What Does NOAA Fisheries Do for Diadromous Fish Habitat?

NOAA Fisheries has several roles in protecting, conserving, enhancing, and restoring diadromous fish. Our traditional role has been to provide technical advice to agencies and the public on any proposed action that could have a negative effect on aquatic resources, including diadromous fish. Based on the best available science and natural resource management tools, NOAA Fisheries often recommends ways to minimize the impacts of a project, such as moving a project farther back from the water, making it smaller, or scheduling construction to minimize adverse impacts on fish.

NOAA Fisheries is also involved in the following efforts:

Habitat Restoration: This includes replanting riparian areas, improving fish passage facilities, restoring wetlands, and removing barriers to migration. For more information on NOAA Fisheries restoration programs, go to the Restoration Center.

Research: NOAA sponsors research on diadromous fish and their habitats, the success of habitat restoration efforts, the effects of development on diadromous fish streams and their watersheds, trends in coastal habitat loss, and related topics. For more information on NOAA Fisheries research, visit the websites of the NOAA Fisheries Science Centers.

Interagency Efforts: At a national level, NOAA Fisheries participates in several interagency efforts to improve diadromous fish habitat. One example is the Interagency Task Force to Improve Hydroelectric Licensing Process (ITF). The ITF was formed in 1998 to improve coordination among Federal agencies on hydroelectric dam relicensing. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) permits the operation of the 2,200 non-federally owned hydroelectric dams in the United States, and a steering committee comprised of several agencies is developing policies to facilitate hydroelectric dam relicensing. Participating agencies include FERC, the Departments of Commerce, Interior, Agriculture, and Energy, the Council on Environmental Quality, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Policy Development: NOAA Fisheries headquarters develops policies on activities that affect diadromous fish habitat . One such policy is the 1996 National Gravel Extraction Policy, which suggests ways to ensure that gravel extraction operations are conducted in a manner that eliminates or minimizes adverse impacts to diadromous species.