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Essential Fish Habitat
Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) was defined by the U. S. Congress in the 1996 amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Resource efficiency and Management Act, or Magnuson-Stevens Act, as "those waters and substrate essential to fish for spawning, breeding, nourishing or growth to maturity. "|1| Employing regulations clarified that waters include all aquatic areas and their physical, chemical, and biological properties; substrate incorporates the associated biological communities that make these areas well suited for fish habitats, and the description and identification of EFH should include habitats used anytime during the species' life pattern.|2| EFH comes with all types of aquatic habitat, including 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 data. EFH has been described for more than a 1, 000 managed varieties to date.|4| The primary purpose of EFH regulations should be to minimize the adverse effects of fishing and non fishing impacts on EFH to the maximum extent practicable.
In 1996, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act was amended to establish a brand 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 need to consult with NOAA Fisheries when ever their actions or activities may adversely affect natural environment identified by federal regional fishery management councils or perhaps NOAA Fisheries as EFH.|6| On 12 , 19, 1997, interim last rules were published in the Federal Register (Vol. over 60, No . 244) which identify procedures for implementation in the EFH provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.|7| These types of rules were amended by simply publication of final rules upon January 17, 2002 (Vol. 67, No . 12).|8| he rules, in two subparts, address requirements for fishery management system (FMP) amendment, and details the coordination, consultation, and recommendation requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Influences from certain fishing routines and coastal and nautical development and may alter, harm, or destroy habitats essential for fish. NOAA Fisheries, the regional fishery management councils (FMCs), and other federal firms work together to minimize these risks.|13| Congress has created councils to classify unfavorable impacts on fishes in relation to types of fishing gear, seaside developments and non-point and point source pollution, along with, evaluating how well every single fishery is managed. The FMCs, with assistance from NOAA Fisheries, has delineated EFH for federally managed kinds. As new FMPs are developed, EFH for recently managed species will also be identified.|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 recommend ways federal agencies may avoid or minimize the adverse effects of their actions within the habitat of federally managed commercial and recreational the fishing industry.|16| Federal action agencies which fund, licenses, 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 diagnosis of all actions or suggested 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 kinds of Conservation Recommendations provide information on how to prevent, minimize, mitigate, or balance those adverse effects.|20| Federal action agencies must provide a written explanation to NOAA Fisheries if these recommendations have not been used.|21| NOAA The fishing industry must also include measures to reduce 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 comment on and make recommendations to any state agency on their actions which may affect EFH.|23|
Most consultations are done inside the NMFS regional offices: Increased Atlantic Regional Fisheries Workplace (GARFO), Southeast Regional Business office (SERO), West Coast Regional Office (WCRO), Alaska Local 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 forced to consult with NMFS. EFH discussions are required if the federal government possesses authorized, funded, or undertaken part or all of a proposed activity, and if the action will adversely have an effect on EFH.|24| Negatively affecting EFH includes direct or indirect physical, 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 on the quality and/or quantity of EFH.
An environment areas of particular concern or HAPCs are considered high top priority areas for conservation, administration, and research.|26| HAPCs are subsets of EFH that merit work because they meet for least one of the following 5 criteria:
provide important ecological function;
are sensitive to environmental degradation;
include a an environment type that is/will come to be stressed by development;
add a habitat type that is exceptional.|27|
Current HAPCs involve important habitats like estuaries, canopy kelp, corals, seagrass, and rocky reefs, amongst other areas of interest. HAPCs are afforded the same regulatory protection as EFH and do not don't include activities from occurring in the area, such as fishing, diving, swimming or surfing.
Imperative Fish Habitat is selected for all federally managed fish under the MSA whereas Critical Habitat is designated meant for the survival and recovery of species listed since threatened or endangered beneath the Endangered Species Act (ESA).|29| Critical refuge include areas occupied by the threatened or endangered species that include physical and biological 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 within the ESA.|31| EFH and Critical Habitat are very different in terms of designation and legislation, but they may overlap for sure 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 habitats are essential for fish and ecosystem health. The fundamental environment structure begins with sediment. Erosion is stabilized simply by submerged aquatic vegetation. There are two main types of bottoms, hard and very soft.|33| A study simply by Christensen at el. (2004) looked at three bottom home types (vegetated marsh advantage, submerged aquatic vegetation, and shallow non-vegetated bottom) in relation to juvenile brown shrimp (Farfantepenaeus aztecus). The results from the analysis 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 teenage brown shrimp.|34|
Hard bottom also known as coral reefs or live bottom supplies 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, many different 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 feet are not protected even though they might be 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 grain size, salinity, dissolved o2 and flow.
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