Description: The area defined is based on the FINAL Generic Amendment Number 3 for Addressing Essential Fish Habitat Requirements, Habitat Areas of Particular Concern, and Adverse Effects of Fishing in the following Fishery Management Plans of the Gulf of Mexico: Shrimp Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico, United States Waters; Red Drum Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources (Mackerels) in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic; Stone Crab Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Spiny Lobster in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic; Coral and Coral Reefs of the Gulf of Mexico. (March 2005, Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, Tampa, FL) The Coral and Coral Reef Fishery Management Plan includes varied coral species and coral reef communities comprised of several hundred species. The area defined includes coral reefs in the North and South Tortugas Ecological Reserves, East and West Flower Garden Banks, McGrail Bank, and the southern portion of Pulley Ridge; hard bottom areas scattered along the pinnacles and banks from Texas to Mississippi, at the shelf edge and at the Florida Middle Grounds, the southwest tip of the Florida reef tract, and predominant patchy hard bottom offshore of Florida from approximately Crystal River south to the Florida Keys.
Description: Essential fish habitat (EFH) regulations encourage regional fishery management councils to designate habitat areas of particular concern (HAPC) within areas of EFH in order to focus conservation priorities on specific habitat areas that play a particularly important role in the life cycles of federally managed species based on four criteria: (1) importance of the ecological function; (2) extent to which the habitat is sensitive to human-induced degradation; (3) extent development activities are or will stress the habitat; and, (4) the rarity of the habitat type. In the Gulf of Mexico the following areas are identified as HAPCs: the North and South Tortugas Ecological Reserves, East and West Flower Garden Banks, Florida Middle Grounds; Madison-Swanson Marine Reserve; Pulley Ridge and the following reefs and banks of the northwestern Gulf of Mexico: Stetson; McNeil; Bright Rezak; Geyer; McGrail; Bouma; Sonnier; Alderice; and Jakkula.
Copyright Text: Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council
Description: The area defined is based on the FINAL Generic Amendment Number 3 for Addressing Essential Fish Habitat Requirements, Habitat Areas of Particular Concern, and Adverse Effects of Fishing in the following Fishery Management Plans of the Gulf of Mexico: Shrimp Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico, United States Waters; Red Drum Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources (Mackerels) in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic; Stone Crab Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Spiny Lobster in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic; Coral and Coral Reefs of the Gulf of Mexico. (March 2005, Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, Tampa, FL) The Coral and Coral Reef Fishery Management Plan includes varied coral species and coral reef communities comprised of several hundred species. The area defined includes from Tarpon Springs, Florida, to Naples, Florida, between depths of 5 and 10 fathoms; and Cape Sable, Florida, to the boundary between the areas covered by the GMFMC and the SAFMC out to depths of 15 fathoms.
Description: The area defined is based on the FINAL Generic Amendment Number 3 for Addressing Essential Fish Habitat Requirements, Habitat Areas of Particular Concern, and Adverse Effects of Fishing in the following Fishery Management Plans of the Gulf of Mexico: Shrimp Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico, United States Waters; Red Drum Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources (Mackerels) in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic; Stone Crab Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Spiny Lobster in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic; Coral and Coral Reefs of the Gulf of Mexico. (March 2005, Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, Tampa, FL) The Red Drum Fishery Management Plan includes the red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus). The area defined includes all estuaries; Vermilion Bay, Louisiana, to the eastern edge of Mobile Bay, Alabama, out to depths of 25 fathoms; Crystal River, Florida, to Naples, Florida, between depths of 5 and 10 fathoms; and Cape Sable, Florida, to the boundary between the areas covered by the GMFMC and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) between depths of 5 and 10 fathoms.
Description: The area defined is based on the FINAL Generic Amendment Number 3 for Addressing Essential Fish Habitat Requirements, Habitat Areas of Particular Concern, and Adverse Effects of Fishing in the following Fishery Management Plans of the Gulf of Mexico: Shrimp Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico, United States Waters; Red Drum Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources (Mackerels) in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic; Stone Crab Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Spiny Lobster in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic; Coral and Coral Reefs of the Gulf of Mexico. (March 2005, Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, Tampa, FL) The Shrimp Fishery Management Plan includes the following species: brown shrimp (Farfantepenaeus aztecus), pink shrimp (F. duorarum), royal red shrimp (Pleoticus robustus), and white shrimp (Litopenaeus setiferus). The area defined includes all estuaries; the US/Mexico border to Fort Walton Beach, Florida, from estuarine waters out to depths of 100 fathoms; Grand Isle, Louisiana, to Pensacola Bay, Florida, between depths of 100 and 325 fathoms; Pensacola Bay, Florida, to the boundary between the areas covered by the GMFMC and the SAFMC out to depths of 35 fathoms, with the exception of waters extending from Crystal River, Florida, to Naples, Florida, between depths of 10 and 25 fathoms and in Florida Bay between depths of 5 and 10 fathoms.
Description: The area defined is based on the FINAL Generic Amendment Number 3 for Addressing Essential Fish Habitat Requirements, Habitat Areas of Particular Concern, and Adverse Effects of Fishing in the following Fishery Management Plans of the Gulf of Mexico: Shrimp Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico, United States Waters; Red Drum Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources (Mackerels) in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic; Stone Crab Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Spiny Lobster in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic; Coral and Coral Reefs of the Gulf of Mexico. (March 2005, Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, Tampa, FL)The Coastal Migratory Pelagic Fishery Management Plan includes the following species: cobia (Rachycentron canadum), king mackerel (Scomberomorus cavalla), and Spanish mackerel (S. maculatus). The area defined includes Gulf of Mexico waters and substrates extending from the US/Mexico border to the boundary between the areas covered by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council from estuarine waters out to depths of 100 fathoms.
Description: The area defined is based on the FINAL Generic Amendment Number 3 for Addressing Essential Fish Habitat Requirements, Habitat Areas of Particular Concern, and Adverse Effects of Fishing in the following Fishery Management Plans of the Gulf of Mexico: Shrimp Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico, United States Waters; Red Drum Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources (Mackerels) in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic; Stone Crab Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Spiny Lobster in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic; Coral and Coral Reefs of the Gulf of Mexico. (March 2005, Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, Tampa, FL) The Reef Fish Fishery Management Plan includes the following species: almaco jack (Seriola rivoliana) anchor tilefish (Caulolatilus intermedius) banded rudderfish (S. zonata) blackfin snapper (Lutjanus buccanella) blackline tilefish (Caulolatilus cyanops) black grouper (Mycteroperca bonaci) blueline tilefish (C. microps) cubera snapper (L. cyanopterus) dog snapper (L. jocu) dwarf sand perch (Diplectrum bivittatum) gag grouper (M. microlepis) goldface tilefish (C. chrysops) goliath grouper (Epinephelus itajara) gray snapper (L. griseus) gray triggerfish (Balistes capriscus) greater amberjack (S. dumerili) hogfish (Lachnolaimus maximus) lane snapper (Lutjanus synagris) lesser amberjack (S. fasciata) mahogany snapper (L. mahogoni) marbled grouper (E. inermis) misty grouper (E. mystacinus) mutton snapper (L. analis) Nassau grouper (E. striatus) queen snapper (Etelis oculatus) red hind (Epinephelus guttatus) red grouper (E. morio) red snapper (L. campechanus) rock hind (E. adscensionis) sand perch (Diplectrum formosum) scamp grouper (M. phenax) schoolmaster (L. apodus) silk snapper (L. vivanus) snowy grouper (E. niveatus) speckled hind (E. drummondhayi) tilefish (Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps) vermilion snapper (Rhomboplites aurorubens) Warsaw grouper (E. nigritus) wenchman (Pristipomoides aquilonaris) yellowedge grouper (E .lavolimbatus) yellowfin grouper (M. venenosa) yellowmouth grouper (M. interstitialis) yellowtail snapper (Ocyurus chrysurus). The area defined includes all estuaries; the US/Mexico border to the boundary between the areas covered by the GMFMC and the (SAFMC) from estuarine waters out to depths of 100 fathoms.