Hawaii FEP - Western Pacific Fishery Council

ecommendations to assist federal and state agencies undertaking such measures. Councilsshould describe a variety of options to conserve or enhance EFH, which may include, but are notlimited to the following:Enhancement of rivers, streams, and coastal areas through new federal, state, or localgovernment planning efforts to restore river, stream, or coastal area watersheds.Improve water quality and quantity through the use of the best land management practices toensure that water-quality standards at state and federal levels are met. The practices includeimproved sewage treatment, disposing of waste materials properly, and maintaining sufficient instreamflow to prevent adverse effects to estuarine areas.Restore or create habitat, or convert non-EFH to EFH, to replace lost or degraded EFH, ifconditions merit such activities. However, habitat conversion at the expense of other naturallyfunctioning systems must be justified within an ecosystem context.6.5.2 Description of Mitigation Measures for Identified Activities and ImpactsEstablished policies and procedures of the Council and NMFS provide the framework forconserving and enhancing EFH. Components of this framework include adverse impactavoidance and minimization, provision of compensatory mitigation whenever the impact issignificant and unavoidable, and incorporation of enhancement. New and expandedresponsibilities contained in the MSA will be met through appropriate application of thesepolicies and principles. In assessing the potential impacts of proposed projects, the Council andthe NMFS are guided by the following general considerations:• The extent to which the activity would directly and indirectly affect the occurrence,abundance, health, and continued existence of fishery resources.• The extent to which the potential for cumulative impacts exists.• The extent to which adverse impacts can be avoided through project modification,alternative site selection, or other safeguards.• The extent to which the activity is water dependent if loss or degradation of EFH isinvolved.• The extent to which mitigation may be used to offset unavoidable loss of habitatfunctions and values.Seven nonfishing activities have been identified that directly or indirectly affect habitat used byMUS. Impacts and conservation measures are summarized below for each of these activities.Although not all inclusive, what follows is a good example of the kinds of measures that can helpto minimize or avoid the adverse effects of identified nonfishing activities on EFH.Habitat Loss and DegradationImpacts• Infaunal and bottom-dwelling organisms• Turbidity plumes207