Essential Fish Habitat
Necessary 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 perhaps Magnuson-Stevens Act, as "those waters and substrate required to fish for spawning, breeding, feeding or growth to maturity. "|1| Applying regulations clarified that marine environments include all aquatic areas and their physical, chemical, and biological properties; substrate involves the associated biological residential areas 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 pattern.|2| EFH comes with 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 info. EFH has been described for more than a 1, 000 managed variety to date.|4| The main purpose of EFH regulations should be to minimize the adverse effects of fishing and non reef fishing impacts on EFH to the maximum extent practicable.
In 1996, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Work was amended to establish a new requirements to identify and explain EFH to protect, conserve and enhance EFH for the main benefit of the fisheries.|5| The Magnuson-Stevens Act offers jurisdiction over the management and conservation of marine fish species. Federal agencies need to consult with NOAA Fisheries once their actions or activities may adversely affect home identified by federal local fishery management councils or perhaps NOAA Fisheries as EFH.|6| On January 19, 1997, interim final rules were published in the Federal Register (Vol. over 60, No . 244) which indicate procedures for implementation in the EFH provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.|7| These rules were amended by simply publication of final rules about January 17, 2002 (Vol. 67, No . 12).|8| he rules, in two subparts, address requirements for fishery management plan (FMP) amendment, and detail the coordination, consultation, and recommendation requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Affects from certain fishing practices and coastal and underwater development and may alter, damage, or destroy habitats important for fish. NOAA Fisheries, the regional fishery management councils (FMCs), and other federal firms work together to minimize these threats.|13| Congress has established councils to classify unfavorable impacts on fishes in relation to types of fishing gear, coast developments and non-point and point source pollution, as well as, evaluating how well each fishery is managed. The FMCs, with assistance from NOAA Fisheries, has delineated EFH for federally managed species. As new FMPs are developed, EFH for recently managed species will also be defined.|14| FMPs need to describe and identify EFH for the fishery, lessen 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 suggest ways federal agencies may avoid or minimize the adverse effects of their actions for the habitat of federally managed commercial and recreational fisheries.|16| Federal actions agencies which fund, grant, or carry out activities which may adversely affect EFH are required to consult with NOAA Fisheries.|17| The federal action agency must provide NOAA Fisheries with an diagnosis of all actions or recommended actions authorized, funded, or undertaken by the agency which may adversely affect EFH.|18| Then NOAA Fisheries will provide the federal action agency with EFH Preservation recommendations.|19| These types of Conservation Recommendations provide information on how to prevent, 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 implemented.|21| NOAA The fishing industry must also include measures to minimize the adverse effects of angling 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 the state agency on their activities which may affect EFH.|23|
Most consultations are done inside the NMFS regional offices: Increased Atlantic Regional Fisheries Business office (GARFO), Southeast Regional Office (SERO), West Coast Local 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 needed to consult with NMFS. EFH services are required if the federal government has authorized, funded, or performed part or all of a proposed activity, and if the action will adversely affect EFH.|24| Negatively affecting EFH includes immediate or indirect physical, chemical or biological alterations on the waters or substrate and loss of, or injury to varieties and their habitat, and other ecosystem components, or reduction with the quality and/or quantity of EFH.
Natural environment areas of particular concern or perhaps HAPCs are considered high main concern areas for conservation, control, and research.|26| HAPCs are subsets of EFH that merit attention because they meet by least one of the following 5 criteria:
provide important environmental function;
are sensitive to environmental degradation;
include a environment type that is/will be stressed by development;
add a habitat type that is uncommon.|27|
Current HAPCs include important habitats like estuaries, canopy kelp, corals, seagrass, and rocky reefs, among other areas of interest. HAPCs happen to be afforded the same regulatory safeguard as EFH and do not leave out activities from occurring in the area, such as fishing, snorkeling, swimming or surfing.
Necessary Fish Habitat is specified for all federally managed seafood under the MSA whereas Essential Habitat is designated pertaining to the survival and recovery of species listed seeing that threatened or endangered underneath the Endangered Species Act (ESA).|29| Critical habitats include areas occupied by threatened or endangered species that include physical and neurological features that are essential to the conservation of the species.|30| Critical Habitat is definitely designated as critical at that moment a species is listed under the ESA.|31| EFH and Critical Habitat are different in terms of designation and regulations, but they may overlap for certain species such as salmon.|32|
Habitat characteristics include sediment type, type of bottoms (sand, silt and clay), structures underlying the water surface, and aquatic community structures. These demeure are essential for fish and ecosystem health. The fundamental environment structure begins with crud. Erosion is stabilized by simply 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 home types (vegetated marsh advantage, submerged aquatic vegetation, and shallow non-vegetated bottom) in terms of juvenile brown shrimp (Farfantepenaeus aztecus). The results from the analysis showed that brown prawn selected vegetated areas in salinities 15-25 ppt plus they would select vegetated areas over marsh edges after 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 gives hard complex vertical framework for attachment of a dry sponge, seaweed, and coral, which often 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 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 may be primary nursery areas, anadromous fish spawning areas, and anadromous nursery areas. Attributes that affect soft bottom level in relation to organisms that make use of them include sediment grain size, salinity, dissolved oxygen and flow.
