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Essential Fish Habitat
Necessary 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| Putting into action regulations clarified that oceans include all aquatic areas and their physical, chemical, and biological properties; substrate involves the associated biological communities that make these areas ideal for fish habitats, and the description and identification of EFH should include habitats used at any time during the species' life cycle.|2| EFH involves all types of aquatic habitat, just like wetlands, coral reefs, fine sand, seagrasses, and rivers.|3|
NOAA Fisheries works with the regional fishery management councils to designate EFH making use of the best available scientific facts. EFH has been described for more than a 1, 000 managed variety to date.|4| The primary purpose of EFH regulations is always to minimize the adverse effects of fishing and non fishing impacts on EFH towards the maximum extent practicable.
In 1996, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Take action was amended to establish a brand new requirements to identify and identify EFH to protect, conserve and enhance EFH for the main 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 activities may adversely affect environment identified by federal local fishery management councils or NOAA Fisheries as EFH.|6| On January 19, 1997, interim final rules were published in the Federal Register (Vol. sixty two, No . 244) which stipulate procedures for implementation in the EFH provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.|7| These types of 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 approach (FMP) amendment, and aspect the coordination, consultation, and recommendation requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Affects from certain fishing routines and coastal and maritime development and may alter, harm, or destroy habitats necessary for fish. NOAA Fisheries, the regional fishery management local authorities (FMCs), and other federal firms work together to minimize these risks.|13| Congress has established councils to classify unfavorable has an effect on on fishes in relation to types of fishing gear, coastal developments and nonpoint 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 kinds. As new FMPs will be developed, EFH for recently managed species will also be defined.|14| FMPs need to describe and identify EFH for the fishery, lessen 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 recommend ways federal agencies can avoid or minimize the adverse effects of their actions within the habitat of federally handled commercial and recreational fisheries.|16| Federal actions agencies which fund, support, or carry out activities that may adversely affect EFH have to consult with NOAA Fisheries.|17| The federal actions agency must provide NOAA Fisheries with an assessment of all actions or offered actions authorized, funded, or perhaps undertaken by the agency that may adversely affect EFH.|18| Then NOAA The fishing industry will provide the federal actions agency with EFH Resource efficiency recommendations.|19| These Conservation Recommendations provide information on keep away from, minimize, mitigate, or offset those adverse effects.|20| Federal action agencies must provide a written explanation to NOAA Fisheries if these recommendations have not been implemented.|21| NOAA Fisheries must also include measures to minimize the adverse effects of sportfishing gear and fishing activities on EFH as well.|22| In addition , NOAA The fishing industry and the FMCs may discuss and make recommendations to any state agency on their activities which may affect EFH.|23|
Most consultations are done inside the NMFS regional offices: Increased Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO), Southeast Regional Business office (SERO), West Coast Local Office (WCRO), Alaska Regional 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 forced to consult with NMFS. EFH services are required if the federal government provides authorized, funded, or performed part or all of a proposed activity, and if the action will adversely affect EFH.|24| Adversely affecting EFH includes direct or indirect physical, chemical or biological alterations from the waters or substrate and loss of, or injury to types and their habitat, and other ecosystem components, or reduction in 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 attention because they meet by least one of the following four criteria:
provide important ecological function;
are sensitive to environmental degradation;
include a an environment type that is/will become stressed by development;
include a habitat type that is rare.|27|
Current HAPCs incorporate important habitats like estuaries, canopy kelp, corals, seagrass, and rocky reefs, between other areas of interest. HAPCs will be afforded the same regulatory coverage as EFH and do not banish activities from occurring in the area, such as fishing, snorkeling, swimming or surfing.
Necessary Fish Habitat is specified for all federally managed seafood under the MSA whereas Essential Habitat is designated intended for the survival and restoration of species listed as threatened or endangered within the Endangered Species Act (ESA).|29| Critical case include areas occupied by threatened or endangered types that include physical and biological features that are essential to the conservation of the species.|30| Critical Habitat is usually designated as critical at that time a species is listed beneath the ESA.|31| EFH and Critical Habitat are different in terms of designation and regulation, but they may overlap for several species such as salmon.|32|
Habitat characteristics include sediment type, type of bottoms (sand, silt and clay), structures root the water surface, and aquatic community structures. These case are essential for fish and ecosystem health. The fundamental environment structure begins with gunk. Erosion is stabilized simply by submerged aquatic vegetation. You will find two main types of bottoms, hard and gentle.|33| A study by simply Christensen at el. (2004) looked at three bottom an environment types (vegetated marsh advantage, submerged aquatic vegetation, and shallow non-vegetated bottom) with regards 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 whenever 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 supplies hard complex vertical framework for attachment of a dry sponge, seaweed, and coral, which support a diverse reef seafood community.|35| This kind of community can comprise invertebra, coral, hard coral, bryozoans, ploychaete worms, tunicates, a variety of 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 could 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 fresh air and flow.
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