GEA_Potato_Bank_20231201

This spatial data depicts the boundary of the Potato Bank Groundfish Exclusion Area (GEA) located in the Southern California Bight.The feature class naming convention reflects the date (YYYYMMDD) that the GEA was published in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).https://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corals, sponges and sea pens from contact with groundfish fishing gear, should the Cowcod Conservation Areas (CCAs) be repealed.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/

Potato Bank is a Groundfish Exclusion Area (GEA) are area off the coast of California intended to protect sensitive areas. This area was reviewed and adopted by the Pacific Fishery Management Council in March 2023 under Alternative 3.

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 Potato Bank Groundfish Exclusion Area (GEA) spatial dataset was produced using Geographic Information System (GIS) software by plotting boundary coordinates published in the Code of Federal Regulations (50 CFR § 660.70(t)(3)); 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 in sequential order and closing back to the point of origin (33°21.00′ N lat., 119°53.00′ W long).