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Short Citation:
NMFS Office Of Protected Resources, 2024: Nassau grouper critical habitat for use in ESA/FIFRA consultations, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/72757.

Item Identification

Title: Nassau grouper critical habitat for use in ESA/FIFRA consultations
Status: In Work
Publication Date: 2024-07-01
Abstract:

This geodatabase provides the Final Critical Habitat designations for Nassau grouper, Epinephelus striatus (January 2, 2024). NMFS designates critical habitat for the threatened Nassau grouper pursuant to section 4 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Areas designated as critical habitat contain approximately 2,384.67 sq. kilometers (920.73 sq. miles) of aquatic habitat located off the coasts of southeastern Florida, Puerto Rico, Navassa, and the United States Virgin Islands (USVI). The NMFS identified habitats that include features essential to the conservation of Nassau grouper, including areas for spawning and for recruitment and development.The Nassau grouper is a reef fish, and is a member of the family Serranidae, which includes groupers valued as a major fishery resource such as the gag grouper and the red grouper. These large fish are associated with hard structures like reefs (both natural and artificial), rocks, and ledges. They are late-maturing, long-lived, top-level predators found in tropical and subtropical waters of the western North Atlantic. This includes Bermuda, Florida, Bahamas, the Yucatan Peninsula, and throughout the Caribbean to southern Brazil. Nassau Grouper undergo ontogenetic shifts in habitat utilization: larvae settle in nearshore habitats and then as juveniles move to nearshore patch reefs (Eggleston, 1995), and eventually recruit to deeper waters and reef habitats (Sadovy and Eklund, 1999). As adults, individuals are sedentary except for when they aggregate to spawn - the timing of which appears to be linked to both lunar cycles and water temperature (Kobara et al., 2013). Maximum age has been estimated as 29 years, based on an ageing study using sagittal otoliths (Bush et al., 2006). Maximum size is about 122 cm total length (TL) and maximum weight is about 25 kg (Heemstra and Randall, 1993).Nassau grouper used to be one of the most common species of grouper in the United States. It was easy for commercial and recreational fisherman to catch Nassau grouper and it soon became scarce. The remaining stocks are overexploited. In some cases, Nassau grouper is commercially extinct through much of its geographical range. Currently, all harvest of Nassau grouper is prohibited in the United States. Nassau grouper is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. NOAA Fisheries is dedicated to the conservation of Nassau grouper.For more information, please see the official definition and complete description at: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/01/02/2023-28483/endangered-and-threatened-species-designation-of-critical-habitat-for-the-nassau-grouperThis section provides the Simplified Geographic Description for each unit designated as Nassau Grouper Critical Habitat.The 20 Designated Critical Habitat Units for Nassau Grouper include: Navassa Island Unit. Waters surrounding Navassa Island. Area = 2.46 sq. km.Puerto Rico Unit 1 - Mona Island and Monito. Waters surrounding Mona Island and Monito to the 50m contour. Area = 30.65 sq. km.Puerto Rico Unit 2 - Desecheo Island. Waters surrounding the island to the 50m contour. Area = 4.28 sq. km.Puerto Rico Unit 3 - Southwest. Waters off the southwest coast of the Puerto Rico main island. Area = 112.39 sq. km.Puerto Rico Unit 4 - Northeast. Waters off the northeast coast of the Puerto Rico main island. Area = 48.75 sq. km.Puerto Rico Unit 5 - Vieques Island. Waters off the west and northeast, east, and southeast coasts of the island. Area = 9.49 sq. km.Puerto Rico Unit 6 - Culebra/Culebrita Islands. The Culebra area consists of waters off the southeastern Culebra coastline. The Culebrita area consists of waters off the western and southern coasts of the island. Area = 4.15 sq. km.United States Virgin Island Unit 1- St Thomas. Waters off the east coast of St. Thomas Island and waters off the southwest, south, and southeast coast of the Water Island. Area = 9.18 sq. km.United States Virgin Island Unit 2- St. John. Waters off the east coast of the island. Area = 6.55 sq. km.United States Virgin Island Unit 3- St. Croix. Waters off the east end of St. Croix Island and waters off the north coast of Buck Island. Area = 50.35 sq. km.Florida Unit 1 – Biscayne Bay/Key Largo. Waters south of Rickenbacker Causeway, including portions of waters from the coastline into Biscayne Bay, and waters off the eastern coastline to 80°29'21" W, 25° 01' 59" N. Area = 1,279.69 sq. km.Florida Unit 2 - Marathon. Waters off the southern shoreline approximately between Knights Key to 80°55'51"W, 24° 46' 26" N. Area = 172.38 sq. km.Florida Unit 3 - Big Pine Key to Geiger Key. Waters off the south side of coastline and US 1 from approximately Geiger Key to Big Pine Key. Area = 372.37 sq. km.Florida Unit 4 - Key West. Shoal waters south of Woman Key. Area = 127.09 sq. km.Florida Unit 5 - New Ground Shoal. New Ground Shoal waters. Area = 31.04 sq. km.Florida Unit 6 - Halfmoon Shoal. Halfmoon Shoal waters. Area = 33.62 sq. km.Florida Unit 7 - Dry Tortugas. Waters encompassing Loggerhead Key and waters surrounding Garden Key and Bush Key. Area = 4.43 sq. km.Spawning Site Unit 1 - Bajo de Sico. All waters encompassed by 100m isobath bounded in the Bajo de Sico spawning area bound within the following coordinates: A) 67°26’13”W, 18°15’23”N, B) 67°23’ 08”W, 18°15’26”N, C) 67°26’ 06”W, 18°12’55”N, and D) 67°26’ 13”W, 18°12’56”N. Area = 10.74 sq. km.Spawning Site Unit 2 - Grammanik Bank/Hind Bank. All waters which make up the Hind Bank and the Grammanik Bank, interconnecting waters between these banks, and waters extending out to the 200 fathom line directly south from Grammanik Bank. Area = 59.69 sq. km. Spawning Site Unit 3 - Riley's Hump. All waters encompassing Riley's Hump (centroid 83.1085642°W 24.4948905°N) out to the -35m isobath on the north, west, and east side of the hump, and extending out to the 50m isobath on the south side of the hump to include the escarpment on the southern face of the bank. Area=15.35 sq. km.Source of Base Data for Unit Boundaries: The shoreline was created using the existing Acropora critical habitat designation (from NOAA NCCOS Benthic Habitat Mapping 2000-2002 - land and mangrove attribute combined for shoreline). For PR and USVI units, shoreline data using The NCCOS Benthic Habitat Mapping program provides baseline data and maps at https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/project/benthic-habitat-mapping-puerto-rico-virgin-islands/. For the Continental US, this shoreline is consistent with the US Medium Resolution Shoreline. Contours were derived from the National Geophysical Data Center’s 2004 U.S. Coastal Relief Model https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/coastal/crm.html. The NCCOS Benthic Habitat Mapping program provides data and maps at http://products.coastalscience.noaa.gov/collections/benthic/default.aspx, which was used to pull in substrate data. For the Florida Units, benthic substrate and bathymetry data were pulled from the FWC Florida Unified Reef Tract at https://myfwc.com/research/gis/fisheries/unified-reef-map/. Benthic data was also used from The Nature Conservancy and can be downloaded here: https://sites.google.com/view/caribbean-marine-maps. For Spawning Site Unit 3 - Riley's Hump, bathymetry contours (i.e. isobaths) were pulled from the NCEI's CUDEM, or Continuously Updated Digital Elevation Models. (https://noaa.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=bf72d32c6a00407bb67a285845a7fa32) The CUDEM Raster was downloaded (Global Mosaic Elevation Values) and clipped to the site in ArcPro. The Contour Tool was set to 5m intervals. The CUDEM is built in 10m increments, as noted using the 1/3 arcseconds. Did not use the 1/9 arc second model, which corresponds to 3 meter increments. The CUDEM uses LiDAR data and is an orthometric vertical datum, and compiles data from NGDC, NOS, USGS, NMFS, etc. For more information, please vist: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/coastal-relief-model. Riley's Hump (the geographic feature, not the critical habitat unit) was identified as the fully enclosed -30m hump located at 83.1085642°W 24.4948905°N (centroid). Standardized metadata has been prepopulated for the Fields and Values and the standard spatial reference is the World Geodetic System 1984 geographic coordinate system (GCS_WGS_1984, EPSG well-known identifier 4326).Attribute Values:Shape = Feature Class, Polygon Data.ID = Species IDScientific Name = Genus speciesCommon Name = Common Name of speciesListing Status = Federal status of a taxon under the federal Endangered Species Act. Critical Habitat Status = Status of Critical Habitat Designation (i.e. Proposed or Designated)Unit = Location of Identified Critical HabitatTaxon = TaxonLead Office = NMFS Regional OfficeFederal Register Notice = Public official notice of RulePublication Date = Publication Date of Federal Register Notice Effective Date = Effective Date of RuleArea SqKm = Area of Unit in Square KilometersCreate Date = Last Date Polygon and Attribute Data were ModifiedNotes = notesInPort URL = MetaData URL Link (InPort)Habitat Type = general location of critical habitatseCFR = Electronic Code of Federal RegulationsShape_Length = dynamic geodatabase field. Automatically calculated in the units of the output coordinate system specified by the Spatial Reference parameter by ESRI. Shape_Area = dynamic geodatabase field. Automatically calculated in the units of the output coordinate system specified by the Spatial Reference parameter by ESRI.

Purpose:

This spatial data file was modified from NMFS’s “agency-official” species critical habitat data to aid in the ESA/FIFRA section 7 pesticide consultation process. For example, existing data were adapted to incorporate associated watersheds where applicable, based on the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset HUC-12 data (https://www.usgs.gov/national-hydrography/watershed-boundary-dataset). The modifications to the NMFS critical habitat spatial data make the data more compatible for future analyses with EPA’s Use Data Layers (UDLs). The following “Description” is from the original, “agency-official” data that was used to make this HUC-based map. Most of the metadata record for this species matches the “agency-official” record; however, NMFS added a new "Citation", "File Identifier", “Credits”, “Point of Contact”, and “Lineage Process Step” that are unique to this HUC-based critical habitat data.

Keywords

Theme Keywords

Thesaurus Keyword
ISO 19115 Topic Category
boundaries
ISO 19115 Topic Category
environment
UNCONTROLLED
None Critical
None Critical Habitat
None ESA
None Fish
None Grouper
None Habitat
None Nassau
None NMFS
None NOAA
None SERO

Spatial Keywords

Thesaurus Keyword
UNCONTROLLED
None Atlantic
None Florida
None Florida Keys
None Keys
None Miami
None Puerto Rico
None South Atlantic
None St. Croix
None St. John
None St. Thomas
None USVI

Data Set Information

Data Set Scope Code: Data Set
Maintenance Frequency: As Needed
Data Presentation Form: Map (digital)
Data Set Credit: NOAA Fisheries. 2024. Species Critical Habitats for ESA/FIFRA Consultations Geodatabase. Silver Spring, MD: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Office of Protected Resources (OPR). This HUC-based critical habitat dataset for ESA/FIFRA section 7 pesticide consultations is courtesy of National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Office of Protected Resources (OPR): Ryan DeWitt and Karrin Goodman. The original data is courtesy of National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), SERO.

Support Roles

Data Steward

CC ID: 1340030
Date Effective From: 2024-06-17
Date Effective To:
Contact (Person): Goodman, Karrin
Email Address: karrin.goodman@noaa.gov
Phone: ‪(301) 427-8435‬

Metadata Contact

CC ID: 1340154
Date Effective From: 2024-06-17
Date Effective To:
Contact (Person): Goodman, Karrin
Email Address: karrin.goodman@noaa.gov
Phone: ‪(301) 427-8435‬

Point of Contact

CC ID: 1340032
Date Effective From: 2024-06-17
Date Effective To:
Contact (Person): Goodman, Karrin
Email Address: karrin.goodman@noaa.gov
Phone: ‪(301) 427-8435‬

Point of Contact

CC ID: 1340033
Date Effective From: 2024-06-17
Date Effective To:
Contact (Person): DeWitt, Ryan
Email Address: ryan.dewitt@noaa.gov
Phone: (360) 358-2955

Extents

Currentness Reference: Publication Date

Extent Group 1

Extent Group 1 / Geographic Area 1

CC ID: 1336379
W° Bound: -82.9275
E° Bound: -64.562313
N° Bound: 25.7482
S° Bound: 17.686503

Extent Group 2

Extent Group 2 / Geographic Area 1

CC ID: 1336381
W° Bound: -82.997943
E° Bound: -64.512661
N° Bound: 25.770676
S° Bound: 17.6237

Spatial Information

Reference Systems

Reference System 1

CC ID: 1336375

Coordinate Reference System

CRS Type: Geographic 2D
EPSG Code: EPSG:4269
EPSG Name: NAD83
See Full Coordinate Reference System Information

Access Information

Security Class: Unclassified
Data Use Constraints:

These spatial data are not the official legal definitions of critical habitat. Proposed rules, final rules, and the Code of Federal Regulations (50 CFR 226) are the official sources of critical habitat.No Warranty. The user assumes the entire risk related to its use of these data. The NMFS is providing these data "as is," and NMFS disclaims any and all warranties, whether express or implied, including (without limitation) any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the accuracy or utility of the data on any other system or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. It is strongly recommended that careful attention be paid to the contents of the metadata file associated with these data to evaluate dataset limitations, restrictions or intended use. In no event will NMFS be liable to you or to any third party for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special or exemplary damages or lost profit resulting from any use or misuse of this data.

Technical Environment

Description:

Microsoft Windows 10 Version 10.0 (Build 19045) ; Esri ArcGIS 12.6.0.24783

Lineage

Sources

National Geophysical Data Center’s 2004 U.S. Coastal Relief Model

CC ID: 1336371
Citation URL: https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/coastal/crm.html.
Citation URL Name: Source Online Linkage
Citation URL Description:

URL where the source data were originally accessed.

Source Contribution:

Contours were derived from the National Geophysical Data Center’s 2004 U.S. Coastal Relief Model

NOAA NCCOS Benthic Habitat Mapping 2000-2002

CC ID: 1336370
Citation URL: https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/project/benthic-habitat-mapping-puerto-rico-virgin-islands/.
Citation URL Name: Source Online Linkage
Citation URL Description:

URL where the source data were originally accessed.

Source Contribution:

The shoreline was created using Acropora critical habitat data (from NOAA NCCOS Benthic Habitat Mapping 2000-2002 - land and mangrove attribute combined for shoreline).

The Nature Conservancy (TNC)

CC ID: 1336372
Citation URL: https://sites.google.com/view/caribbean-marine-maps
Citation URL Name: Source Online Linkage
Citation URL Description:

URL where the source data were originally accessed.

Source Contribution:

Benthic data was also used from The Nature Conservancy

Process Steps

Process Step 1

CC ID: 1336373
Description:

As described above, this species’ HUC-based critical habitat dataset was modified from the polygon-based species “agency-official” NMFS critical habitat data. This HUC-based critical habitat file represents the HUC-12 watersheds (USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset; https://www.usgs.gov/national-hydrography/watershed-boundary-dataset) that intersect with the “agency-official” critical habitat polygon-based data. The data were reviewed and revised to add any additional HUC-12 watersheds that were determined to have hydrologic connectivity to the critical habitat.

Process Date/Time: 2023-03-30 00:00:00
Process Contact: NMFS Office Of Protected Resources (OPR)
Phone (Voice): 301-713-2332

Child Items

Rubric scores updated every 15m

Rubric Score Type Title
Entity GrouperNassau_11378_CH_HUC

Catalog Details

Catalog Item ID: 72757
GUID: gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:72757
Metadata Record Created By: Karrin N Goodman
Metadata Record Created: 2024-06-03 22:04+0000
Metadata Record Last Modified By: Jeff D Adams
Metadata Record Last Modified: 2024-08-06 10:10+0000
Metadata Record Published: 2024-08-06
Owner Org: OPR
Metadata Publication Status: Published Externally
Do Not Publish?: N
Metadata Review Frequency: 1 Year