A Guide to Closed Areas for Commercial Spiny Lobster Trap Fishing 10/2/14 Page 1 Why are these areas closed to spiny lobster trap fishing?
NOAA Fisheries Service and the Gulf and South Atlantic Fishery Management Councils have created closed areas to protect threatened staghorn and elkhorn coral (Acropora spp.) Prohibiting the use of lobster traps near these corals reduces their risk of damage due to trap movement caused mostly by storms.
Why are these corals protected?
Staghorn and elkhorn corals are a food source and provide important habitat for many different fish and invertebrates including spiny lobster. Staghorn and elkhorn coral populations have been reduced by 90-95% since 1980.
The following maps show only coral areas and closures in federal waters because the Gulf and South Atlantic Councils’ management area are limited to federal waters.
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council 2203 N. Lois Avenue, Suite 1100 Tampa, Florida 33607 Phone: (813) 348-1630 E-mail: [email protected] www.gulfcouncil.org Important Note: Don’t panic. The red boxes on this map are not the closures. They are a guide Photos courtesy of: NOAA Photo Library and Emily Muehlstein to the maps that follow. Page 2 Page 3
Region A Coordinates REGION A Page 4 Page 5
Region B Coordinates REGION B Page 6 Page 7
Region C Coordinates REGION C Page 8 Page 9
Region D Coordinates
None REGION D Page 10 Region ECoordinates Page 11 REGION E Page 12 Page 13
Region F Coordinates REGION F Page 14 Page 15
Region G Coordinates REGION G Page 16 Page 17
Region H Coordinates REGION H Page 18 Page 19
Region I Coordinates
REGION I Page 20 Page 21
Region J Coordinates
REGION J Page 22 Page 23
Region K Coordinates
REGION K Page 24 Page 25
Region L Coordinates
REGION L Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council 2203 N. Lois Avenue Suite 1100 Tampa, FL 33607 Tel: 888-833-1844 Fax: 813-348-1711 Email: [email protected] Web site: www.gulfcouncil.org
Authorized under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976. Public Law 94–265 as amended. This is a publication of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council pursuant to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Award No. NA10NMF4410011.