Deep Sea Coral Alternatives Development Workshop

April 18, 2013

Baltimore, MD

This workshop was intended to facilitate the development of alternatives for the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s Amendment 16 to the Squid, Mackerel, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan (Protections for Deep Sea Corals). As part of Amendment 16, the Council will consider designating areas to which management measures may be applied to protect deep sea corals. The Council has recognized the need to refine the initial options for these areas, by incorporating the input of fishing industry participants and considering recent updates to the best available science on deep sea coral distribution. 

The specific goals of the workshop were:

1. Review available data on deep sea coral distribution and abundance
2. Review available fishing effort distribution data and discuss the utility of this information for analyzing the impacts of potential deep sea coral zones. 
3. Review specific areas under consideration for deep sea coral protections, identifying where fishing effort occurs relative to known and predicted deep sea coral presence.
4. Develop a set, or sets, of spatial area options for deep sea coral protection zones to be taken to the Council for approval for inclusion in a public hearing document.

Workshop Materials

• Workshop Agenda
• Federal Register Notice
• Workshop Overview, Goals, and Amendment 16 Context
• Draft Alternatives as revised through April 2013 - (Initial alternatives recommended by the Mid-Atlantic Council's Fishery Management Action Team (FMAT) in January 2013, revised April 2013)
• 2012 Deepwater Canyons Cruise Report - (Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), CSA Ocean Sciences, Inc. ( BOEM contractor), academic partners, NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, and the US Geological Survey).
• Deep-sea Coral Survey Aboard the NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow - (2012 Atlantic Canyons Undersea Mapping Expeditions (ACUMEN))
• Meters to fathoms conversion chart

Previous MAFMC Deep Sea Corals Documents

• Scoping Document (provides an overview of the timeline, purpose, and authority for deep sea coral protections under Amendment 16)
• January 28 Fishery Management Action Team (FMAT) Summary (Outlines FMAT discussions leading to development of draft alternatives)
• Draft Memorandum of Understanding with NEFMC and SAFMC (Draft Memorandum of Understanding regarding coordination on deep sea coral protections between the Mid-Atlantic, New England, and South Atlantic Fishery Management Councils)

Additional Resources

New England Fishery Management Council deep sea corals documents:

• June 2012 Draft Deep-sea Coral Management Alternatives
• Development of Deep-sea Coral Managment Alternatives Presentation
• Background Information about deep-sea corals and their habitats

NOAA Links and Documents:

• 2010 NOAA Strategic Plan for Deep-Sea Coral and Sponge Ecosystems
• The State of Deep Sea Coral Ecosystems of the United States: 2007
• NOAA's Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program
• Overview of deep sea corals from NOAA's Coral Reef Information System (CoRIS)
• Managing fishery impacts on deep-water coral ecosystems of the United States: Emerging best practices. Hourigan, 2009. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 397:333-340 (Open Access)