Description: Essential fish habitat (EFH) for Gulf of Mexico Corals consists of the following waters and substrate areas in the Gulf of Mexico: the total distribution of coral species and life stages throughout the Gulf of Mexico including: coral reefs in the North and South Tortugas Ecological Reserves, East and West Flower Garden Banks, McGrail Bank, and the southern portion of Pulley Ridge; hard bottom areas scattered along the pinnacles and banks from Texas to Mississippi, at the shelf edge and at the Florida Middle Grounds, the southwest tip of the Florida reef tract, and predominant patchy hard bottom offshore of Florida from approximately Crystal River south to the Florida Keys. Essential fish habitat (EFH) consists of known distributions of species in the fishery management unit (GMFMC 2004). Location of coral, dated 2014, is based on the 2005 identification and description of EFH for Coral and Coral Reefs.
Service Item Id: af104a6346e4487a919e6ae76026a24d
Copyright Text: MRAG Americas and GIS Solutions, Inc. completed the GIS analysis and produced maps for the EIS and Amendment. 2014 coral locations for Florida Keys taken from Unified Florida Reef Tract provided by FWC-FWRI (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission-Fish and Wildlife Research Institute), and for the Texas banks from H. Nash and Gulf of Mexico Fishery Managment Council.