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Omnibus Deep-Sea Coral Amendment

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Omnibus Deep-Sea Coral Amendment Omnibus Deep-Sea Coral Amendment DRAFT: November 4, 2016 Sections that are substantially complete and may be of interest include: Background and Purpose, section 2, page 7 Management Alternatives, section 3, page 13 o Includes No Action (page 14), broad zones (page 16), discrete zones (page 21), fishing restriction measures (page 83) Description of the Affected Environment, section 5, page 94 o Includes coral habitat suitability (page 124), species richness and distribution (page 99) o Background on fishing gear interactions and vulnerability (page 124) o Managed resources and fisheries (page 143) Prepared by the New England Fishery Management Council DEEP-SEA CORAL AMENDMENT COVER IMAGES, CLOCKWISE FROM UPPER RIGHT: A large black coral and two Paramuricea corals in Oceanographer Canyon. Image courtesy of NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program, 2013 Northeast U.S. Canyons Expedition. Close-up of a sea pen colony at 2,023 meters depth on Retriever Seamount. Sea pens are octocorals and the characteristic eight pinnate tentacles are plainly visible in this image. The dark line running down below the tentacles of each polyp is the pharynx, connecting the mouth to the bag-like digestive cavity. A mysid shrimp (“possum shrimp”) is swimming by the colony. Image courtesy of NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program, Our Deepwater Backyard: Exploring Atlantic Canyons and Seamounts. Cup corals and a sea star a mile underwater in Heezen Canyon. Image courtesy of NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program, 2013 Northeast U.S. Canyons Expedition. A Paramuricea coral in Nygren Canyon which 165 nautical miles southeast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Image courtesy of NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program, 2013 Northeast U.S. Canyons Expedition. Updated 4 November 2016 Page 2 DEEP-SEA CORAL AMENDMENT 1 Contents 1.1 Table of contents 1 CONTENTS ................................................................................................................ 3 1.1 Table of contents ................................................................................................... 3 1.2 Tables..................................................................................................................... 4 1.3 Maps ...................................................................................................................... 5 2 BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE ........................................................................... 7 2.1 What are deep-sea corals? ..................................................................................... 7 2.2 Need and purpose for action .................................................................................. 7 2.3 Management background and authority ................................................................ 8 2.4 Amendment development process ....................................................................... 10 3 MANAGEMENT ALTERNATIVES ..................................................................... 13 3.1 No Action ............................................................................................................ 14 3.2 Broad deep-sea coral zone designations .............................................................. 16 3.2.1 Option A: Landward boundary approximating the 300 m contour ............... 18 3.2.2 Option B: Landward boundary approximating the 400 m contour ............... 18 3.2.3 Option C: Landward boundary approximating the 500 m contour ............... 18 3.2.4 Option D: Landward boundary approximating the 600 m contour ............... 18 3.3 Discrete deep-sea coral zone designations .......................................................... 21 3.3.1 Canyon coral zones ....................................................................................... 24 3.3.2 Seamount coral zones ................................................................................... 67 3.3.3 Gulf of Maine coral zones and boundaries ................................................... 72 3.4 Fishing restriction options for coral zones .......................................................... 83 3.4.1 Option 1. Prohibit bottom-tending gears ...................................................... 83 3.4.2 Option 2: Prohibit use of mobile bottom-tending gears................................ 83 3.5 Framework provisions for deep-sea coral zones ................................................. 84 3.5.1 Option 1. Add, revise, or remove coral zones via framework adjustment .... 84 3.5.2 Option 2. Change fishing restrictions in coral zones via framework adjustment .................................................................................................................. 84 3.6 Special Access Programs, exploratory fishing, and research in coral zones ....... 84 3.6.1 Special access program fishing ..................................................................... 85 3.6.2 Exploratory fishing ....................................................................................... 87 3.6.3 Research activities ........................................................................................ 89 3.6.4 Allow changes to exemption fishery requirements via framework adjustment 91 4 CONSIDERED AND REJECTED ALTERNATIVES ......................................... 92 5 DESCRIPTION OF THE AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT .................................. 94 5.1 Physical setting .................................................................................................... 94 5.1.1 Gulf of Maine ................................................................................................ 94 5.1.2 Continental slope, canyons, and seamounts .................................................. 94 5.2 Coral species of the New England region ........................................................... 99 5.2.1 Data sources .................................................................................................. 99 5.2.2 Species richness ......................................................................................... 108 5.2.3 Geographic distribution .............................................................................. 116 Updated 4 November 2016 Page 3 DEEP-SEA CORAL AMENDMENT 5.3 Deep-sea coral habitat suitability model ........................................................... 124 5.4 Coral vulnerability to fishing impacts ............................................................... 129 5.4.1 Coral vulnerability and recovery potential ................................................. 129 5.4.2 Gear interaction studies............................................................................... 132 5.4.3 Fishing gear interactions with corals in the New England region .............. 135 5.5 Deep-sea coral associates and ecological interactions ...................................... 139 5.6 Managed resources, fisheries, and associated human communities .................. 143 5.6.1 Managed species and their associated fisheries .......................................... 143 5.6.2 Human Communities .................................................................................. 155 5.7 Essential Fish Habitat ........................................................................................ 157 5.8 Protected resources ............................................................................................ 157 6 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF THE ALTERNATIVES ......................... 158 6.1 Physical habitat and EFH .................................................................................. 158 6.2 Deep-sea corals .................................................................................................. 158 6.3 Fisheries and human communities .................................................................... 158 6.4 Protected resources ............................................................................................ 158 7 CUMULATIVE EFFECTS ANALYSIS .............................................................. 158 8 COMPLIANCE WITH THE MAGNUSON STEVENS FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT ACT...................................................... 159 9 COMPLIANCE WITH THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT 159 10 RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER APPLICABLE LAWS .................................. 159 11 REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 160 11.1 Glossary .......................................................................................................... 160 11.2 Literature cited ............................................................................................... 160 1.2 Tables Table 1 – Size and depth of broad coral zones ................................................................. 17 Table 2 – Types of research documents issued by NERO. Summarized from Research Documentation: Exempted Fishing Permits, Temporary Possession Permits, Exempted Educational Activity Authorizations, and Letters of Acknowledgement. Updated 23 November 2010, available at http://www.nero.noaa.gov/permits/. ................................................................. 90 Table 3 – Deep-sea coral data sources for the Northeast Region ................................... 100 Table 4 – Recent deep-sea coral oriented cruises within the New England region ........ 102 Table 5 – True soft corals and gorgonians (Order Alcyonacea) of the New England region.............................................................................................................. 109 Table 6 – Sea pens (Order Pennatulacea)
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