Description: This data set represents undersea feature names. There are approximately 4800 undersea features with names approved by the United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) currently in the Geographic Names Data Base (GNDB) and made available via the GEOnet Names Server (GNS). There are a total of approximately 8900 names in the database including variant (cross-reference) names and features for which there is no BGN-approved name. The BGN approves undersea feature names based on the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Undersea Features (ACUF). ACUF is charged with recommending BGN policy for totally-submerged undersea features which lie outside the territorial sea (as recognized by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) of all coastal states. Undersea features within the territorial sea of the United States are handled by the BGN Domestic Names Committee (DNC) in coordination with ACUF.
Copyright Text: GEOnet Names Server (GNS) Web site:http://earth-info.nga.mil/gns/html/namefiles.htm
Description: This GIS data set represents various maritime limits of the United States, in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Oceans. NOAA's Office of Coast Survey (OCS) is responsible for generating the 3 Nautical Mile Line, Territorial Sea, Contiguous Zone, and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Traditionally, these maritime limits have been generated by hand from the low water line depicted on paper, U.S. nautical charts. Upon final approval by the U.S. Baseline Committee, these legally-binding maritime limits are applied to the next edition of nautical charts produced by the Marine Chart Division of OCS.FWRI staff downloaded the available limits from NOAA's Web site: <http://chartmaker.ncd.noaa.gov/csdl/mbound.htm> . For other boundaries that were not available on NOAA's site, (Florida 9 mile Natural Resources line, Florida-Alabama State line, and Louisiana Inshore Territorial Sea boundary), FWRI staff heads up digitized these from Nautical Charts, DRG's, or obtained from other sources.
Copyright Text: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission-Fish and Wildlife Research Institute
Description: The Ocean Planning Information System (OPIS) is a prototype online regional marine GIS covering the vast ocean area bounded by the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, the exclusive economic zone, and various maritime boundaries. OPIS was developed to provide coastal and ocean resource managers in the Southeast access to regional digital geographic mapping information and technologies to facilitate coordinated decision making within and across the multi-layered U.S. ocean management framework. Special emphasis is placed on the federal ocean and coastal management and governance framework, and efforts are ongoing to develop similar data sets for state and local level policy frameworks. The Southeast OPIS is an ongoing project that has and continues to rely on the vision, dedication, helpfulness, and energy of individuals from partner agencies and numerous other organizations. The OPIS partnership includes: North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources - Division of Coastal Management, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, Florida Coastal Management Program, Georgia Department of Natural Resources - Coastal Resources Division, NOAA Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, U.S. Department of Interior - Minerals Management Service, Florida Marine Research Institute, and NOAA Coastal Services Center.
Description: Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), as defined in Presidential Executive Order 13158, means any area of the marine environment that has been reserved by federal, state, territorial, tribal, or local laws or regulations to provide lasting protection for all or part of the natural and cultural resources therein. The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) further defines marine protected areas within its jurisdiction as a network of specific areas of marine environments reserved and managed for the primary purpose of aiding in the recovery of overfished stocks and to insure the persistence of healthy fish stocks, fisheries, and habitats. Such areas may be over natural or artificial bottom and may include prohibition of harvest on a permanent or lesser time period to accomplish needed conservation goals. The SAFMC proposes nine management actions to amend the current Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The primary purpose of these actions is to employ a collaborative approach to identify Marine Protected Area (MPA) sites with the potential to protect a portion of the population and habitat of slow growing, long-lived deepwater snapper grouper species (speckled hind, snowy grouper, Warsaw grouper, yellowedge grouper, misty grouper, golden tilefish, and blueline tilefish) from directed fishing pressure to achieve a more natural sex ratio, age, and size structure within the proposed MPAs, while minimizing adverse social and economic impacts. Eight of the actions would establish Type 2 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs); one off southern North Carolina, three off South Carolina, one off Georgia, and three off Florida. The MPAs are intended to be used in concert with traditional management measures to enhance the optimum size, age, and genetic structure of slow growing, long-lived deepwater snapper grouper species. For the purposes of Amendment 14, the Council is proposing "Type 2" MPAs where no person may fish for a South Atlantic snapper grouper in an MPA and no person may possess a South Atlantic snapper grouper in an MPA. However, the prohibition on possession does not apply to a person aboard a vessel that is in transit with fishing gear appropriately stowed. The ninth action would prohibit use of shark bottom longlines in the Type 2 MPAs to protect deepwater species and their habitat.
More information is available at <http://www.safmc.net/MPAInformationPage/tabid/469/Default.aspx>
Description: Designation of an area as a SMZ allows for gear restrictions in the area to prevent overexploitation. Many of these areas have been established through cooperation with fishing organizations and local governments and serve as a means to promote localized conservation and positive fishing experiences. A total of 85 SMZs have been designated off North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
Copyright Text: NOAA Coastal Services Center, SAFMC, FWRI
Name: Deepwater Coral Habitat Areas of Particular Concern
Display Field:
Type: Group Layer
Geometry Type: null
Description: This final rule establishes Deepwater Coral Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (Deepwater Coral HAPCs) off the coast of the southern Atlantic states in which the use of specified fishing gear and methods and the possession of coral is prohibited. Within the Deepwater Coral HAPCs, fishing zones have been
established that allow continued fishing on the historical grounds for golden crab
and deepwater shrimp. This rule protects what is thought to be the largest
distribution of pristine deepwater coral ecosystems in the world while
minimizing the effects on traditional fishing in the Deepwater Coral HAPCs.
Description: The Golden Crab Fishery Access Areas within the Deepwater Coral HAPCs will allow golden crab fishing vessels to continue to use presently allowed gear in their historic fishing areas.
Description: These data represent the geographic area described in Title 50 CFR Part 622.224 (c)(3), Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic, Subpart K— Coral, Coral Reefs, and Live/Hard Bottom Habitats of the South Atlantic Region, Area closures to protect South Atlantic corals, Deepwater coral HAPCs, Shrimp fishery access areas as of 7/17/15.
Description: The Council’s Habitat and Coral Advisory Panels proposed these areas at the October 2004 meeting and the Council approved the proposal at their December 2004 meeting. Management measures proposed by the SAFMC to help protect these sensitive habitats received approval from NOAA Fisheries Service and the Secretary of Commerce and became effective July 22, 2010. Five areas, located off the southeastern coast of the U.S. and encompassing more than 23,000 square miles (about the size of the State of West Virginia) have been designated Coral Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (Coral HAPCs). The designation affords added protection to the areas that house an invaluable array of fish and invertebrate species, some of which may have biomedical applications in the treatment of human diseases.
Description: The Oculina HAPC was designed to protect the area from damage caused by bottom-tending fishing gear including bottom trawls, bottom longlines, dredges, and fish traps. Subsequent management measures provided further protection to the Oculina HAPC by prohibiting anchoring, trawling for rock shrimp and by requiring the use of vessel monitoring systems (VMS) on rock shrimp vessels.
Description: These data represent the geographic area described in Title 50 CFR Part 622.224 (b) (2), Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic, Subpart K— Coral, Coral Reefs, and Live/Hard Bottom Habitats of the South Atlantic Region, Area closures to protect South Atlantic corals, Oculina Bank Experimental Closed Area as of 1/29/14
Description: These data represent the geographic area described in Title 50 CFR Part 622.224 (b) (1), Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic, Subpart K— Coral, Coral Reefs, and Live/Hard Bottom Habitats of the South Atlantic Region, Area closures to protect South Atlantic corals, Oculina Bank HAPC as of 7/17/15.
Description: The restrictions for black sea bass pots, fish traps, roller rigs, octocoral harvest, spiny lobster closed areas, golden crab closed areas, pelagic sargassum harvest, and longline prohibited areas were combined into one feature class.
Description: Summary of recreational regulations for the South Atlantic Snapper Grouper complex. Red snapper, Nassau grouper, warsaw grouper, speckled hind, and goliath grouper remain closed to harvest or possession in South Atlantic federal waters. Updated September1, 2018
Description: Commercial regulations of commonly caught South Atlantic Snapper Grouper Species. Red snapper, Nassau grouper, warsaw grouper, speckled hind, and goliath grouper remain closed to harvest or possession in South Atlantic federal waters. Updated August 31, 2018
Description: These data represent the geographic area described in Title 50 CFR Part 622, Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic, Subpart L - Golden Crab Fishery of the South Atlantic Region as of 1/22/14.
Description: These data represent the geographic area described in Title 50 CFR Part 622.406 (a), Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic, Subpart R - Spiny Lobster Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic, Areas closed to lobster trap gear as of 12/09/2013.
Description: This dataset visually represents the rivers in the Southeast United States in the Carolina and South Atlantic Distinct Population Segment, as critical habitat for Atlantic sturgeon species recovery. This dataset depicts the designated critical habitat rivers in Esri shapefile format for the NOAA Fisheries Service's Southeast Regional Office of the National Marine Fisheries Service. The rivers data source is the National Hydrophraphy Dataset (NHD). The rivers are approximate representations and are NOT an OFFICIAL record for the exact regulated river. For information on the official legal definition refer to the Use Constraints metadata section.
Copyright Text: See dataset specific metadata. The National Hydrography Dataset (NHD), a US Geological Survey product, is a feature-based database that interconnects and uniquely identifies the stream segments or reaches that make up the nation's surface water drainage system. NHD data was originally developed at 1:100,000-scale and exists at that scale for the whole country. This high-resolution NHD, generally developed at 1:24,000/1:12,000 scale, adds detail to the original 1:100,000-scale NHD. (Data for Alaska, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands was developed at high-resolution, not 1:100,000 scale.) Local resolution NHD is being developed where partners and data exist. The NHD contains reach codes for networked features, flow direction, names, and centerline representations for areal water bodies. Reaches are also defined on waterbodies and the approximate shorelines of the Great Lakes, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the Gulf of Mexico. The NHD also incorporates the National Spatial Data Infrastructure framework criteria established by the Federal Geographic Data Committee.
Description: This dataset depicts the boundaries of the North Atlantic Right Whale Critical Habitat in ESRI shapefile format for the NOAA Fisheries Service’s Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO). This shapefile includes boundaries for the following Regulated Areas: - Critical Habitat for North Atlantic Right Whale Unit 1 - Critical Habitat for North Atlantic Right Whale Unit 2. Please Note: Unit 1, in the Gulf of Maine, falls under the jurisdiction of the NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Region. Unit 2, off the southeastern US coast, falls under the jurisdiction of the NOAA Fisheries Southeast Region. Because GIS projection and topology functions can change or generalize coordinates, these GIS files are considered to be approximate representations and are NOT an OFFICIAL record for the exact regulated area boundaries. For information on the official legal definition refer to the Use Constraints metadata section.
Description: These data represent the critical habitat for Johnson's Seagrass as designated by Federal Register Vol. 65, No. 66, Wednesday, April 5, 2000, Rules and Regulations.
Description: Critical habitat constitutes areas considered essential for the conservation of a listed species. These data identify, in general, the areas of Sargassum critical habitat for the Northwest Atlantic Ocean Distinct Population Segment of Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), providing notice to the public and managers of the importance of the areas to the conservation of this species. Special protections and/or restrictions are possible in areas where Federal funding, permits, licenses, authorizations, or actions occur or are required. We describe the physical and biological features (PBF) of Sargassum habitat as developmental and foraging habitat for young loggerheads where surface waters form accumulations of floating material, especially Sargassum. Primary constituent elements (PCEs) that support this habitat are the following: (i) Convergence zones, surface-water downwelling areas, the margins of major boundary currents (Gulf Stream), and other locations where there are concentrated components of the Sargassum community in water temperatures suitable for the optimal growth of Sargassum and inhabitance of loggerheads; (ii) Sargassum in concentrations that support adequate prey abundance and cover; (iii) Available prey and other material associated with Sargassum habitat including, but not limited to, plants and cyanobacteria and animals native to the Sargassum community such as hydroids and copepods; and (iv) Sufficient water depth and proximity to available currents to ensure offshore transport (out of the surf zone), and foraging and cover requirements by Sargassum for post-hatchling loggerheads, i.e., >10 meters depth.
Copyright Text: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Service's Office of Protected Resources.
Description: Critical habitat constitutes areas considered essential for the conservation of a listed species. These data identify, in general, the areas of breeding critical habitat for the Northwest Atlantic Ocean Distinct Population Segment of Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), providing notice to the public and managers of the importance of the areas to the conservation of this species. Special protections and/or restrictions are possible in areas where Federal funding, permits, licenses, authorizations, or actions occur or are required. We describe the physical and biological features (PBF) of breeding habitat as sites with high densities of both male and female adult individuals during the breeding season. Primary constituent elements (PCEs) that support this habitat are the following: (i) High densities of reproductive male and female loggerheads; (ii) Proximity to primary Florida constricted migratory corridor; and (iii) Proximity to Florida nesting grounds.
Copyright Text: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Service's Office of Protected Resources
Description: Critical habitat constitutes areas considered essential for the conservation of a listed species. These data identify, in general, the areas of constricted migratory critical habitat for the Northwest Atlantic Ocean Distinct Population Segment of Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), providing notice to the public and managers of the importance of the areas to the conservation of this species. Special protections and/or restrictions are possible in areas where Federal funding, permits, licenses, authorizations, or actions occur or are required. We describe the physical and biological features (PBF) of constricted migratory habitat as high use migratory corridors that are constricted (limited in width) by land on one side and the edge of the continental shelf and Gulf Stream on the other side. Primary constituent elements (PCEs) that support this habitat are the following: (i) Constricted continental shelf area relative to nearby continental shelf waters that concentrate migratory pathways; and (ii) Passage conditions to allow for migration to and from nesting, breeding, and/or foraging areas.
Copyright Text: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Service's Office of Protected Resources
Description: Critical habitat constitutes areas considered essential for the conservation of a listed species. These data identify, in general, the areas of nearshore reproductive critical habitat for the Northwest Atlantic Ocean Distinct Population Segment of Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), providing notice to the public and managers of the importance of the areas to the conservation of this species. Special protections and/or restrictions are possible in areas where Federal funding, permits, licenses, authorizations, or actions occur or are required. We describe the physical and biological features (PBF) of nearshore reproductive habitat as a portion of the nearshore waters adjacent to nesting beaches that are used by hatchlings to egress to the open-water environment as well as by nesting females to transit between beach and open water during the nesting season. Primary constituent elements (PCEs) that support this habitat are the following: (i) Nearshore waters directly off the highest density nesting beaches, as identified in 78 FR 43006, July 18, 2003, to 1.6 km (1 mile) offshore; (ii) Waters sufficiently free of obstructions or artificial lighting to allow transit through the surf zone and outward toward open water; and (iii) Waters with minimal man made structures that could promote predators (i.e., nearshore predator concentration caused by submerged and emergent offshore structures), disrupt wave patterns necessary for orientation, and/or create excessive longshore currents.
Copyright Text: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Service's Office of Protected Resources and U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service, North Florida Ecological Services Office
Description: Critical habitat constitutes areas considered essential for the conservation of a listed species. These data identify, in general, the areas of winter critical habitat for the Northwest Atlantic Ocean Distinct Population Segment of Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), providing notice to the public and managers of the importance of the areas to the conservation of this species. Special protections and/or restrictions are possible in areas where Federal funding, permits, licenses, authorizations, or actions occur or are required. We describe the physical and biological features (PBF) of winter habitat as warm water habitat south of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina near the western edge of the Gulf Stream used by a high concentration of juveniles and adults during the winter months. Primary constituent elements (PCEs) that support this habitat are the following: (i) Water temperatures above 10° C from November through April; (ii) Continental shelf waters in proximity to the western boundary of the Gulf Stream; and (iii) Water depths between 20 and 100 meters.
Copyright Text: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Service's Office of Protected Resources