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Essential Fish Habitat
Necessary Fish Habitat (EFH) was defined by the U. S. Congress in the 1996 changes to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Preservation and Management Act, or Magnuson-Stevens Act, as "those waters and substrate important 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 incorporates the associated biological areas that make these areas well suited for fish habitats, and the information and identification of EFH should include habitats used whenever you want during the species' life routine.|2| EFH incorporates all types of aquatic habitat, just like wetlands, coral reefs, yellow sand, seagrasses, and rivers.|3|
NOAA Fisheries works with the regional fishery management local authorities to designate EFH using the best available scientific facts. EFH has been described for more than a 1, 000 managed types to date.|4| The main purpose of EFH regulations should be to minimize the adverse effects of fishing and non sportfishing impacts on EFH to the maximum extent practicable.
In 1996, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Work was amended to establish a fresh requirements to identify and describe EFH to protect, conserve and enhance EFH for the main advantage of the fisheries.|5| The Magnuson-Stevens Act has jurisdiction over the management and conservation of marine seafood species. Federal agencies must consult with NOAA Fisheries the moment their actions or actions may adversely affect environment identified by federal local fishery management councils or perhaps NOAA Fisheries as EFH.|6| On 12 19, 1997, interim final rules were published in the Federal Register (Vol. sixty two, No . 244) which indicate procedures for implementation with the EFH provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.|7| These rules were amended simply by publication of final rules upon January 17, 2002 (Vol. 67, No . 12).|8| he rules, in two subparts, address requirements for fishery management plan (FMP) amendment, and details the coordination, consultation, and recommendation requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Effects from certain fishing routines and coastal and submarine development and may alter, damage, or destroy habitats important for fish. NOAA Fisheries, the regional fishery management local authorities (FMCs), and other federal agencies work together to minimize these threats.|13| Congress has created councils to classify unfavorable effects on fishes in relation to types of fishing gear, coast developments and non-point and point source pollution, as well as, evaluating how well every fishery is managed. The FMCs, with assistance from NOAA Fisheries, has delineated EFH for federally managed types. As new FMPs will be developed, EFH for newly managed species will also be described.|14| FMPs must describe and identify EFH for the fishery, decrease to the extent practicable the adverse effects of fishing on EFH, and identify various other actions to encourage the conservation and enhancement of EFH.
Through consultations, NOAA Fisheries can recommend ways federal agencies can avoid or minimize the adverse effects of their actions for the habitat of federally maintained commercial and recreational fisheries.|16| Federal action agencies which fund, grant, or carry out activities which may adversely affect EFH must consult with NOAA Fisheries.|17| The federal action agency must provide NOAA Fisheries with an evaluation of all actions or proposed 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 Conservation recommendations.|19| These types of Conservation Recommendations provide information on how to avoid, minimize, mitigate, or balance out those adverse effects.|20| Federal action agencies need to provide a written explanation to NOAA Fisheries if any of these recommendations have not been adopted.|21| NOAA Fisheries must also include measures to reduce the adverse effects of sport fishing gear and fishing activities on EFH as well.|22| In addition , NOAA Fisheries and the FMCs may comment on and make recommendations to any state agency on their activities which may affect EFH.|23|
Most consultations are done in the NMFS regional offices: Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Workplace (GARFO), Southeast Regional Office (SERO), West Coast Local Office (WCRO), Alaska Territorial 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 forced to consult with NMFS. EFH services are required if the federal government provides authorized, funded, or carried out part or all of a proposed activity, and if the action will adversely affect EFH.|24| Negatively affecting EFH includes direct or indirect physical, chemical or biological alterations from the waters or substrate and loss of, or injury to variety and their habitat, and other ecosystem components, or reduction with the quality and/or quantity of EFH.
Environment areas of particular concern or perhaps HAPCs are considered high priority 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 ecological function;
are sensitive to environmental degradation;
include a habitat type that is/will become stressed by development;
will include a habitat type that is exceptional.|27|
Current HAPCs incorporate important habitats like estuaries, canopy kelp, corals, seagrass, and rocky reefs, among other areas of interest. HAPCs are afforded the same regulatory coverage as EFH and do not banish activities from occurring in the area, such as fishing, snorkeling, swimming or surfing.
Necessary Fish Habitat is specified for all federally managed fish under the MSA whereas Vital Habitat is designated pertaining to the survival and recovery of species listed since threatened or endangered underneath the Endangered Species Act (ESA).|29| Critical case include areas occupied by the threatened or endangered varieties that include physical and scientific features that are essential to the conservation of the species.|30| Critical Habitat is definitely designated as critical at that time a species is listed underneath the ESA.|31| EFH and Critical Habitat are very different in terms of designation and legislation, but they may overlap for several species such as salmon.|32|
An environment characteristics include sediment type, type of bottoms (sand, silt and clay), structures root the water surface, and marine community structures. These case are essential for fish and ecosystem health. The fundamental home structure begins with gunk. Erosion is stabilized simply by submerged aquatic vegetation. There are two main types of bottoms, hard and soft.|33| A study by simply Christensen at el. (2004) looked at three bottom environment types (vegetated marsh edge, submerged aquatic vegetation, and shallow non-vegetated bottom) pertaining to 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 teen brown shrimp.|34|
Hard bottom also known as coral reefs or live bottom gives hard complex vertical structure for attachment of a sponge, seaweed, and coral, which often support a diverse reef fish community.|35| This kind of community can comprise invertebra, coral, hard coral, bryozoans, ploychaete worms, tunicates, a number of fin-fishes, alga, and a dry 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. Features that affect soft lower part in relation to organisms that employ them include sediment feed size, salinity, dissolved fresh air and flow.
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