3 fish friends | fish eating
Essential Fish Habitat
Necessary Fish Habitat (EFH) was defined by the U. S i9000. Congress in the 1996 amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Resource efficiency and Management Act, or perhaps Magnuson-Stevens Act, as "those waters and substrate needed to fish for spawning, breeding, nourishing or growth to maturity. "|1| Employing 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 appropriate for fish habitats, and the explanation and identification of EFH should include habitats used at any time during the species' life cycle.|2| EFH involves all types of aquatic habitat, including 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 details. EFH has been described for more than a 1, 000 managed types to date.|4| The key purpose of EFH regulations is 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 Action was amended to establish a fresh requirements to identify and illustrate EFH to protect, conserve and enhance EFH for the main advantage of the fisheries.|5| The Magnuson-Stevens Act features jurisdiction over the management and conservation of marine seafood species. Federal agencies need to consult with NOAA Fisheries when ever their actions or actions may adversely affect home identified by federal local fishery management councils or NOAA Fisheries as EFH.|6| On 12 , 19, 1997, interim final rules were published in the Federal Register (Vol. sixty two, No . 244) which identify procedures for implementation from the EFH provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.|7| These 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 approach (FMP) amendment, and depth the coordination, consultation, and recommendation requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Impacts from certain fishing practices and coastal and nautical development and may alter, harm, or destroy habitats essential for fish. NOAA Fisheries, the regional fishery management councils (FMCs), and other federal firms work together to minimize these dangers.|13| Congress has created 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 types. As new FMPs are 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 in 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 handled commercial and recreational fisheries.|16| Federal action agencies which fund, permit, or carry out activities which may adversely affect EFH have to consult with NOAA Fisheries.|17| The federal action agency must provide NOAA Fisheries with an analysis of all actions or offered 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 offset those adverse effects.|20| Federal action agencies must provide a written explanation to NOAA Fisheries if these recommendations have not been followed.|21| NOAA Fisheries must also include measures to reduce the adverse effects of angling gear and fishing actions on EFH as well.|22| In addition , NOAA The fishing industry and the FMCs may comment on and make recommendations to any state agency on their actions which may affect EFH.|23|
Most consultations are done inside the NMFS regional offices: Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Workplace (GARFO), Southeast Regional Business office (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 firms and private landowners are not necessary to consult with NMFS. EFH consultations are required if the federal government offers authorized, funded, or done part or all of a proposed activity, and if the action will adversely influence 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 variety and their habitat, and other ecosystem components, or reduction on the quality and/or quantity of EFH.
An environment areas of particular concern or HAPCs are considered high main 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 ecological function;
are sensitive to environmental degradation;
include a an environment type that is/will get stressed by development;
include a habitat type that is unusual.|27|
Current HAPCs contain important habitats like estuaries, canopy kelp, corals, seagrass, and rocky reefs, amongst other areas of interest. HAPCs will be afforded the same regulatory protection as EFH and do not rule out activities from occurring inside the area, such as fishing, diving, swimming or surfing.
Necessary Fish Habitat is chosen for all federally managed fish under the MSA whereas Crucial Habitat is designated intended for the survival and recovery of species listed seeing that threatened or endangered within the Endangered Species Act (ESA).|29| Critical habitats include areas occupied by threatened or endangered varieties that include physical and natural features that are essential to the conservation of the species.|30| Critical Habitat is designated as critical at that time a species is listed underneath the ESA.|31| EFH and Critical Habitat vary in terms of designation and control, 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 hidden the water surface, and marine community structures. These demeure are essential for fish and ecosystem health. The fundamental natural environment structure begins with gunk. Erosion is stabilized simply by submerged aquatic vegetation. You will find two main types of bottoms, hard and soft.|33| A study by Christensen at el. (2004) looked at three bottom an environment types (vegetated marsh edge, submerged aquatic vegetation, and shallow non-vegetated bottom) in relation to 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 if they co-occurred. Finding the areas that had the highest abundance helped to identify EFH of teen brown shrimp.|34|
Hard bottom also known as coral reefs or live bottom delivers hard complex vertical composition for attachment of a sponge, seaweed, and coral, which in turn support a diverse reef fish community.|35| This 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 are often primary nursery areas, anadromous fish spawning areas, and anadromous nursery areas. Qualities that affect soft starting in relation to organisms that make use of them include sediment wheat size, salinity, dissolved o2 and flow.
Comments
Post a Comment