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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 Magnuson-Stevens Act, as "those waters and substrate important to fish for spawning, breeding, nourishing or growth to maturity. "|1| Employing regulations clarified that lakes and rivers include all aquatic areas and their physical, chemical, and biological properties; substrate includes the associated biological organizations that make these areas well suited for fish habitats, and the information and identification of EFH should include habitats used any time during the species' life pattern.|2| EFH includes all types of aquatic habitat, just like 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 species to date.|4| The primary purpose of EFH regulations is always to minimize the adverse effects of fishing and non angling impacts on EFH for 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 advantage 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 once their actions or actions may adversely affect environment identified by federal regional fishery management councils or 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 on the EFH provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.|7| These kinds 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 system (FMP) amendment, and depth the coordination, consultation, and recommendation requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Impacts from certain fishing methods and coastal and nautical development and may alter, destruction, or destroy habitats important for fish. NOAA Fisheries, the regional fishery management local authorities (FMCs), and other federal firms work together to minimize these risks.|13| Congress has created councils to classify unfavorable influences on fishes in relation to types of fishing gear, coast developments and nonpoint and point source pollution, and also, evaluating how well every 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 identified.|14| FMPs must describe and identify EFH for the fishery, lessen to the extent practicable the adverse effects of fishing on 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 on the habitat of federally been able commercial and recreational fisheries.|16| Federal actions agencies which fund, grant, or carry out activities which may adversely affect EFH must consult with NOAA Fisheries.|17| The federal action agency must provide NOAA Fisheries with an examination of all actions or proposed 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 Conservation recommendations.|19| These kinds of Conservation Recommendations provide information on how to prevent, minimize, mitigate, or counter those adverse effects.|20| Federal action agencies need to 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 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 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 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 required to consult with NMFS. EFH discussions 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| Negatively affecting EFH includes immediate or indirect physical, chemical or biological alterations on the waters or substrate and loss of, or injury to species and their habitat, and other environment components, or reduction of the quality and/or quantity of EFH.
Habitat areas of particular concern or perhaps HAPCs are considered high priority areas for conservation, management, and research.|26| HAPCs are subsets of EFH that merit attention because they meet in least one of the following four criteria:
provide important environmental function;
are sensitive to environmental degradation;
include a home type that is/will get stressed by development;
will include a habitat type that is unusual.|27|
Current HAPCs consist of important habitats like estuaries, canopy kelp, corals, seagrass, and rocky reefs, between other areas of interest. HAPCs are 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 fish under the MSA whereas Crucial Habitat is designated pertaining to the survival and restoration of species listed since threatened or endangered within the Endangered Species Act (ESA).|29| Critical demeure include areas occupied by the threatened or endangered types that include physical and natural features that are essential to the conservation of the species.|30| Critical Habitat is designated as critical at that moment a species is listed under the ESA.|31| EFH and Critical Habitat are very different in terms of designation and regulations, but they may overlap for sure species such as salmon.|32|
Home 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 residue. Erosion is stabilized by submerged aquatic vegetation. There are two main types of bottoms, hard and very soft.|33| A study simply by Christensen at el. (2004) looked at three bottom natural environment types (vegetated marsh advantage, 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 they 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 supplies hard complex vertical composition for attachment of a dry sponge, seaweed, and coral, which in turn support a diverse reef fish community.|35| This kind of community can comprise invertebra, coral, hard coral, bryozoans, ploychaete worms, tunicates, a number of fin-fishes, alga, and sponges. 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 underside are not protected even though they may be primary nursery areas, anadromous fish spawning areas, and anadromous nursery areas. Features that affect soft starting in relation to organisms that employ them include sediment grain size, salinity, dissolved o2 and flow.
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