Data Management Plan

This data set contains sensitive biological resource data for seagrass, coral reef, hard-bottom communities, and deep-sea coral for East Florida. Vector polygons in this data set represent seagrass, coral, and hard-bottom community distribution. Species specific abundance, seasonality, status, life history, and source information are stored in relational data tables (described below) designed to be used in conjunction with this spatial data layer. This data set comprises a portion of the ESI data for Florida. ESI data characterize the marine and coastal environments and wildlife by their sensitivity to spilled oil. The ESI data include information for three main components: shoreline habitats, sensitive biological resources, and human-use resources. Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) is more properly known as 'Sensitivity of Coastal Habitats and Wildlife to Spilled Oil' Atlases. The term 'ESI' is often used in reference to the whole dataset, but the term 'ESI' is really a reference to the classification system of shoreline types known as Environmental Sensitivity Index, that classifies a shoreline on a scale from 1 to 10 based upon overall sensitivity to spilled oil. FWRI contracted out updates for the East Florida ESI area of interest, with the exception of Human Use data, in 2019. These datasets were delivered as feature classes in overlapping-polygon format following the NOAA ESI Data Standard. The East Florida ESI data format is consistent with the previously delivered ESI data.

Process Steps:

• 2020-03-01 00:00:00 - Three main sources of data were used to depict fish distribution and seasonality for this data layer: 1) personal interview with resource experts from NOAA Fisheries, NOAA Southeastern Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC), and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC); 2) numerous published and unpublished reports; and 3) digital data and maps. (Citation: FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION COMMISSION - FISH AND WILDLIFE RESEARCH INSTITUTE)
• 2020-03-01 00:00:00 - Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon – Atlantic (FE, SE) and shortnose (FE, SE) sturgeon may both occur in the study area, in the St. Marys and St. Johns River systems. The St. Marys River is designated critical habitat for Atlantic sturgeon. Neither species is thought to reproduce in the St. Johns River; however, they may be found there, and also transiting through oceanic waters. Nassau grouper – Nassau grouper (FT, ST) were mapped based on information from NMFS (2013) that indicated that sporadic catches have occurred in the southern portion of the atlas area. Giant manta ray – Giant manta ray (FT, ST) were mapped based on sightings data provided by NOAA’s Protected Resources Division. Atlantic Ocean fish – Oceanic areas were divided into regions by depth and geography, and species for the purpose of mapping offshore distributions of fish species, including reef fish and highly migratory species. Data on occurrence and abundance of reef fish were obtained from (1) NOAA’s Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative (SEFCRI) sampling data for the years 2013-2019 and (2) the multi-agency Southeast Reef Fish Survey data from 1990-present. Species of interest were assigned to polygons representing general areas based on depth contours. Corresponding seasonality information was added based on the SAFMC Ecospecies database. Data on highly migratory species was included based on essential fish habitat designations for these species. Species and corresponding life history stages were assigned to the ocean polygons which overlapped with their EFH descriptions. Nearshore and estuarine fish species – Fishery independent monitoring data were provided by FWC to map common estuarine and inshore species. Monthly and overall estimates of catch per unit effort (CPUE) and probability of capture from 2013 to 2017 were generated for each species by gear type by geographic zone. In areas with less comprehensive sampling, additional years of surveys were included back to 2009. Economically and ecologically important species were retained in the dataset if they occurred in more than 10% of the samples in a given zone across the entire dataset. Monthly presences were determined by whether a species was found to occur in greater than 10% of catches across gear types for a given geographic area. For the nearshore area out to 20 m depth, fish species distributions and seasonalities were created using data from the SEAMAP program Inner Strata Sampling Data of the ASMFC. Fishery-independent sampling for the Inner Strata Sampling program is conducted in roughly three months out of the year, April, July, and October; however, sampling in practice strays into many of the preceding and following months. Data used for the ESI included the years 2009-2018, and the frequencies of species caught were used to determine monthly presence/absence. Presence within a month was determined by the same 10% frequency cut-off as was used with FWC fishery independent sampling data. Sampling months were used proxies for the season within which sampling occurred. Thus, if a species was found to be present in April, it was assumed to be present in March and May; likewise, this was done for June and August (July), and September and November (October). Freshwater fish – Freshwater fish species were mapped based on survey data conducted by FWC. Surveys were targeted at community composition by use of electrofishing. Fish mapped primarily include recreationally targeted freshwater species. (Citation: FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION COMMISSION - FISH AND WILDLIFE RESEARCH INSTITUTE)
• 2020-03-01 00:00:00 - The above digital and/or hardcopy sources were compiled by the project biologist to create the FISH data layer. Depending on the type of source data, three general approaches are used for compiling the data layer: 1) information gathered during initial interviews and from hardcopy sources are compiled onto U.S. Geological Survey 1:24,000 topographic quadrangles and digitized; 2) hardcopy maps are digitized at their source scale; 3) digital data layers are evaluated and used "as is" or integrated with the hardcopy data sources. See the Lineage section for additional information on the type of source data for this data layer. The ESI, biology, and human-use data are compiled into the standard ESI digital data format. A second set of interviews with participating resource experts are conducted to review the compiled data. If necessary, edits to the FISH data layer are made based on the recommendations of the resource experts, and final hardcopy maps and digital data are created. (Citation: FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION COMMISSION - FISH AND WILDLIFE RESEARCH INSTITUTE)

Data can be accessed by downloading the zipped ArcGIS geodatabase from the Download URL (see Distribution Information). Questions can be directed to the ESI Program Manager (Point Of Contact).