Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) was defined by the U.S. Congress in the 1996 amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, or Magnuson-Stevens Act, as "those waters and substrate necessary to fish for spawning, breeding, feeding or growth to maturity.
[2] EFH includes all types of aquatic habitat, such as wetlands, coral reefs, sand, seagrasses, and rivers.
[16] Federal action agencies which fund, permit, or carry out activities that may adversely affect EFH are required to consult with NOAA Fisheries.
[19] These Conservation Recommendations provide information on how to avoid, minimize, mitigate, or offset those adverse effects.
[20] Federal action agencies must provide a written explanation to NOAA Fisheries if any of these recommendations have not been adopted.
[22] In addition, NOAA Fisheries and the FMCs may comment on and make recommendations to any state agency on their activities which may affect EFH.
HAPCs are afforded the same regulatory protection as EFH and do not exclude activities from occurring in the area, such as fishing, diving, swimming or surfing.
[28] Essential Fish Habitat is designated for all federally managed fish under the MSA whereas Critical Habitat is designated for the survival and recovery of species listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Finding the areas that had the highest abundance helped to identify EFH of juvenile brown shrimp.
Characteristics that affect soft bottom in relation to organisms that utilize them include sediment grain size, salinity, dissolved oxygen and flow.
[37] In September 2012, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Gulf Council) solicited applications for seats on an advisory panel to review if artificial reefs, or man-made structures and substrates could be considered EFH for federally managed species.
[39] Artificial reefs can be inhabited by federally managed species and may provide important habitat necessary to fish for spawning, breeding, feeding or growth to maturity.