Hawaii FEP - Western Pacific Fishery Council

eviewing and refining EFH designations as more information on species’ habitat requirementsbecomes available.The Council has used the best available scientific information to describe EFH in text and tablesthat provide information on the biological requirements for each life stage (egg, larvae, juvenile,adult) of all MUS. Careful judgment was used in determining the extent of the essential fishhabitat that should be designated to ensure that sufficient habitat in good condition is available tomaintain a sustainable fishery and the managed species’ contribution to a healthy ecosystem.Because there are large gaps in scientific knowledge about the life histories and habitatrequirements of many MUS in the Western Pacific Region, the Council adopted a precautionaryapproach in designating EFH to ensure that enough habitats are protected to sustain managedspecies.The depth ranges specific life stages have been observed or identified as utilizing were used todesignate EFH for bottomfish and crustaceans. In the case of crustaceans, the designation wasfurther refined based on productivity data. The precious corals designation combines depth andbottom type as indicators, but it is further refined based on the known distribution of the mostproductive areas for these organisms. Species were grouped into complexes because availableinformation suggests that many of them occur together and share similar habitat.In addition to the narratives, the general distribution and geographic limits of EFH for each lifehistory stage are available in the form of maps. The Council incorporated these data into ageographic information system to facilitate analysis and presentation. More detailed andinformative maps will be produced as more complete information about population responses tohabitat characteristics (e.g., growth, survival or reproductive rates) becomes available.At the time the Council’s EFH designations were approved by the Secretary, there was notenough data on the relative productivity of different habitats to develop EFH designations basedon Level 3 or Level 4 data for any of the Western Pacific Council’s MUS. The Council adopted afifth level, denoted Level 0, for situations in which there is no information available about thegeographic extent of a particular managed species’ life stage. Subsequently, very limited habitatinformation has been made available for MUS for the Council to review and use to revise theinitial EFH designations previously approved by the Secretary. However, habitat-related studiesfor bottomfish and precious coral and to a limited extent, crustaceans, are currently ongoing inthe NWHI and MHI. Additionally, fish and benthic surveys conducted during the NMFS CoralReef Ecosystem Division’s Pacific-Wide Rapid Assessment and Monitoring Program, along withother near-shore coral reef habitat health assessments undertaken by other agencies, may provideadditional information to refine EFH designations for Coral Reef Ecosystem MUS in all islandareas, including the Hawaii Archipelago.For additional details on the life history and habitat utilization patterns of individual HawaiiMUS, please see the EFH descriptions and maps contained in Supplements to Amendment 4, 6,and 10 to the Precious Corals, Bottomfish and Seamount Groundfish, and Crustaceans FMPsrespectively (WPRFMC 2002), and the Coral Reef Ecosystems FMP (WPRFMC 2001).176