Fish require healthy surroundings to survive and reproduce. Essential Fish Habitat includes all types of aquatic habitat - wetlands, coral reefs, seagrasses, rivers- where fish spawn, breed , feed or grow to maturity.

NOAA Fisheries works with the regional fishery management councils to identify the essential habitat for every life stage of each federally managed species using the best available scientific information. Essential fish habitat has been described for approximately 1,000 managed species to date.

NOAA and the councils also identified more than 100 “habitat areas of particular concern” or HAPCs. These are considered high priority areas for conservation, management, or research because they are rare, sensitive, stressed by development, or important to ecosystem function.

Impacts

Impacts from certain fishing practices as well as coastal and marine development threaten to alter, damage, or destroy these habitats. NOAA, the regional fishery management councils, and other federal agencies work together to minimize these threats. In addition, many projects conducted by NOAA’s Restoration Center focus on restoring essential fish habitat.

Productive commercial and recreational fisheries are inextricably linked to healthy marine habitats; protecting and restoring them will help support fishing communities now and for generations to come.

taken from http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/ecosystems/coastalocean/efh_pr.aspx

General Description:
Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (HAPC) are subcategories of Essential Fish Habitat. Fish require healthy surroundings to survive and reproduce. Essential fish habitat includes all types of aquatic habitat – wetlands, coral reefs, sea-grasses, rivers – where fish spawn, breed, feed, or grow to maturity. Essential fish habitat has been described for approximately 1,000 managed species to date.

CMSP Reason:
Whenever Federal agencies authorize, fund, or carry out actions that may affect critical habitat, they must consult with NMFS under Section 7 of the ESA. Federal agencies may not undertake, authorize or fund activities that are likely to adversely modify or destroy CH. If NMFS determines through consultation, that a proposed activity is likely to destroy or adversely modify critical habitat it will work with the Federal agency to develop reasonable and prudent alternatives to the activity.

Spatial Coverage:
The EFH-HAPC product layer is available for most of the coastal regions of the United States including Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the Caribbean.

Taken from http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/ecosystems/coastalocean/efh_pr.aspx

EFH GENERIC AMEND - Essential Fish Habitat Generic Amendment to the Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) of the U.S. Caribbean Including a Draft Environmental Assessment. October 1998

FEIS to the EFH - For The Generic Essential Fish Habitat Amendment to: Spiny Lobster Fishery Management Plan, Queen Conch Fishery Management Plan, Reef Fish Fishery Management Plan, Coral Fishery Management Plan for the U.S. Caribbean. March 2004

CFMC EFH Review Final Draft

CFMC EFH Review Figures & Tables

Fishery Management Plan, Regulatory Impact Review and Final Environmental Impact Statement for Corals and Reef Associated Plants and Invertebrates of Puerto Rico and the U. S. Virgin Islands

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 1 elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata, photo: NOAA; 2 coral bottom, photo: Tim Batista, NOAA NCCOS and UNCW

sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sustainable_fisheries/caribbean/coral/index.html

Corals and Reef Associated Plants and Invertebrates Fishery Management Plan - (July 1994)

Nov 27, 1995 Regulation - pdf

Rapid Socioeconomic Evaluation - pdf (February 1997)

Amendment 1 Establishing MCD - (January 1999)

Nov 4, 1999 Regulation - pdf

ACLs -  Annual Catch Limits Amendment 2 of 2010, Comprehensive Annual Catch Limit Amendment of 2011

Draft Amendment 4 Coral FMP, Draft EA - Seagrass Management - January 18, 2013

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CFMC FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLANS

HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES

  

CFMC FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLANS

Queen Conch, Strombus gigas (Lobatus gigas)

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 queen conch, Strombus gigas, 1 photo CFMC ©, 2 photo Diver.net ©

Visit https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/18391 for latest information.

Information on queen conch from Office of Protected Resources

Queen Conch Fishery Management Plan - pdf (June 1996)

December 13, 1996 Regulation - pdf

ACLs -  Annual Catch Limits Amendment 2 of 2010, Comprehensive Annual Catch Limit Amendment of 2011

 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 110 / Friday, June 7, 2013 / Proposed Rules - NMFS proposes regulations to implement Regulatory Amendment 2 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Queen Conch Resources of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) (Regulatory Amendment 2), as prepared by the Caribbean Fishery Management Council (Council),  Regulatory Amendment 2, Fishery Bulletin, Fishery Bulletin Spanish

 Federal Register /Vol. 78, No. 177 /Thursday, September 12, 2013 /Rules and Regulations Final rule to implement Regulatory Amendment 2 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Queen Conch Resources of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI)(Regulatory Amendment 2), as prepared by the Caribbean Fishery Management Council (Council).

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Queen Conch Strombus gigas (lobatus gigas) FMP

Fishery Management Plan, Regulatory Impact Review, and Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Queen Conch Resources of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands, June 1996

  

queen conch, Strombus gigas, photo: Diver.net ©

• Queen Conch FMP cover page
• Table of Contents
• Acronyms
• Fishery Management Plan document
• References
• Table 1 Species in the Fishery Management Unit
• Table 2 Conch Landings for Puerto Rico
• Table 3 Conch Landings for the USVI
• Table 4 Conch Landings by Month for Puerto Rico between 1983-1992
• Table 5 Catch Effort
• Table 6 Results of Production Model Analyses of Puerto Rico's West Coast Conch Fishery
• Figure 1  Queen Conch Distribution
• Figure 2 Predictions of Yield Versus Effort for the Puerto Rico West Coast Conch Fishery From Four Different Stock Production Models
• Figure 3  Estimated Commercial Landings of Queen Conch in Puerto Rico by Coast
• Figure 4 F (Fishing Mortality) vs. SPR (Spawning Potential Ratio)
• Figure 5 Measuring tool used in the USVI for Queen Conch, Whelk and Spiny Lobster
• Appendix I Socioeconomic Impact Assessment
• Appendix II Regulatory Impact Review
• Appendix III Final Environmental Impact Statement
• For Written Comments, Table 7 and Table 8, please request hard copy at CFMC headquarters.

 Harvest size limit

queen conch, stombus gigas, harvest size limit

  

click on graphic to enlarge

CFMC FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLANS

REEF FISH

  

male rainbow parrotfish, Scarus guacamaia, photo: DIVER.NET ©

Visit https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/18382 for latest information.

Reef Fish Fishery Management Plan (pdf) (February 1985)

Amendment 1 - pdf ( May 1990)

Regulatory Amendment - pdf (July 1991)

Amendment 2 - pdf (May 1993)

Regulation March 1994 - pdf

Regulatory Amendment Concerning Red Hind (August 1996)

Bajo de Sico (2010):

• Final Regulatory Amendment to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Fishery of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands Modifying the Bajo de Sico Seasonal Closure Including a Regulatory Impact Review and an Environmental Assessment -pdf (March 2010)
• Final Rule Bajo De Sico, 11-2-2010
• SERO Bulletin - NOAA Fisheries Service Publishes Final Rule to Modify the Seasonal Closure of Bajo de Sico in the U.S. Caribbean (November 2, 2010)
• Bajo de Sico FAQs, Nov 2010 - taken from NMFS, NOAA

ACLs -  Annual Catch Limits (September 2010 & October 2011)

Regulatory Amendment 4 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Fishery of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (June 2013)

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CFMC FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLANS

SPINY LOBSTER, Panulirus argus

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  spiny lobster, Panulirus argus, photos: 1 Michelle Schärer Umpierre ©, 2 NOAA Galleries

Visit https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/18383 for latest information

Fishery Management Plan (pdf)

Amendment 1 (pdf)

Stock Assessment (pdf)

Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic - spinylobster Amendment 4/8 and FEIS

Dec 1984 -SL Regulation.pdf

FB09-044_ANPR Control Date - 2009

ACLs -  Annual Catch Limits

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