m fisher won't forget you | 2 fish talks
Essential Fish Habitat
Necessary Fish Habitat (EFH) was defined by the U. S. Congress in the 1996 amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, or perhaps Magnuson-Stevens Act, as "those waters and substrate required to fish for spawning, breeding, feeding or growth to maturity. "|1| Putting into action regulations clarified that seas include all aquatic areas and their physical, chemical, and biological properties; substrate comes with the associated biological organizations that make these areas appropriate 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, such as 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 information. EFH has been described for more than a 1, 000 managed types 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 Take action was amended to establish a fresh requirements to identify and describe EFH to protect, conserve and enhance EFH for the advantage of the fisheries.|5| The Magnuson-Stevens Act offers jurisdiction over the management and conservation of marine fish species. Federal agencies need to consult with NOAA Fisheries when ever their actions or activities may adversely affect home identified by federal regional fishery management councils or NOAA Fisheries as EFH.|6| On January 19, 1997, interim last rules were published inside the Federal Register (Vol. sixty two, No . 244) which stipulate procedures for implementation with the EFH provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.|7| These types of rules were amended simply by publication of final rules on January 17, 2002 (Vol. 67, No . 12).|8| he rules, in two subparts, address requirements for fishery management strategy (FMP) amendment, and depth the coordination, consultation, and recommendation requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Affects from certain fishing procedures and coastal and nautical development and may alter, damage, or destroy habitats important for fish. NOAA Fisheries, the regional fishery management councils (FMCs), and other federal companies work together to minimize these hazards.|13| Congress has created councils to classify unfavorable affects on fishes in relation to types of fishing gear, seaside developments and non-point and point source pollution, along with, evaluating how well each fishery is managed. The FMCs, with assistance from NOAA Fisheries, has delineated EFH for federally managed varieties. 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 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 supervised commercial and recreational the fishing industry.|16| Federal action agencies which fund, permit, 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 evaluation of all actions or suggested actions authorized, funded, or perhaps undertaken by the agency that may adversely affect EFH.|18| Then NOAA Fisheries will provide the federal actions agency with EFH Resource efficiency recommendations.|19| These Conservation Recommendations provide information on keep away from, minimize, mitigate, or balance those adverse effects.|20| Federal action agencies must provide a written explanation to NOAA Fisheries if these recommendations have not been implemented.|21| NOAA The fishing industry must also include measures to minimize the adverse effects of sportfishing 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 in the NMFS regional offices: Higher Atlantic Regional Fisheries Workplace (GARFO), Southeast Regional Workplace (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 organizations and private landowners are not needed to consult with NMFS. EFH consultations are required if the federal government provides authorized, funded, or taken on part or all of a proposed activity, and if the action will adversely have an effect on EFH.|24| Negatively affecting EFH includes immediate or indirect physical, chemical substance or biological alterations in the waters or substrate and loss of, or injury to types and their habitat, and other ecosystem components, or reduction on the quality and/or quantity of EFH.
Natural environment areas of particular concern or perhaps HAPCs are considered high concern areas for conservation, management, and research.|26| HAPCs are subsets of EFH that merit attention because they meet for least one of the following 4 criteria:
provide important environmental function;
are sensitive to environmental degradation;
include a habitat type that is/will come to be stressed by development;
incorporate 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 safeguard as EFH and do not don't include activities from occurring in the area, such as fishing, diving, swimming or surfing.
Necessary Fish Habitat is designated for all federally managed seafood under the MSA whereas Critical Habitat is designated intended for the survival and restoration of species listed because threatened or endangered beneath the Endangered Species Act (ESA).|29| Critical habitats include areas occupied by the threatened or endangered variety that include physical and organic features that are essential to the conservation of the species.|30| Critical Habitat is usually designated as critical at that moment a species is listed within the ESA.|31| EFH and Critical Habitat are different in terms of designation and control, but they may overlap for sure species such as salmon.|32|
Natural environment characteristics include sediment type, type of bottoms (sand, silt and clay), structures root the water surface, and aquatic community structures. These demeure are essential for fish and ecosystem health. The fundamental an environment structure begins with gunk. Erosion is stabilized by simply submerged aquatic vegetation. There are two main types of bottoms, hard and gentle.|33| A study by Christensen at el. (2004) looked at three bottom habitat types (vegetated marsh border, submerged aquatic vegetation, and shallow non-vegetated bottom) regarding juvenile brown shrimp (Farfantepenaeus aztecus). The results from the research showed that brown shrimp selected vegetated areas in salinities 15-25 ppt and so 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 juvenile brown shrimp.|34|
Hard bottom also known as coral reefs or live bottom provides hard complex vertical framework for attachment of sponges, 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 range of fin-fishes, alga, and a dry sponge. 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 could be primary nursery areas, anadromous fish spawning areas, and anadromous nursery areas. Qualities that affect soft lower part in relation to organisms that make use of them include sediment hemp size, salinity, dissolved air and flow.
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