Essential Fish Habitat
Imperative 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, nourishing or growth to maturity. "|1| Implementing regulations clarified that lakes and rivers include all aquatic areas and their physical, chemical, and biological properties; substrate contains the associated biological neighborhoods that make these areas suitable for fish habitats, and the description and identification of EFH should include habitats used anytime during the species' life spiral.|2| EFH comes with all types of aquatic habitat, just like wetlands, coral reefs, yellow sand, seagrasses, and rivers.|3|
NOAA Fisheries works with the regional fishery management councils to designate EFH using the best available scientific information. EFH has been described for over a 1, 000 managed variety to date.|4| The key purpose of EFH regulations is usually 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 Act was amended to establish a brand new requirements to identify and explain EFH to protect, conserve and enhance EFH for the main advantage of the fisheries.|5| The Magnuson-Stevens Act provides jurisdiction over the management and conservation of marine seafood species. Federal agencies need to consult with NOAA Fisheries when ever their actions or actions may adversely affect environment identified by federal territorial fishery management councils or NOAA Fisheries as EFH.|6| On 12 19, 1997, interim last rules were published inside the Federal Register (Vol. sixty two, No . 244) which identify procedures for implementation of the EFH provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.|7| These kinds of rules were amended by simply 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.
Affects from certain fishing procedures and coastal and marine development and may alter, destruction, or destroy habitats important for fish. NOAA Fisheries, the regional fishery management local authorities (FMCs), and other federal companies work together to minimize these hazards.|13| Congress has established councils to classify unfavorable impacts on fishes in relation to types of fishing gear, coastal developments and non-point and point source pollution, along with, evaluating how well every fishery is managed. The FMCs, with assistance from NOAA Fisheries, has delineated EFH for federally managed kinds. As new FMPs happen to be developed, EFH for recently 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 suggest ways federal agencies can easily avoid or minimize the adverse effects of their actions around the habitat of federally been able commercial and recreational fisheries.|16| Federal actions agencies which fund, support, 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 evaluation of all actions or recommended 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 types of Conservation Recommendations provide information on keep away from, minimize, mitigate, or balance those adverse effects.|20| Federal action agencies need to provide a written explanation to NOAA Fisheries if any of these recommendations have not been used.|21| NOAA Fisheries must also include measures to minimize the adverse effects of sportfishing gear and fishing actions on EFH as well.|22| In addition , NOAA Fisheries 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: Increased Atlantic Regional Fisheries Workplace (GARFO), Southeast Regional Workplace (SERO), West Coast Regional Office (WCRO), Alaska Regional Office (AKRO), and Pacific Islands Regional Office (PIRO). National consultations spanning multiple regions can be done at NOAA Fisheries Headquarters.
State companies and private landowners are not needed to consult with NMFS. EFH consultation services are required if the federal government offers authorized, funded, or carried out part or all of a proposed activity, and if the action will adversely have an effect on EFH.|24| Badly affecting EFH includes direct or indirect physical, chemical or biological alterations from the waters or substrate and loss of, or injury to species and their habitat, and other environment components, or reduction of the quality and/or quantity of EFH.
Home areas of particular concern or HAPCs are considered high concern areas for conservation, administration, and research.|26| HAPCs are subsets of EFH that merit work because they meet at least one of the following 4 criteria:
provide important environmental function;
are sensitive to environmental degradation;
include a environment type that is/will become stressed by development;
will include a habitat type that is unusual.|27|
Current HAPCs include important habitats like estuaries, canopy kelp, corals, seagrass, and rocky reefs, amongst other areas of interest. HAPCs will be afforded the same regulatory security as EFH and do not banish activities from occurring in the area, such as fishing, snorkeling, swimming or surfing.
Fundamental Fish Habitat is designated for all federally managed seafood under the MSA whereas Critical Habitat is designated pertaining to the survival and recovery of species listed because threatened or endangered beneath the Endangered Species Act (ESA).|29| Critical case include areas occupied by the threatened or endangered varieties that include physical and biological features that are essential to the conservation of the species.|30| Critical Habitat is definitely designated as critical at the time a species is listed within the ESA.|31| EFH and Critical Habitat will vary in terms of designation and control, but they may overlap for many species such as salmon.|32|
Natural environment characteristics include sediment type, type of bottoms (sand, silt and clay), structures hidden 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. You will find two main types of bottoms, hard and delicate.|33| A study by Christensen at el. (2004) looked at three bottom environment types (vegetated marsh advantage, submerged aquatic vegetation, and shallow non-vegetated bottom) regarding 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 every time they co-occurred. Finding the areas that had the highest abundance helped to identify EFH of young , small brown shrimp.|34|
Hard bottom also known as coral reefs or live bottom gives hard complex vertical composition for attachment of a sponge, 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, a number of fin-fishes, alga, and sponges. Areas of compacted or sheered mud and sediment are a form of hard bottom.|36|
Soft bottom consists of unconsolidated sediment and unvegetated areas. In some regions soft underside are not protected even though they could be primary nursery areas, anadromous fish spawning areas, and anadromous nursery areas. Characteristics that affect soft lower side in relation to organisms that employ them include sediment wheat size, salinity, dissolved fresh air and flow.
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