Revising the Essential Fish Habitat Conservation Areas of the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) designated essential fish habitat (EFH) for 82 groundfish species in the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan in 2005. At the same time, the PFMC designated a number EFH Conservation Areas (EFHCAs), covering 70% of the area designated as EFH. The EFHCA prohibit certain types of bottom-contact gear, primarily bottom trawls, to minimize the adverse effects of fishing on EFH. In 2010, NOAA Fisheries and the PFMC began an effort to review and revise the EFH components of the FMP. The review compiled and summarized new information on EFH for groundfishes (now with 86 FMP Species), including information on seafloor habitats, bathymetry, groundfish fishing effort, distribution of deep-sea corals and sponges, prey species, and habitat associations. Subsequent to the review, the PFMC issued a request for proposals seeking public input on potential changes to the EFH components of the plan. The Council is now revising those components, with an emphasis on the EFHCAs, and is analyzing a range of alternatives drawn from the public proposals or developed by the Council and NOAA Fisheries. Here we describe our analytical approach, and results, for evaluating the conservation benefits and potential economic impacts of the alternatives.