1 North Carolina South Carolina Habitat Conservation Division NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office 101 Pivers Island Road Beaufort, NC Considerations by NOAA Fisheries on Habitat Areas of Particular Concern

2 What is Essential Fish Habitat? Essential Fish Habitat (EFH): Those waters and substrate necessary to fish for spawning, breeding, feeding, or growth to maturity Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (HAPC): Subsets of EFH that are rare, particularly susceptible to human-induced degradation, especially ecologically important, or located in an environmentally stressed area --Specific locations (e.g., Ten Fathom Ledge) --Specific habitats that occur at many locations (e.g., SAV)

3 Essential Fish Habitat Presence Concentration Growth, Reproduction or Survival Fishery Recruitment Geographic Amount Importance High Highest Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 e.g., Estuarine Waters e.g., Salt Marsh e.g., Surf Zone e.g., Sand Shoals e.g., Hardbottom e.g., Sand Bottom e.g., Estuarine Waters

4 HAPCs in NC Ocean Waters Snapper/Grouper FMP: Medium to high profile offshore hardbottoms where spawning normally occurs; localities of known or likely periodic spawning aggregations; The Point, Ten Fathom Ledge, and Big Rock Hardbottom, Coral and Coral Reef FMP: The Point, Ten Fathom Ledge, and Big Rock Coastal Migratory Pelagics FMP: Sandy shoals of Capes Lookout, Cape Fear, and Cape Hatteras from shore to the ends of the respective shoals, but shoreward of the Gulf stream; The Point, Ten Fathom Ledge, and Big Rock Highly Migratory Fish FMP: Nursery and pupping grounds in shallow areas near the Outer Banks and in areas of Pamlico Sound and adjacent to Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands and offshore of those islands

5 Hardbottom – medium to high offshore (spawning); nearshore The Point, Ten Fathom Ledge, and Big Rock Sandy shoals of Capes Lookout, Cape Fear, and Cape Hatteras Shallow areas near the Outer Banks and in areas of Pamlico Sound and adjacent to Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands and offshore of those islands HAPCs in NC Ocean Waters

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25 Do HAPCs preclude wind energy projects?

26 Questions?

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