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Essential Fish Habitat
Necessary Fish Habitat (EFH) was defined by the U. S. Congress in the 1996 amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Resource efficiency and Management Act, or Magnuson-Stevens Act, as "those waters and substrate needed to fish for spawning, breeding, feeding or growth to maturity. "|1| Employing regulations clarified that marine environments include all aquatic areas and their physical, chemical, and biological properties; substrate includes the associated biological organizations that make these areas suited to fish habitats, and the explanation and identification of EFH should include habitats used without notice during the species' life circuit.|2| EFH comes with 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 making use of the best available scientific data. EFH has been described for more than a 1, 000 managed varieties to date.|4| The key purpose of EFH regulations is always to minimize the adverse effects of fishing and non angling impacts on EFH towards the maximum extent practicable.
In 1996, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Work was amended to establish a fresh requirements to identify and explain EFH to protect, conserve and enhance EFH for the main benefit of the fisheries.|5| The Magnuson-Stevens Act provides jurisdiction over the management and conservation of marine fish species. Federal agencies must consult with NOAA Fisheries when ever their actions or activities may adversely affect environment identified by federal local fishery management councils or perhaps NOAA Fisheries as EFH.|6| On Dec 19, 1997, interim last rules were published in the Federal Register (Vol. sixty two, No . 244) which specify procedures for implementation from the EFH provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.|7| These rules were amended simply by publication of final rules upon January 17, 2002 (Vol. 67, No . 12).|8| he rules, in two subparts, address requirements for fishery management system (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 councils (FMCs), and other federal businesses work together to minimize these threats.|13| Congress has created councils to classify unfavorable has an effect on 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 varieties. As new FMPs will be developed, EFH for newly managed species will also be identified.|14| FMPs need to describe and identify EFH for the fishery, reduce 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 suggest ways federal agencies may avoid or minimize the adverse effects of their actions on the habitat of federally maintained 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 diagnosis of all actions or offered actions authorized, funded, or undertaken by the agency which may adversely affect EFH.|18| Then NOAA The fishing industry will provide the federal actions agency with EFH Resource efficiency recommendations.|19| These types 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 followed.|21| NOAA The fishing industry must also include measures to minimize the adverse effects of reef 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 any state agency on their actions which may affect EFH.|23|
Most consultations are done in the NMFS regional offices: Better Atlantic Regional Fisheries Workplace (GARFO), Southeast Regional Workplace (SERO), West Coast Territorial Office (WCRO), Alaska Local 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 necessary to consult with NMFS. EFH meetings 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 impact EFH.|24| Adversely affecting EFH includes immediate or indirect physical, chemical or biological alterations in the waters or substrate and loss of, or injury to kinds and their habitat, and other environment components, or reduction on the quality and/or quantity of EFH.
Natural environment areas of particular concern or HAPCs are considered high top priority areas for conservation, management, and research.|26| HAPCs are subsets of EFH that merit attention because they meet for least one of the following some criteria:
provide important environmental function;
are sensitive to environmental degradation;
include a an environment type that is/will come to be stressed by development;
add a habitat type that is rare.|27|
Current HAPCs involve important habitats like estuaries, canopy kelp, corals, seagrass, and rocky reefs, between other areas of interest. HAPCs will be afforded the same regulatory safety as EFH and do not exclude activities from occurring in the area, such as fishing, diving, swimming or surfing.
Necessary Fish Habitat is selected for all federally managed seafood under the MSA whereas Critical Habitat is designated meant for the survival and restoration of species listed since threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).|29| Critical g?te include areas occupied by the threatened or endangered varieties that include physical and natural features that are essential to the conservation of the species.|30| Critical Habitat is certainly designated as critical during the time a species is listed underneath the ESA.|31| EFH and Critical Habitat are different in terms of designation and legislation, but they may overlap for many species such as salmon.|32|
An environment characteristics include sediment type, type of bottoms (sand, silt and clay), structures hidden the water surface, and marine community structures. These demeure are essential for fish and ecosystem health. The fundamental an environment structure begins with sediment. Erosion is stabilized by submerged aquatic vegetation. There are two main types of bottoms, hard and delicate.|33| A study by Christensen at el. (2004) looked at three bottom an environment 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 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 gives hard complex vertical framework for attachment of a 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, many different fin-fishes, alga, and sponges. Areas of compacted or sheered mud and sediment are also 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. Attributes that affect soft lower side in relation to organisms that utilize them include sediment grain size, salinity, dissolved air and flow.


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