Agenda Item E.5.b Public Comment April 2015
Midwater Trawlers Cooperative Pacific Whiting Conservation Cooperative United Catcher Boats
Dorothy Lowman, Chair Pacific Fishery Management Council 7700 NE Ambassador Place, Suite 101 Portland, OR 97220
March 19, 2015
RE: Agenda Item E.5 – Groundfish Essential Fish Habitat Amendment Scoping including RCA and Area Adjustments
Dear Ms. Lowman,
Midwater Trawlers Cooperative (MTC), Pacific Whiting Conservation Cooperative (PWCC), and United Catcher Boats (UCB) provide these comments (and attached analyses) for consideration by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) as they decide the scope of the Groundfish Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) Amendment. MTC, PWCC, and UCB represent most harvesting and at-sea processing participants in the Pacific whiting fishery. Based on the information provided in attached appendices and as discussed below, we recommend the Council not include new EFH regulatory measures that would apply to the whiting midwater trawl fishery because a thorough analysis of the whiting fishery data demonstrates that new regulatory measures are not needed.
Under this agenda topic, the Council is considering a very broad range of issues. Apparently, only one would apply to the midwater trawl whiting fishery. This issue was added to the mix by the joint proposal submitted by Oceana, Ocean Conservancy, and NRDC (hereafter Oceana et al.) in November 2013 (Agenda Item H.7.a, Attachment 7, November 2013).
As part of their proposal, Oceana et al. assert, “significant bottom contact is occurring by midwater trawls” and propose that new gear restrictions are necessary. It is our understanding that the basis of the Oceana et al. assertion is information developed by the whiting industry in response to a condition placed on the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification of the Pacific coast midwater trawl whiting fishery. In contrast to the Oceana et al. assertion that significant bottom contact is occurring, the survey reported limited occurrences, generally over mud or sand bottom. In summary, a survey of the US fleet was conducted by the US Pacific Hake MSC clients in 2011. Responses were received from about one-third of the whiting fishing vessel fleet (i.e., catcher vessels and catcher/processors). A median of 8% of tows were reported
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to have made bottom contact in the 2009 fishery, exclusively on muddy/sandy bottom. A median of 3% of tows were reported to have made bottom contact in the 2010 fishery, again on muddy/sandy bottom. It is important to note that these limited interactions with the sea floor were reported for the entire extent of the US whiting fishery from the US/Canada Border to the Oregon/California Border, that is, responses were about general fishing patterns, not fishing patterns specific to EFH Conservation Areas (EFH CAs).
In September 2014, the Council requested NMFS develop information about potential bottom contact by the midwater trawl whiting fishery in EFH CAs. The NMFS analysis was an attempt to estimate the frequency of bottom contact by vessels in the whiting midwater trawl fishery. In December 2014, NMFS requested feedback about their analytical approach and findings. The whiting sectors formally responded to this request with several suggestions to refine and improve the NMFS analysis (that letter is provided as Appendix 1). Our expectation is that NMFS will respond to these suggestions in an April 2015 report to the Council.
In response to the NMFS analysis and to help us better understand interactions between whiting midwater trawl gear and EFH CAs, Mr. Dave Fraser and Mr. Karl Haflinger developed analyses to review the probability of whiting catcher vessel and catcher/processor bottom contact in EFH CAs. Their analyses are provided as Appendix 2 and Appendix 3. In essence, Messrs. Fraser and Haflinger built upon the work developed by NMFS by adding Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) tow-level data overlaying EFH CAs, identifying voluntary closure areas, conducting finer-level analyses of the species composition-data proxy used by NMFS, and analyzing fish life history characteristics that influence where fish are in the water column.
The findings are, in summary:
• There are few haul locations within any of the E CAs. • There are relatively less after rationalization. • Applying a “1kg per haul” filter for shortspine and rex sole eliminates most of those haul locations. • Only a few EFH CAs have bathymetry that makes bottom contact with a whiting trawl plausible. • Of the subset of hauls with any point in an EFH CAs, the associated VMS tracks show most of the haul occurred outside the area, thus reducing the probability bottom contact occurred inside an EFH CA. • Of the subset of tracks with EFH CA, very few show any amount of shortspine (the most common “indicator” species). • Of the subset of those tracks, applying a “10 kg per haul” filter for shortspine eliminates the remainder.
These analyses are provided to the Council to help inform your April 2015 decision about the scope of the EFH Amendment. They demonstrate that it is highly unlikely that the whiting fishery is adversely affecting groundfish EFH. In practical terms, it makes no sense for a whiting fisherman to risk fouling or losing their gear by fishing on hard bottom. The whiting fishery has demonstrated a keen ability to fish cleanly and efficiently, as well as to address issues through voluntary action, all of which are critical to success in the fishery. Therefore, in a proactive
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effort to make it even more unlikely that whiting gear will make bottom contact in EFH CAs, the whiting industry has embarked on an educational campaign to ensure that fishing vessel operators know the locations of EFH CAs by including them on charts and plotters used in the fishery, as well as highlighting the importance of avoiding bottom contact in these areas.
In summary, these analyses show that there is no need for alternatives that would place new restrictions on the whiting fishery. Accordingly, MTC, PWCC, and UCB recommend that the Council not include new EFH regulatory measures that would apply to the whiting midwater trawl fishery. Thank you for considering our information and recommendation.
Sincerely,
Heather Mann Daniel A. Waldeck Midwater Trawlers Cooperative Pacific Whiting Conservation Cooperative
Brent Paine United Catcher Boats
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Appendix 1
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" ! $ 2 & # 1 9 " ! $ 2 & # 1 9 !" ! !! !$ !2 $ 5 "8 : , > , 0 , ( 0 9 "& 9 " 7 /: "& ' .* /**.(/*): "& ! "1 "# "2 7 9 "! " ! $ 2 & # 1 9 "!$2!"!!!!$!2 $ 5 8 > , : , 0 , 0 1 $ ,, 60 % 5 H@, 60 6 60 60 - 5 . K" E F 60 &";&" 60 !3 % % 60 % %I6 D 5 C - ; . % C E F C E F % 60 H@, Appendix A ! "### $ #$ #% % $& '($% ) #*+%*#*" ( * $$ ! ",$-.' # )/$# % # %#*#* ( $* * # $ #) $ ** ( (###" ##$*% # #*# ##* !% # #)01 *(*2#3((*,*#$ #)/$& '($% # ** ")4 5 #% #$& '($% $ ! "% # ** #$-.' # )/$##*"* ( + % # (##) .() .(#6* #$ $# #$$% #*() /$ * $ # %** #%##$#$*)/$ $ $ ! "#%% +*76 8) %%#$# % $ $%* #% $$-.' # # *"* # (768$$76 8# % ) .( /$## *% * # #* #0 % ! "4)/$ ! "#$ #$ *#**% $ # **$ -.' # ) .(6 David Kirk Po Box 1503 Arroyo Grande, Ca 93421 March 30, 2014 Ms. Dorothy Lowman , Chairman Pacific Fishery Management Council 7700 NE Ambassador Place, Suite 101 Portland, Or 7220-1384 Re: The creation of additional EFH areas as result of Amendment 19 five year review. Dear Chairman Wolford and members of the Council, On behalf of the Port San Luis Commercial Fisherman’s Association, I am writing in opposition to the creation of additional EFH designated areas. We feel that in order a for a sustainable fish community to be economically viable, we need more areas opened, and no new closed areas. We fear that the existing closures we have are setting us up to fail in Morro Bay and Port San Luis. Adding more areas will guarantee that commercial fishing will be economically affected. Therefore, we applaud Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary’s willingness to reopen historically trawled areas of importance to fisherman. As a result of the PSLCFA and the Morro Bay Commercial Fisherman’s Association concerns regarding the MBNMS proposal, a meeting was held in Morro Bay in April with Karen Grimmer, of MBNMS, and trawl fisherman that participated in the negotiation and compromise regarding the Collaborative Groundfish Essential Habitat Proposal. Although the trawlers seemed happy with the trade, we have concerns that in the future, other gear types besides trawl will be affected. We have many small vessels that target crab and other fish and invertebrates, using gear that makes contact with the bottom. Historically, our two harbors have fished rock fish from Point Conception to Point Sur. NMFS Habitat Assessment Improvement Plan (HAIP; NMFS 2010) established a framework for conducting habitat assessments, and evaluated national science needs of a region-by region basis to achieve greater levels of habitat assessment excellence. The HAIP drew from the example of the Pacific Fishery Management Council’s 2005 Environmental Impact Statement on EFH designation and minimization of adverse impacts to the West Coast groundfisheries that formed the basis for Amendment 19. That assessment represented a compilation of information on the status of habitats important to the groundfisheries and impact of fishing on those habitats. In particular, comparative analyses of catch and diversity of groundfish species could be conducted between EFH Conservation Areas and areas with no prohibitions in order to evaluate performance of Amendment 19 closures. NMFS objective is to analyze these spatial areas, comparing species richness and size and maintain closures for periods long enough to support research on the impacts of the closure on both habitat and species and establish closures in a full range of habitats and across relevant gear types in the context of a planned experiment. I suggest they study small areas adjacent to the MPA’s not spatial closures of over 100 square miles near our ports, and do studies with other organizations studying the MPA’s. I feel it makes sense in California for Ocean Science Trust to do a collaborative study with NMFS. Ultimately the Council identified groundfish EFH as well as all waters from the high tide line (and parts of estuaries) to 3500 meters in depth. This should be studied in its entirety to achieve an objective analysis of EFH and the problems that exist since all of this area is connected by the movement of water, organisms, temperatures, and negative impacts. Designated areas are taking a step backwards in achieving an understanding of EFH, in my opinion. In conclusion, our associations would like to see more areas opened to fishing and greater efforts in correcting existing problems that threaten the abundance of fish. Closing additional closed areas will be detrimental to commercial fishing and fishing related businesses. There are other affective strategies to manage fish stocks without threatening fishing community’s livelihoods. Thank You, David Kirk Port San Luis Commercial Fisherman’s Association 805-680-4798 [email protected] March 20, 2015 Ms. Dorothy Lowman, Chair Pacific Fishery Management Council 7700 NE Ambassador Place, Suite 101 Portland, OR 97220 RE: E.5 Groundfish Essential Fish Habitat Amendment Scoping, Including Rockfish Conservation Area (RCA) Adjustments Dear Ms. Lowman and Council members: Thank you for the opportunity to comment on scoping for revisions to groundfish essential fish habitat (EFH) designation and conservation. In considering the scope of actions, alternatives, and impacts for further analysis, we urge the Council to adopt a scope that includes a full range of reasonable alternatives, including the comprehensive conservation proposal submitted by Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Oceana, and Ocean Conservancy (OC) (NRDC/Oceana/OC Proposal).1 Because this proposal maximizes habitat protection while minimizing fishing effort displacement, as affirmed in the National Marine Fisheries Service’s own assessment of proposals, the Council should include its elements in a final range of alternatives to amend the Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). Amendment 19 to the Groundfish FMP identified and described EFH for managed groundfish.2 In 2006, the National Marine Fisheries Service took management measures to implement the regulatory provisions of Amendment 19, which included fishing gear restrictions and prohibitions, closing areas to bottom trawling, and closing areas to all fishing that contacts the bottom.3 The Council initiated the EFH review process in 2010, pursuant to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration regulations.4 The EFH review process includes three phases: Phase 1, data consolidation; Phase 2, request for proposals to modify EFH, and Phase 3, management action.5 Based in large part on eight proposals submitted to the Council during Phase 2, including the NRDC/Oceana/OC Proposal, 1 NRDC, Oceana, OC, Proposal to the Pacific Fishery Management Council to Modify Groundfish Essential Fish Habitat Designation, Conservation, and Enforcement (July 31, 2013), available at ftp://ftp.pcouncil.org/pub/GF_EFH_Review%202011-2012/Oceana.NRDC.OC/. 2 Groundfish FMP Amendment 18/19 (Nov. 2005), available at http://www.pcouncil.org/wp- content/uploads/A18-19Final.pdf. 3 71 Fed. Reg. 27,408 (May 11, 2006). 4 50 C.F.R. § 600.815 (FMPs must include procedures the Council will follow to review and update EFH information. Such review includes soliciting information from interested parties, and must be conducted at least once every five years). 5 Council Operating Procedures (COP) 22 (June 13, 2007, revised Sept. 11, 2008, April 12, 2011). Ms. Dorothy Lowman, PFMC Essential Fish Habitat Scoping Page 2 of 4 the Council determined that there was sufficient new information to move to Phase 3 of the EFH review.6 To promote the efficacy of Phase 3, at the March 2014 meetings, the Council asked the Northwest and Southwest Fisheries Science Centers to investigate the question of groundfish effectiveness, accuracy, and completeness. At the following Council meeting in June, environmental and industry representatives agreed to work together to find common ground and explore the possibility of a compromise EFH proposal. Oceana has supported this effort, along with NRDC and Environmental Defense Fund, and has met with a number of industry representatives in ports from Eureka, California to Astoria, Oregon. We have been encouraged by industry participation, and it remains the intent of Oceana and other participants that this collaborative approach will result in a positive outcome for both fisheries and habitat protection. In the meantime, we support scoping that includes a broad range of alternatives. NEPA is the “basic national charter for protection of the environment.”7 Congress enacted the statute “to help public officials make decisions that are based on understanding of environmental consequences, and take actions that protect, restore and enhance the environment.”8 To meet this goal, NEPA requires that agencies prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for all “major Federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.” 9 An agency’s solicitation and consideration of informed public opinion as a component of its decision making is fundamental to the NEPA process. Scoping consists of the range of actions, alternatives, and impacts to be considered in an environmental impact statement.10 To determine the scope of an EIS, agencies must consider “reasonable courses of action.”11 Amendment 19 employed an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze a range of alternative strategies to conserve and enhance groundfish EFH,12 and the Council EFH five year review process has appropriately called for scoping here. The NRDC/Oceana/OC proposal would designate sixty-six areas off the United States West Coast as closed to non-tribal bottom trawl gear, open nine areas that are currently closed to bottom trawling, require that bottom contact by midwater trawls be prohibited inside EFH conservation areas, designate major prey taxa as a component of groundfish EFH without any additional management measures, and close all waters from 3500 meters to the EEZ boundary to bottom trawling.13 This proposal would protect an additional 1,579 square miles of hard 6 Pacific Fishery Management Council, Decision Summary Document 5 (Nov. 1-6, 2013), available at http://www.pcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/1113decisions.pdf. 7 40 C.F.R. § 1500.1 8 Id. 9 42 U.S.C. § 4332(C). 10 40 C.F.R. § 1508.25. 11 40 C.F.R. § 1508.25(b)(2). 12 NMFS, Pacific Coast Groundfish FMP, Essential Fish Habitat Designation and Minimization of Adverse Impacts, Final EIS (Dec. 2005) , available at http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/nepa/groundfish/final_groundfish_efh_eis.html. 13 NRDC, Oceana, OC, Proposal to the Pacific Fishery Management Council to Modify Groundfish Essential Fish Habitat Designation, Conservation, and Enforcement (July 31, 2013), supra note 1; Memorandum from Ben Enticknap and Geoff Shester, Oceana, to Pacific Fishery Management Council, Coastwide EFH Conservation Proposal Summary (March 20, 2015) (attached). Ms. Dorothy Lowman, PFMC Essential Fish Habitat Scoping Page 3 of 4 substrate, and 339 square miles of mixed substrate from bottom trawling. It would include 12,579 coral observations and 4,958 sponge observations in EFH conservation areas. It would protect an additional 2,794 square miles of predicted highly suitable coral habitat from bottom trawling. Combined with deep-water closures, this represents a total increase of 143,794 square miles of seafloor protected from bottom trawling. It would also maintain over 29,000 square miles of the continental shelf and upper slope habitat as open to bottom trawling, and open 1.77% of the total groundfish bottom trawl intensity that took place before the current closures went into effect. In Amendment 19, midwater trawls were excluded based on the assumption that they do not contact the seafloor. As described in the EFHRC Phase I report: Midwater trawl fishing is permissible within all Amendment 19 EFH conservation areas since it was assumed to have no contact with the seafloor. Annually, midwater trawling occurs over 8-31% of EFH conservation areas where bottom trawling is prohibited, and bottom contact is estimated by the fleet to occur on up to 25% of tows predominantly in soft sediment habitats, as referenced in the Phase 1 Report.14 New analysis by the Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) indicates that the original rationale for excluding midwater trawl vessels from EFH Conservation Area regulations is no longer valid. While the quantitative extent of bottom contact by midwater trawls cannot be precisely determined due to the lack of direct monitoring of bottom contact, the September 2014 NWFSC report indicated significant bottom contact based on the presence of benthic fish and invertebrate taxa in the catch. 15 The NWFSC is conducting a revised analysis, which we look forward to seeing. From the present data, however, it is clear that bottom contact is occurring both inside and outside EFH Conservation Areas, confirming the basis for prohibitions against bottom contact by midwater trawls, as articulated in the Oceana/NRDC/OC EFH proposal. Consequently, we request that the Council include regulations addressing midwater trawl bottom contact inside EFH Conservation Areas within the scope of this action. Our proposal identified authority for the closure of all waters deeper than 3500m to bottom trawling.16 After further discussions with the National Marine Fisheries Service, it appears that of these various options, the use of broad Magnuson-Stevens Act authority under either Section 303(b)(2)(A) or 303(b)(12), or both, may be a preferred option to achieve this policy objective. More specifically, these two options include: 1. Protecting the area without designating it as EFH using the discretionary authority in Section 303(b)(2)(A) of the MSA. This section of the law was added in the 2006 reauthorization and allows the designation of zones where specific gear types are not 14 Essential Fish Habitat Review Committee (EFHRC), Supplemental EFHRC Report 2 (April 2013), available at http://www.pcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/D6c_SUP_EFHRC_APR2013BB.pdf. 15 NMFS Response to Council’s Questions Concerning The Effectiveness, Accuracy, and Completeness of Pacific Coast Groundfish EFH (Sept. 2014), available at http://www.pcouncil.org/wp- content/uploads/IR7_Sup_NMFS_EFH_EvalRpt_Sept2014BB.pdf. 16 NRDC, Oceana, OC, Proposal to the Pacific Fishery Management Council to Modify Groundfish Essential Fish Habitat Designation, Conservation, and Enforcement (July 31, 2013), supra note 1, at 33-34. Ms. Dorothy Lowman, PFMC Essential Fish Habitat Scoping Page 4 of 4 permitted.17 Closures under this provision are not dependent on the identification of deep sea corals. 2. Protecting the area without designating it as EFH by using the discretionary authority contained in Section 303(b)(12) of the MSA. This section of the law was added in the 2006 reauthorization, and provides general management authority to conserve non- target species and habitats.18 We ask the Council to include this deep-water bottom trawl closure in the scope of this action, and suggest that the Council work with NMFS to identify the most appropriate authority to implement this closure as part of the EFH groundfish amendment. Our proposal should be included in groundfish EFH scoping. In its report to the Council on groundfish EFH effectiveness, accuracy, and completeness, NMFS included an analysis of the proposals the Council received in its Phase 2 request for proposals.19 In comparison, the NRDC/Oceana/OC proposal calls for the greatest protection of habitat and, simultaneously, the greatest area reopening within existing EFH areas.20 The proposal also minimizes bottom trawl displacement—limiting it to 2.2%—and reopens areas representing 2.3% of bottom trawl fishing effort prior to the current closures.21 Because it meets the two goals of maximizing habitat protection while minimizing effects on the bottom trawl industry, the proposal deserves consideration in full, as one of the alternatives analyzed in scoping groundfish EFH. Please include our proposal in your analysis. Sincerely, Ben Enticknap Geoffrey G. Shester, Ph.D. Pacific Campaign Manager California Campaign Director Attached: Summary of NRDC, Oceana, Ocean Conservancy Proposal to the Pacific Fishery Management Council to Modify Groundfish Essential Fish Habitat Designation, Conservation, and Enforcement 17 16 U.S.C. § 1853(b)(2)(A), stating that “[a]ny fishery management plan which is prepared by any Council, or by the Secretary, with respect to any fishery, may . . . designate zones where, and periods when, fishing shall be limited, or shall not be permitted, or shall be permitted only by specified types of fishing vessels or with specified types and quantities of fishing gear.” 18 Id. § 1853(b)(12), authorizing the Council or the Secretary to include management measures in any fishery management plan “to conserve target and non-target species and habitats, considering the variety of ecological factors affecting fishery populations.” 19 NMFS Response to Council’s Questions Concerning The Effectiveness, Accuracy, and Completeness of Pacific Coast Groundfish EFH (Sept. 2014), supra note 15. 20 Id. Table 3. 21 Id. Tables 5 and 6. DT: March 20, 2015, TO: Pacific Fishery Management Council FR: Ben Enticknap, Geoff Shester (Oceana) RE: Summary of Oceana, NRDC, Ocean Conservancy EFH Proposal On July 31, 2013 Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council and Ocean Conservancy submitted a comprehensive conservation proposal to the Pacific Fishery Management Council to amend groundfish EFH designation, conservation and enforcement. The full proposal, maps and analyses are available in the November 2013 PFMC briefing book (see Agenda Item H.7.a, Attachment 7). Below is a summary of the components of this proposal. 1. EFH Conservation Areas a. Designate 66 areas off the U.S. West Coast that would be closed to non-tribal bottom trawl gear. Some areas modify existing EFH Conservation Areas, some are new areas shoreward of the 700 fathom bottom trawl footprint, and some are adjacent to the 700 fathom footprint closure. Areas were identified to maximize protections for sensitive habitat features important to groundfish (e.g. corals, sponges, hard and mixed substrates) and avoid significant impacts to the industry. b. Open 9 areas that are currently closed to bottom trawling. 2. Enforcement Changes a. Change the VMS ping rate from 1 hour to 15 minute intervals to more precisely indicate the location of vessel tracks while fishing is occurring. b. Require the use of hydraulic sensors to determine precisely when trawl nets are being retrieved and deployed. c. Require depth sensors to record the active fishing depth of the trawl net in relation to the seafloor. d. Require the recording and reporting of these sensory data by means of an electronic logbook. 3. Gear Regulation Changes (Midwater Trawl Gear) a. In concert with proposed enforcement changes, require that bottom contact by midwater trawls be prohibited inside EFH Conservation Areas. Midwater trawls would be allowed to operate inside EFH Conservation Areas but not contact the seafloor in these areas. Midwater trawling occurs over 8-31% of EFH Conservation Areas where bottom trawling is prohibited, and bottom contact occurs on up to 25% of tows. 4. EFH Designation a. Prey: Designate “major prey taxa” as a component of groundfish EFH but without any additional management measures. We proposed 31 major prey taxa based on development of a Major Prey Index assessing the diet composition for 11 groundfish species. 1 5. Deep-water habitats (designation and footprint closure): Designate EFH out to the edge of the EEZ, and close all waters from 3500 meters to the EEZ boundary to bottom trawling. The PFMC originally proposed this area be closed (in 2005) and NMFS did not approve it because EFH was only designated to 3500 meters. There are five pathways the PFMC and NMFS could take to implement this footprint closure. We propose consideration of: i. Designating the area as EFH based on the deepest observation of FMP Groundfish species (3400m) plus an increased precautionary buffer to reflect the fact that most of the area deeper than 3400m has not been sampled. ii. Designate the area deeper than 3500 m as EFH based on new estimations of depths where FMP species may occur. This could be done via re- evaluation of data for existing FMP species, or by adding new species in the FMP (i.e. other grenadiers). iii. Protect the area without designating it as EFH via discretionary authority in the MSA to allow for gear restrictions to protect deep sea corals. Section 303(b)(2)(B) of the MSA added in 2006. iv. Protect the area without designating it as EFH using discretionary authority to designate zones where specific gear types are not permitted. Section 303(b)(2)(A) of the MSA, added in 2006. v. Protect the area without designating it as EFH using discretionary authority that provides general management authority to conserve non- target species and habitats. Section 303(b)(12) of the MSA, added in 2006. 6. Proposal Benefits & Potential Displacement a. An additional 1,579 square statute miles of hard substrate protected from bottom trawling (36% increase); b. An additional 339 square miles of mixed (hard and soft) substrate protected from bottom trawling (102% increase); c. Inclusion of 12,579 coral observations in EFH conservation areas (14% increase); d. Inclusion of 4,958 sponge observations in EFH conservation areas (78% increase); e. An additional 2,794 square miles of predicted highly suitable coral habitat protected from bottom trawling (45% increase); and f. A total increase of 143,794 square miles protected from bottom trawling overall (99% increase). g. This proposal would maintain over 29,000 square miles of the continental shelf and upper slope habitat as open to bottom trawling. h. Proposed open areas encompass 1.77% of the total groundfish bottom trawl intensity that took place before the current closures went into effect (2000-2005). i. The proposed 66 closed areas combined include 2.79% of recent (2006-2010) groundfish bottom trawl effort and 1.14% of shrimp trawl effort as provided by the State of Oregon (2007-2011). 2 3 West Coast EEZ 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% totalarea # coral#obs. # sponge# obs. soft substrate # sea #pen obs. hardsubstrate mixedsubstrate petraleabundance petraleoccurrence summedcoral BPUE sablefishabundance sablefishoccurrence longspineabundance longspineoccurrence yelloweyeoccurrence summedBPUE sponge summedpensea BPUE area area w/known penssea greenstripedabundance greenstripedoccurrence darkblotchedabundance darkblotchedoccurrence sumof known coral/sponge… Areaof High PredictedCoral area area w/known coral/sponge With Proposed Trawl Closure "displaced"oregon shrimp trawl sumof known sea penabundance Existing Trawl Closure "displaced"groundfish trawl effort Northern Upper Slope 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% totalarea # coral#obs. # sponge# obs. soft substrate # sea #pen obs. hardsubstrate mixedsubstrate petraleabundance petraleoccurrence summedcoral BPUE sablefishabundance sablefishoccurrence longspineabundance longspineoccurrence yelloweyeoccurrence summedBPUE sponge sumof known sea pen… summedpensea BPUE area area w/known penssea greenstripedabundance greenstripedoccurrence darkblotchedabundance darkblotchedoccurrence With Proposed Trawl Closure sumof known coral/sponge… Areaof High PredictedCoral "displaced"groundfish trawl… area area w/known coral/sponge Existing Trawl Closure "displaced"oregon shrimp trawl 4 Central Upper Slope 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% totalarea # coral#obs. # sponge# obs. soft substrate # sea #pen obs. hardsubstrate mixedsubstrate petraleabundance petraleoccurrence summedcoral BPUE sablefishabundance sablefishoccurrence longspineabundance longspineoccurrence yelloweyeoccurrence summedsponge BPUE summedpensea BPUE area area w/known penssea greenstripedabundance greenstripedoccurrence darkblotchedabundance darkblotchedoccurrence sumof known coral/sponge… Area ofCoral AreaHigh Predicted area area w/known coral/sponge With Proposed Trawl Closure Existing Trawl Closure "displaced"oregon shrimp trawl sumof known sea penabundance "displaced"groundfish trawl effort Southern Upper Slope 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% totalarea # coral#obs. # sponge# obs. soft substrate # sea #pen obs. hardsubstrate mixedsubstrate petraleabundance petraleoccurrence summedcoral BPUE sablefishabundance sablefishoccurrence longspineabundance longspineoccurrence yelloweyeoccurrence summedsponge BPUE summedpensea BPUE area area w/known penssea greenstripedabundance greenstripedoccurrence darkblotchedabundance darkblotchedoccurrence sumof known coral/sponge… Area ofCoral AreaHigh Predicted area area w/known coral/sponge With Proposed Trawl Closure Existing Trawl Closure "displaced"oregon shrimp trawl sumof known sea penabundance "displaced"groundfish trawl effort 5 Northern Shelf 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% totalarea # coral#obs. # sponge# obs. soft substrate # sea #pen obs. hardsubstrate mixedsubstrate petraleabundance petraleoccurrence summedcoral BPUE sablefishabundance sablefishoccurrence longspineabundance longspineoccurrence yelloweyeoccurrence summedsponge BPUE summedpensea BPUE area area w/known penssea greenstripedabundance greenstripedoccurrence darkblotchedabundance darkblotchedoccurrence sumof known coral/sponge… Areaof High PredictedCoral area area w/known coral/sponge With Proposed Trawl Closure Existing Trawl Closure "displaced"oregon shrimp trawl sumof known sea penabundance "displaced"groundfish trawl effort Central Shelf 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% totalarea # coral#obs. # sponge# obs. soft substrate # sea #pen obs. hardsubstrate mixedsubstrate petraleabundance petraleoccurrence summedcoral BPUE sablefishabundance sablefishoccurrence longspineabundance longspineoccurrence yelloweyeoccurrence summedsponge BPUE summedpensea BPUE area area w/known penssea greenstripedabundance greenstripedoccurrence darkblotchedabundance darkblotchedoccurrence sumof known coral/sponge… Areaof High PredictedCoral area area w/known coral/sponge With Proposed Trawl Closure Existing Trawl Closure "displaced"oregon shrimp trawl sumof known sea penabundance "displaced"groundfish trawl effort 6 Southern Shelf 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% totalarea # coral#obs. # sponge# obs. soft substrate # sea #pen obs. hardsubstrate mixedsubstrate petraleabundance petraleoccurrence summedcoral BPUE sablefishabundance sablefishoccurrence longspineabundance longspineoccurrence yelloweyeoccurrence summedsponge BPUE summedpensea BPUE area area w/known penssea greenstripedabundance greenstripedoccurrence darkblotchedabundance darkblotchedoccurrence Areaof High PredictedCoral area area w/known coral/sponge "displaced"oregon shrimp trawl sumof known sea penabundance With Proposed Trawl Closure "displaced"groundfish trawl effort sumof known coral/sponge abundance Existing Trawl Closure 7 ------Forwarded message ------From: Lesley Paine The deep sea is very important to us. It is home to more than half of all biomass in our oceans. I am asking The Pacific Fishery Management Council to prevent the expansion of bottom trawling into pristine areas of deep water within its jurisdiction. A healthy and intact seafloor is critical to the health of the West Coast’s ecosystems. I would love to see this legacy passed on to my children's children. My children are in elementary school and already talk about how interconnected the ecosystems are. They understand that what we do now affects them. Please protect ecologically important areas of ocean habitat. Sincerely, Lesley Paine New Orleans