GEA_ALL_20231201

This spatial data depicts the boundaries of Groundfish Exclusion Areas (GEAs) located in the Southern California Bight.This feature class that contains all of the GEAs combined. The GDB and feature class naming convention reflects the date (YYYYMMDD) that the GEAs were published in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).These new Conservation Areas were were established in NOAA's Amendment 50 CFR Parts 300 and 660 [Docket No. 231117–0273] RIN 0648–BM28 Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions;"The Groundfish Exclusion Areas (GEAs) are eight areas south of Point Conception intended to protect sensitive areas, including areas with coral and sea pens."1. Hidden Reef2. West of Santa Barbara Island3. Potato Bank4. 107/118 Bank5. Cherry Bank6. Seamount 1097. 43- Fathom Spot8. Northeast Bankhttps://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-50/chapter-VI/part-660/subpart-C/section-660.70#p-660.70(t)Federal Register/Vol. 88, No. 230/Friday, December 1, 202350 CFR Parts 300 and 660 [Docket No. 231117–0273] RIN 0648–BM28 Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan; Amendment 32; Modifications to Non-Trawl Sector Area Management Measureshttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2023-12-01/pdf/2023-25905.pdfThe California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) proposed these closed areas with a goal of protecting corals, sponges and sea pens from contact with groundfish fishing gear, should the Cowcod Conservation Areas (CCAs) be repealed. https://www.pcouncil.org/documents/2022/03/f-6-a-cdfw-report-1-propose-protection-areas-within-the-cowcod-conservation-area.pdf/

Groundfish Exclusion Areas (GEAs) are areas south of Point Conception, California intended to protect sensitive areas. These areas were reviewed and adopted by the Pacific Fishery Management Council in March 2023 under Alternative 3.

This GIS data includes boundaries for the eight Groundfish Exclusion Areas. 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 theCode of Federal Regulations (eCFR §660.70(t)) https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-50/chapter-VI/part-660/subpart-C/section-660.70#p-660.70(t)These data were produced by NOAA and are not subject to copyright protection in the United States. NOAA waives any potential copyright and related rights in these data worldwide through the Creative Commons Zero 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication (CC0 1.0)

Esri ArcGIS 13.3.0.52636

The "All" Groundfish Exclusion Area (GEA) spatial dataset combines all the individual GEAs. The spatial dataset was produced using Geographic Information System (GIS) software by plotting boundary coordinates published in the Code of Federal Regulations available at https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-50/chapter-VI/part-660/subpart-C/section-660.70). The boundary geometry was constructed by generating straight lines between the mandated latitude and longitude coordinates as listed in the Code of Federal Regulations