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Essential Fish Habitat
Fundamental Fish Habitat (EFH) was defined by the U. S i9000. Congress in the 1996 amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, or Magnuson-Stevens Act, as "those waters and substrate required to fish for spawning, breeding, feeding 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 communities that make these areas suitable for fish habitats, and the explanation 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, such as wetlands, coral reefs, mud, seagrasses, and rivers.|3|
NOAA Fisheries works with the regional fishery management local authorities to designate EFH using the best available scientific data. EFH has been described for more than a 1, 000 managed types to date.|4| The primary purpose of EFH regulations is usually 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 advantage of the fisheries.|5| The Magnuson-Stevens Act provides jurisdiction over the management and conservation of marine fish species. Federal agencies need to consult with NOAA Fisheries the moment their actions or activities may adversely affect habitat identified by federal territorial fishery management councils or NOAA Fisheries as EFH.|6| On 12 19, 1997, interim last rules were published inside the Federal Register (Vol. over 60, 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 about January 17, 2002 (Vol. 67, No . 12).|8| he rules, in two subparts, address requirements for fishery management program (FMP) amendment, and detail the coordination, consultation, and recommendation requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Has an effect on from certain fishing procedures and coastal and underwater development and may alter, destruction, or destroy habitats necessary for fish. NOAA Fisheries, the regional fishery management councils (FMCs), and other federal firms work together to minimize these threats.|13| Congress has created councils to classify unfavorable affects on fishes in relation to types of fishing gear, coast 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 species. 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, decrease to the extent practicable the adverse effects of fishing in 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 for the habitat of federally supervised commercial and recreational the fishing industry.|16| Federal actions agencies which fund, permit, 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 examination of all actions or recommended 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 Conservation Recommendations provide information on how to avoid, minimize, mitigate, or counteract those adverse effects.|20| Federal action agencies must provide a written explanation to NOAA Fisheries if these recommendations have not been followed.|21| NOAA The fishing industry must also include measures to minimize the adverse effects of sport fishing gear and fishing activities on EFH as well.|22| In addition , NOAA The fishing industry 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 inside the NMFS regional offices: Increased Atlantic Regional Fisheries Business office (GARFO), Southeast Regional Business office (SERO), West Coast Regional Office (WCRO), Alaska Regional Office (AKRO), and Pacific cycles Islands Regional Office (PIRO). National consultations spanning multiple regions can be done at NOAA Fisheries Headquarters.
State companies and private landowners are not needed to consult with NMFS. EFH discussions are required if the federal government possesses authorized, funded, or carried out part or all of a proposed activity, and if the action will adversely have an impact on EFH.|24| Badly affecting EFH includes direct or indirect physical, substance or biological alterations on the waters or substrate and loss of, or injury to species and their habitat, and other ecosystem components, or reduction in the quality and/or quantity of EFH.
Natural environment areas of particular concern or perhaps HAPCs are considered high top priority areas for conservation, management, and research.|26| HAPCs are subsets of EFH that merit work because they meet by least one of the following 5 criteria:
provide important environmental function;
are sensitive to environmental degradation;
include a home type that is/will end up being 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, amongst other areas of interest. HAPCs happen to be afforded the same regulatory safety as EFH and do not rule out activities from occurring inside the area, such as fishing, snorkeling, swimming or surfing.
Imperative Fish Habitat is designated for all federally managed seafood under the MSA whereas Important Habitat is designated to get the survival and recovery of species listed since threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).|29| Critical refuge include areas occupied by the threatened or endangered kinds that include physical and natural features that are essential to the conservation of the species.|30| Critical Habitat is designated as critical during the time a species is listed within the ESA.|31| EFH and Critical Habitat will vary in terms of designation and regulation, 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 case are essential for fish and ecosystem health. The fundamental home structure begins with yeast sediment. Erosion is stabilized by submerged aquatic vegetation. There are two main types of bottoms, hard and soft.|33| A study by Christensen at el. (2004) looked at three bottom home types (vegetated marsh advantage, submerged aquatic vegetation, and shallow non-vegetated bottom) in relation to juvenile brown shrimp (Farfantepenaeus aztecus). The results from the analysis showed that brown shrimp selected vegetated areas in salinities 15-25 ppt and would select vegetated areas over marsh edges if 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 support a diverse reef fish community.|35| This kind of community can comprise invertebra, coral, hard coral, bryozoans, ploychaete worms, tunicates, various fin-fishes, alga, and a 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. Attributes that affect soft lower side in relation to organisms that employ them include sediment grain size, salinity, dissolved oxygen and flow.
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