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	Home Upcoming Events Institutions & Organizations People Bays & Estuaries Reefs, Banks & Islands Environmental Issues General Facts about the Gulf Exploration History Other Online Resources Electronic Books Mexican Coral Reef Species Checklist InfoHub Site Search:		Mapping Essential Fish Habitat for the Gulf of Mexico The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1996 requires the regional Fishery Management Councils and the Secretary of Commerce to describe and identify Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) for species under federal Fishery Management Plans. Essential Fish Habitat is defined in the Magnuson-Stevens Act as "those waters and substrate necessary to fish for spawning, breeding, feeding, or growth to maturity." The word "fish" in the previous sentence includes finfish, crabs, shrimp, and lobsters in the Gulf of Mexico. By identifying EFH we can then protect these habitats and restore them if they become damaged. The Fishery Ecology Branch developed a web site to support EFH efforts of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. Maps and information are presented for use in identifying EFH in the Gulf of Mexico using relative abundance estimates for managed fish species. These data were obtained from the Estuarine Living Marine Resources (ELMR) database developed by the National Ocean Service (NOS). The ELMR database was substantially upgraded by NOS to support this EFH effort. Principal Investigator(s) or Program Chair: Minello, Thomas J. Mark Monaco Geoffrey Matthews Philip Caldwell John Christensen Randy Clark Sponsor(s): Sea Grant Mississippi-Alabama Institution(s): Galveston Laboratory National Ocean Service Field of Focus: Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) restoration and protection Study Site:   Gulf of Mexico Award Period:   Since 1992 E-mail:   Tom.Minello@noaa.gov Keywords:   Fish habitat, EFH, Restoration, Protection, Mapping
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