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Essential Fish Habitat
Imperative 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 perhaps Magnuson-Stevens Act, as "those waters and substrate essential 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 contains the associated biological areas that make these areas suitable for fish habitats, and the information and identification of EFH should include habitats used anytime during the species' life routine.|2| EFH comes with all types of aquatic habitat, just like wetlands, coral reefs, fine 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 usually 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 Function was amended to establish a fresh requirements to identify and identify EFH to protect, conserve and enhance EFH for the main advantage of the fisheries.|5| The Magnuson-Stevens Act possesses jurisdiction over the management and conservation of marine fish species. Federal agencies need to consult with NOAA Fisheries when ever their actions or actions may adversely affect natural environment identified by federal local fishery management councils or perhaps NOAA Fisheries as EFH.|6| On January 19, 1997, interim last rules were published inside the Federal Register (Vol. 62, No . 244) which stipulate procedures for implementation from the EFH provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.|7| These rules were amended by publication of final rules on 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.
Influences from certain fishing methods and coastal and marine development and may alter, damage, or destroy habitats essential for fish. NOAA Fisheries, the regional fishery management local authorities (FMCs), and other federal organizations work together to minimize these dangers.|13| Congress has created councils to classify unfavorable influences on fishes in relation to types of fishing gear, seaside developments and nonpoint and point source pollution, along with, evaluating how well every single 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 recently managed species will also be defined.|14| FMPs must describe and identify EFH for the fishery, decrease 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 recommend ways federal agencies can easily avoid or minimize the adverse effects of their actions within the habitat of federally supervised commercial and recreational the fishing industry.|16| Federal action agencies which fund, grant, or carry out activities that may adversely affect EFH must consult with NOAA Fisheries.|17| The federal actions agency must provide NOAA Fisheries with an examination of all actions or proposed 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 Preservation recommendations.|19| These kinds of 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 implemented.|21| NOAA The fishing industry must also include measures to minimize the adverse effects of angling gear and fishing actions on EFH as well.|22| In addition , NOAA Fisheries and the FMCs may discuss and make recommendations to the state agency on their actions which may affect EFH.|23|
Most consultations are done inside the NMFS regional offices: Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO), Southeast Regional Workplace (SERO), West Coast Local Office (WCRO), Alaska Territorial 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 forced to consult with NMFS. EFH consultation services are required if the federal government possesses authorized, funded, or done part or all of a proposed activity, and if the action will adversely impact EFH.|24| Adversely affecting EFH includes direct or indirect physical, chemical substance or biological alterations on the waters or substrate and loss of, or injury to variety and their habitat, and other ecosystem components, or reduction from the quality and/or quantity of EFH.
An 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 in least one of the following 5 criteria:
provide important ecological function;
are sensitive to environmental degradation;
include a habitat type that is/will get stressed by development;
include a habitat type that is rare.|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 protection as EFH and do not banish activities from occurring in the area, such as fishing, diving, swimming or surfing.
Necessary Fish Habitat is designated for all federally managed fish under the MSA whereas Critical Habitat is designated intended for the survival and restoration of species listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).|29| Critical habitats include areas occupied by threatened or endangered species that include physical and neurological features that are essential to the conservation of the species.|30| Critical Habitat is definitely designated as critical during the time a species is listed beneath the ESA.|31| EFH and Critical Habitat will vary in terms of designation and control, but they may overlap for certain species such as salmon.|32|
Habitat characteristics include sediment type, type of bottoms (sand, silt and clay), structures base the water surface, and aquatic community structures. These demeure are essential for fish and ecosystem health. The fundamental natural environment structure begins with crud. Erosion is stabilized by submerged aquatic vegetation. There are two main types of bottoms, hard and very soft.|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) in terms of juvenile brown shrimp (Farfantepenaeus aztecus). The results from the analysis showed that brown prawn selected vegetated areas in salinities 15-25 ppt plus they 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 composition for attachment of sponges, seaweed, and coral, which often support a diverse reef fish community.|35| This community can comprise invertebra, coral, hard coral, bryozoans, ploychaete worms, tunicates, many different fin-fishes, alga, and a dry 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 underside are not protected even though they are often primary nursery areas, anadromous fish spawning areas, and anadromous nursery areas. Qualities that affect soft lower side in relation to organisms that make use of them include sediment hemp size, salinity, dissolved o2 and flow.
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