures underlying the water surface, and marine community structures. These refuge are essential for fish and ecosystem health. The fundamental home structure begins with sediment. Erosion is stabilized by submerged aquatic vegetation. There are two main types of bottoms, hard and very soft.|33| A study by simply Christensen at el. (2004) looked at three bottom natural environment types (vegetated marsh border, submerged aquatic vegetation, and shallow non-vegetated bottom) regarding juvenile brown shrimp (Farfantepenaeus aztecus). The results from the analysis showed that brown shrimp selected vegetated areas in salinities 15-25 ppt plus they would select vegetated areas over marsh edges whenever they co-occurred. Finding the areas that had the highest abundance helped to identify EFH of teenage brown shrimp.|34|
Hard bottom also known as coral reefs or live bottom delivers hard complex vertical structure for attachment of a sponge, seaweed, and coral, which in turn support a diverse reef seafood community.|35| This community can comprise invertebra, coral, hard coral, bryozoans, ploychaete worms, tunicates, a number of fin-fishes, alga, and a sponge. Areas of compacted or sheered mud and sediment are usually 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 are often primary nursery areas, anadromous fish spawning areas, and anadromous nursery areas. Characteristics that affect soft lower part in relation to organisms that utilize them include sediment wheat size, salinity, dissolved fresh air and flow.
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