NOAA Fisheries

Quick links: EFH Regulations | Descriptions and Identification| Maps/GIS shapefiles | Species Profiles and Habitat Assessment Reports

EFH Regulations

Juvenile king crab and sea stars in southeast Alaska. Photo: Pat Malecha, NOAA Fisheries.

Essential Fish Habitat

• 67 FR 2343, January 17, 2002.
  Final rule for implementing the EFH provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. These regulations provide guidelines for fishery management councils to identify and conserve EFH, as well as procedures for interagency coordination and consultation regarding actions that may adversely affect EFH. The preamble to the final rule provides background information and addresses many issues raised through public comment.
• 72 FR 63500, November 9, 2007. Final rule to correct regulations implementing EFH provisions for Alaska fisheries. Effective December 10, 2007.

EFH Fishing Regulations

• 77 FR 66564, November 06, 2012. Final rule to announce the aproval of Amendment 98 to the FMP for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area; Amendment 90 to the GOA Groundfish FMP; Amendment 40 to the BSAI Crab FMP; Amendment 15 to the Scallop FMP; and Amendment 1 to the Arctic FMP.
• 75 FR 61642, October 6, 2010. Final rule to implement Amendment 94 to the FMP for Groundfish of the BSAI to require participants using nonpelagic trawl gear in the directed fishery for flatfish in the Bering Sea subarea to modify the trawl gear and to change the boundaries of the Northern Bering Sea Research Area to establish the Modified Gear Trawl Zone and to expand the Saint Matthew Island Habitat Conservation Area. Effective January 20, 2011.
• 73 FR 43362, July 25, 2008. Final rule to implement Amendment 89 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the BSAI Management Area to establish Bering Sea habitat conservation measures prohibiting nonpelagic trawling in certain waters of the Bering Sea subarea and establishing the Northern Bering Sea Research Area. Effective August 25, 2008.
  • 50 CFR Part 679 - Figures
    • Figure 16: Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area
    • Figure 17: Northern Bering Sea Research Area and St. Lawrence Island Habitat Conservation Area
    • Figure 21: Nunivak Island, Etolin Strait, a nd Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation Area
  • 50 CFR Part 679 - Tables
    • 42. Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area
    • 43. Northern Bering Sea Research Area
    • 44. Nunivak Island, Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation Area
    • 45. St. Lawrence Island Habitat Conservation Area
    • 46. St. Matthew Island Habitat Conservation Area
• 73 FR 9035, February 19, 2008. Final rule to revise the Aleutian Islands Habitat Conservation Area boundary. Effective March 20, 2008.
  • AIHCA Revised Map. Effective March 20, 2008.
• 71 FR 36694, June 28, 2006. Final rule to implement FMP amendments identifying and describing EFH, designating HAPC, and including measures in the FMPs to minimize to the extent practicable adverse effects on EFH. Effective July 28, 2006.
  • Closure Area Maps: Effective 7/28/2006. Small Entity Compliance Guide
    • Aleutian Islands Coral Habitat Protection Area
    • Aleutian Islands Habitat Conservation Area
    • Alaska Seamount Habitat Protection Area
    • Gulf of Alaska Coral Habitat Protection Area
    • Gulf of Alaska Slope Habitat Conservation Area

EFH Descriptions and Identification

EFH in Alaska is identified in Fishery Management Plans developed by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council and approved by the Secretary of Commerce. EFH descriptions are comprised of text and maps. (If there are differences between the descriptions of EFH in text and maps, the textual description is ultimately determinative of the limits of EFH.)

EFH Text Descriptions
Text descriptions identify EFH for each life stage of fish managed under a Fishery Management Plan within the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea, and Aleutian Islands.

• Bering Sea and Aleutian Island Groundfish
• Gulf of Alaska Groundfish
• Bering Sea and Aleutian Island King and Tanner Crab
• Alaska Scallops
• Alaska Stocks of Pacific Salmon

EFH Map Descriptions

Maps depict the area of EFH for each life stage of fish managed under a Fishery Management Plan within the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea, and Aleutian Islands.

• National EFH Mapper: Data about areas where steps have been taken to minimize the impact that fisheries have on EFH by geographic area of interest.
• Pacific Salmon Freshwater EFH in Alaska - ADF&G Anadromous Fish Waters Catalog (external website)

Species Profiles and Habitat Assessment Reports

Detailed reports provide information about each species, including any known habitat associations, reproductive traits, predator prey relationships, and species-specific literature citations.

• Species Profiles and Habitat Assessment Reports

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