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Essential Fish Habitat
Fundamental Fish Habitat (EFH) was defined by the U. S. Congress in the 1996 changes to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Resource efficiency and Management Act, or perhaps Magnuson-Stevens Act, as "those waters and substrate necessary to fish for spawning, breeding, nourishing or growth to maturity. "|1| Putting into action regulations clarified that lakes and rivers include all aquatic areas and their physical, chemical, and biological properties; substrate involves the associated biological organizations that make these areas ideal for fish habitats, and the information and identification of EFH should include habitats used anytime during the species' life circuit.|2| EFH includes 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 info. EFH has been described for over a 1, 000 managed kinds to date.|4| The main purpose of EFH regulations is usually to minimize the adverse effects of fishing and non sport fishing impacts on EFH towards 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 describe EFH to protect, conserve and enhance EFH for the benefit of the fisheries.|5| The Magnuson-Stevens Act possesses jurisdiction over the management and conservation of marine seafood species. Federal agencies need to consult with NOAA Fisheries when their actions or actions may adversely affect home identified by federal local fishery management councils or NOAA Fisheries as EFH.|6| On 12 19, 1997, interim last rules were published in the Federal Register (Vol. over 60, No . 244) which stipulate procedures for implementation in the EFH provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.|7| These types of rules were amended by publication of final rules in January 17, 2002 (Vol. 67, No . 12).|8| he rules, in two subparts, address requirements for fishery management strategy (FMP) amendment, and aspect the coordination, consultation, and recommendation requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Affects from certain fishing practices and coastal and marine development and may alter, destruction, or destroy habitats necessary for fish. NOAA Fisheries, the regional fishery management local authorities (FMCs), and other federal companies work together to minimize these hazards.|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 fishery is managed. The FMCs, with assistance from NOAA Fisheries, has delineated EFH for federally managed varieties. As new FMPs are developed, EFH for newly managed species will also be defined.|14| FMPs must describe and identify EFH for the fishery, lessen to the extent practicable the adverse effects of fishing about EFH, and identify 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 for the habitat of federally maintained commercial and recreational the fishing industry.|16| Federal action agencies which fund, grant, 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 proposed actions authorized, funded, or undertaken by the agency that may adversely affect EFH.|18| Then NOAA Fisheries will provide the federal actions agency with EFH Preservation recommendations.|19| These types of Conservation Recommendations provide information on how to avoid, minimize, mitigate, or offset those adverse effects.|20| Federal action agencies need to provide a written explanation to NOAA Fisheries if these recommendations have not been used.|21| NOAA The fishing industry must also include measures to minimize the adverse effects of reef fishing 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 actions which may affect EFH.|23|
Most consultations are done in the NMFS regional offices: Higher Atlantic Regional Fisheries Business office (GARFO), Southeast Regional Workplace (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 required to consult with NMFS. EFH consultations are required if the federal government features authorized, funded, or undertaken part or all of a proposed activity, and if the action will adversely have an impact on EFH.|24| Badly affecting EFH includes immediate 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 from the quality and/or quantity of EFH.
Habitat areas of particular concern or perhaps HAPCs are considered high main concern areas for conservation, management, and research.|26| HAPCs are subsets of EFH that merit work because they meet at least one of the following four criteria:
provide important environmental function;
are sensitive to environmental degradation;
include a environment type that is/will get stressed by development;
add a habitat type that is exceptional.|27|
Current HAPCs consist of important habitats like estuaries, canopy kelp, corals, seagrass, and rocky reefs, between other areas of interest. HAPCs will be afforded the same regulatory safety as EFH and do not leave out activities from occurring inside the area, such as fishing, diving, swimming or surfing.
Fundamental Fish Habitat is chosen for all federally managed fish under the MSA whereas Crucial Habitat is designated meant for the survival and restoration of species listed seeing that threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).|29| Critical habitats include areas occupied by the threatened or endangered types that include physical and scientific features that are essential to the conservation of the species.|30| Critical Habitat is certainly 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 control, but they may overlap for many species such as salmon.|32|
An environment characteristics include sediment type, type of bottoms (sand, silt and clay), structures root the water surface, and aquatic community structures. These habitats are essential for fish and ecosystem health. The fundamental an environment structure begins with residue. Erosion is stabilized simply by submerged aquatic vegetation. There are two main types of bottoms, hard and gentle.|33| A study simply by Christensen at el. (2004) looked at three bottom habitat types (vegetated marsh edge, submerged aquatic vegetation, and shallow non-vegetated bottom) in relation to juvenile brown shrimp (Farfantepenaeus aztecus). The results from the analysis showed that brown prawn selected vegetated areas in salinities 15-25 ppt and in addition 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 young , small brown shrimp.|34|
Hard bottom also known as coral reefs or live bottom gives hard complex vertical structure for attachment of sponges, 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 variety of fin-fishes, alga, and sponges. 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 underside are not protected even though they may be primary nursery areas, anadromous fish spawning areas, and anadromous nursery areas. Features that affect soft lower side in relation to organisms that make use of them include sediment grain size, salinity, dissolved fresh air and flow.
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