Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) =

1. Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) = “those waters and substrates necessary to fish for spawning, breeding, feeding, or growth to maturity”

2. Recovery and Subsequent Maintenance of Fisheries • Based, in part, on the quality and quantity of habitat • especially for the early life history stages (larvae and juveniles)

3. Problems • Degradation, alteration and destruction of habitat is ongoing • Lack sufficient information to effectively identify the most important habitats to conserve and restore

5. Recommendations • Habitat issues are central to the future health of our estuarine and oceanic fisheries, thus the organizational structure and monies necessary to address/refine Essential Fish Habitat are critical • Need for collaborative programs between federal, state and academic scientists • Research and monitoring programs for fish and shellfish populations need to be long-term in order to comprehend the effects of changes in the ocean, whether natural or human-induced

6. Recommendations (cont.) • Habitat research on finfishes and shellfishes should be conducted with high frequency because of the dynamic use of habitats due to movements/migrations on a variety of temporal scales (tidal, diel, seasonal, annual) • Research and monitoring programs necessary to address the role of habitat, as it influences population fluctuations, have to be conducted at landscape/ecosystem scales; especially important across the freshwater/estuary/ocean continuum • Based on the above, habitat conservation and restoration should receive enhanced support at all levels of government

8. Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) = “those waters and substrates necessary to fish for spawning, breeding, feeding, or growth to maturity” EFH (revised) = “those waters and substrates necessary to fish for spawning and growth to maturity”