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Essential Fish Habitat
Imperative 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 perhaps Magnuson-Stevens Act, as "those waters and substrate essential 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 residential areas that make these areas suited to fish habitats, and the information and identification of EFH should include habitats used whenever you want during the species' life pattern.|2| EFH comes with 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 information. EFH has been described for over a 1, 000 managed types to date.|4| The main purpose of EFH regulations is always 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 Action 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 their actions or activities may adversely affect natural environment identified by federal territorial fishery management councils or perhaps NOAA Fisheries as EFH.|6| On Dec 19, 1997, interim last rules were published inside the Federal Register (Vol. 62, No . 244) which identify procedures for implementation with the EFH provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.|7| These rules were amended simply by publication of final rules in January 17, 2002 (Vol. 67, No . 12).|8| he rules, in two subparts, address requirements for fishery management program (FMP) amendment, and depth the coordination, consultation, and recommendation requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Impacts from certain fishing methods and coastal and submarine development and may alter, damage, or destroy habitats essential for fish. NOAA Fisheries, the regional fishery management local authorities (FMCs), and other federal agencies work together to minimize these hazards.|13| Congress has established councils to classify unfavorable impacts on fishes in relation to types of fishing gear, seaside developments and non-point and point source pollution, and, evaluating how well each fishery is managed. The FMCs, with assistance from NOAA Fisheries, has delineated EFH for federally managed species. As new FMPs happen to be developed, EFH for recently managed species will also be identified.|14| FMPs must 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 in the habitat of federally managed commercial and recreational fisheries.|16| Federal action agencies which fund, licenses, or carry out activities which may adversely affect EFH are required to consult with NOAA Fisheries.|17| The federal actions agency must provide NOAA Fisheries with an analysis of all actions or suggested actions authorized, funded, or undertaken by the agency which may adversely affect EFH.|18| Then NOAA The fishing industry will provide the federal action agency with EFH Conservation recommendations.|19| These types of Conservation Recommendations provide information on keep away from, 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 adopted.|21| NOAA The fishing industry must also include measures to reduce 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 activities which may affect EFH.|23|
Most consultations are done in the NMFS regional offices: Increased Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO), Southeast Regional Workplace (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 firms and private landowners are not instructed to consult with NMFS. EFH services are required if the federal government provides authorized, funded, or done part or all of a proposed activity, and if the action will adversely have an effect on EFH.|24| Adversely affecting EFH includes direct or indirect physical, chemical substance or biological alterations on the waters or substrate and loss of, or injury to types and their habitat, and other ecosystem components, or reduction of the quality and/or quantity of EFH.
Natural environment areas of particular concern or HAPCs are considered high goal areas for conservation, control, and research.|26| HAPCs are subsets of EFH that merit attention because they meet in least one of the following four criteria:
provide important ecological function;
are sensitive to environmental degradation;
include a environment type that is/will be stressed by development;
include a habitat type that is exceptional.|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 exclude activities from occurring inside the area, such as fishing, diving, swimming or surfing.
Imperative Fish Habitat is chosen for all federally managed seafood under the MSA whereas Crucial Habitat is designated to get the survival and recovery of species listed while threatened or endangered underneath the Endangered Species Act (ESA).|29| Critical g?te include areas occupied by threatened or endangered species that include physical and natural features that are essential to the conservation of the species.|30| Critical Habitat is usually designated as critical at the time a species is listed within the ESA.|31| EFH and Critical Habitat vary in terms of designation and rules, but they may overlap for certain species such as salmon.|32|
An environment characteristics include sediment type, type of bottoms (sand, silt and clay), structures base the water surface, and marine community structures. These refuge are essential for fish and ecosystem health. The fundamental environment structure begins with gunk. Erosion is stabilized by simply submerged aquatic vegetation. There are two main types of bottoms, hard and smooth.|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) with regards to juvenile brown shrimp (Farfantepenaeus aztecus). The results from the analysis showed that brown prawn selected vegetated areas in salinities 15-25 ppt and 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 delivers hard complex vertical framework for attachment of a dry sponge, seaweed, and coral, which in turn support a diverse reef fish community.|35| This community can comprise invertebra, coral, hard coral, bryozoans, ploychaete worms, tunicates, many different fin-fishes, alga, and a dry sponge. Areas of compacted or sheered mud and sediment also are 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 could be primary nursery areas, anadromous fish spawning areas, and anadromous nursery areas. Characteristics that affect soft starting in relation to organisms that make use of them include sediment feed size, salinity, dissolved air and flow.
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