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Essential Fish Habitat
Fundamental Fish Habitat (EFH) was defined by the U. H. Congress in the 1996 amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Resource efficiency 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 waters include all aquatic areas and their physical, chemical, and biological properties; substrate includes the associated biological residential areas that make these areas appropriate for fish habitats, and the information and identification of EFH should include habitats used anytime during the species' life routine.|2| EFH includes all types of aquatic habitat, including wetlands, coral reefs, sand, seagrasses, and rivers.|3|
NOAA Fisheries works with the regional fishery management local authorities to designate EFH making use of the best available scientific facts. EFH has been described for over a 1, 000 managed variety to date.|4| The primary purpose of EFH regulations is to minimize the adverse effects of fishing and non sportfishing impacts on EFH towards the maximum extent practicable.
In 1996, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Work was amended to establish a brand 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 seafood species. Federal agencies need to consult with NOAA Fisheries once 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 final rules were published in the Federal Register (Vol. 62, No . 244) which specify procedures for implementation from the EFH provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.|7| These 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.
Influences from certain fishing techniques and coastal and nautical development and may alter, damage, or destroy habitats necessary for fish. NOAA Fisheries, the regional fishery management local authorities (FMCs), and other federal companies work together to minimize these threats.|13| Congress has created councils to classify unfavorable affects on fishes in relation to types of fishing gear, seaside developments and nonpoint and point source pollution, and also, 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 happen to be developed, EFH for newly managed species will also be described.|14| FMPs must describe and identify EFH for the fishery, minimize 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 can avoid or minimize the adverse effects of their actions in the habitat of federally handled commercial and recreational the fishing industry.|16| Federal action agencies which fund, licenses, or carry out activities which may adversely affect EFH have to consult with NOAA Fisheries.|17| The federal actions 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 actions agency with EFH Resource efficiency recommendations.|19| These kinds 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 any of these recommendations have not been used.|21| NOAA The fishing industry must also include measures to minimize the adverse effects of fishing gear and fishing activities on EFH as well.|22| In addition , NOAA Fisheries and the FMCs may discuss and make recommendations to the state agency on their actions which may affect EFH.|23|
Most consultations are done inside the NMFS regional offices: Higher Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO), Southeast Regional Business office (SERO), West Coast Local Office (WCRO), Alaska Territorial Office (AKRO), and Ocean Islands Regional Office (PIRO). National consultations spanning multiple regions can be done at NOAA Fisheries Headquarters.
State firms and private landowners are not required to consult with NMFS. EFH consultation services 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| Detrimentally affecting EFH includes immediate or indirect physical, substance or biological alterations with the waters or substrate and loss of, or injury to species and their habitat, and other ecosystem components, or reduction with the quality and/or quantity of EFH.
Natural environment areas of particular concern or HAPCs are considered high goal areas for conservation, supervision, and research.|26| HAPCs are subsets of EFH that merit work because they meet by least one of the following 4 criteria:
provide important environmental function;
are sensitive to environmental degradation;
include a environment type that is/will end up being stressed by development;
add a habitat type that is uncommon.|27|
Current HAPCs contain important habitats like estuaries, canopy kelp, corals, seagrass, and rocky reefs, among other areas of interest. HAPCs happen to be afforded the same regulatory security 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 specified for all federally managed seafood under the MSA whereas Crucial Habitat is designated for the survival and recovery of species listed since threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).|29| Critical refuge include areas occupied by 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 at the moment a species is listed underneath the ESA.|31| EFH and Critical Habitat differ in terms of designation and regulations, but they may overlap for many species such as salmon.|32|
Environment characteristics include sediment type, type of bottoms (sand, silt and clay), structures hidden the water surface, and marine community structures. These case are essential for fish and ecosystem health. The fundamental natural environment structure begins with crud. Erosion is stabilized by submerged aquatic vegetation. There are two main types of bottoms, hard and delicate.|33| A study simply by Christensen at el. (2004) looked at three bottom habitat types (vegetated marsh border, submerged aquatic vegetation, and shallow non-vegetated bottom) with regards to juvenile brown shrimp (Farfantepenaeus aztecus). The results from the research showed that brown prawn selected vegetated areas in salinities 15-25 ppt and in addition 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 provides hard complex vertical structure for attachment of a sponge, seaweed, and coral, which often support a diverse reef fish 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 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 may be primary nursery areas, anadromous fish spawning areas, and anadromous nursery areas. Characteristics that affect soft lower part in relation to organisms that employ them include sediment grain size, salinity, dissolved o2 and flow.
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