79362 Data Set Published / External 78949 Pacific Coast Groundfish Essential Fish Habitat Project Completed 2026-03-18 2026-03-18 These data show the geographic distribution of Rocky Reefs Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (HAPC), out to the deepest edge of available substrate data (i.e., varying between 2,500 and 4,000 m water depth, depending on latitude) on the West Coast of the contiguous United States. Rocky Reefs HAPC includes those waters, substrates and other biogenic features associated with hard substrate (bedrock, boulders, cobble, gravel, etc.) to the mean higher high water line. These data were derived directly from a regional substrate habitat dataset - the Pacific Marine and Estuarine Fish Habitat Partnership's (PMEP) "West Coast USA Nearshore CMECS Substrate Habitat." The PMEP Substrate Habitat dataset is a data compilation that includes 70 input datasets with substrate attributes cross-walked into Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS) Substrate Component (SC) ecological units. CMECS SC units were aligned with the definition of Rocky Reefs HAPC, and a new attribute field was included in the PMEP Substrate Habitat dataset to facilitate a simple attribute query for extracting the Rocky Reefs HAPC polygons. This dataset was created by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) to communicate, based on best available scientific information, the extent of Rocky Reefs Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (HAPC) on the West Coast of the contiguous United States. HAPCs are designated through action by the regional fishery management councils as a subset of essential fish habitat, which is defined in the Magnuson-Stevens Act as "those waters and substrate necessary to fish for spawning, breeding, feeding, or growth to maturity" (16 U.S.C. Sections 1801-1891d). Rocky Reefs HAPCs were designated by the Pacific Fishery Management Council under the Pacific coast groundfish fishery management plan, as revised through Amendment 19 (June 2006). https://doi.org/10.25921/2p36-q188 NOAA 2026-03-09 Theme Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Data Center Keywords DOC/NOAA/NMFS/NWFSC > Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce Theme Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Data Center Keywords DOC/NOAA/NMFS/WCRO > West Coast Regional Office, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce Theme Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > MARINE ECOSYSTEMS > REEF Theme Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Service Keywords EARTH SCIENCE SERVICES > REFERENCE AND INFORMATION SERVICES > IDENTIFICATION/CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS Theme ISO 19115 Topic Category environment Theme ISO 19115 Topic Category geoscientificInformation Theme ISO 19115 Topic Category oceans Theme NGDA Portfolio Themes Geology Theme Spatial Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Horizontal Data Resolution Keywords 1 meter - < 30 meters Spatial Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Horizontal Data Resolution Keywords 30 meters - < 100 meters Spatial Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords CONTINENT > NORTH AMERICA Spatial Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords CONTINENT > NORTH AMERICA > UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Spatial Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords CONTINENT > NORTH AMERICA > UNITED STATES OF AMERICA > CALIFORNIA Spatial Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords CONTINENT > NORTH AMERICA > UNITED STATES OF AMERICA > OREGON Spatial Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords CONTINENT > NORTH AMERICA > UNITED STATES OF AMERICA > WASHINGTON Spatial Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords GEOGRAPHIC REGION > NORTHERN HEMISPHERE Spatial Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords OCEAN > PACIFIC OCEAN Spatial Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords OCEAN > PACIFIC OCEAN > NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN Spatial Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords VERTICAL LOCATION > SEA FLOOR Theme essential fish habitat Theme groundfish Theme habitat areas of particular concern Northwest Fisheries Science Center Seattle WA USA Data Set As Needed Map (digital) National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce; Pacific Marine and Estuarine Fish Habitat Partnership, Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission 79363 Published / External Data Table Yes This is an attribute table of a vector Feature Class with polygons that represents Rocky Reefs Habitat Areas of Particular Concern. Many attribute definitions were aligned with the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS) v.4.0. 1 OBJECTID OID No No Active Internal feature number.; Source: Esri 1 to 2190 2 Shape Geometry No No Active Feature geometry.; Source: Esri Coordinates defining the features. 3 NMFS_HAPC Text No No Active Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (HAPC) type, as defined by the Pacific Fishery Management Council's (PFMC) Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan; Source: NMFS Rocky Reefs 4 NMFS_Zone Text No No Active NMFS zones defined by depth, modified from PMEP_Zone values; Source: NMFS nearshore (0 to -30m); inner shelf (-30 to -100m); outer shelf (-100 to -200m); slope (< -200m) 5 PMEP_Region Text No No Active Based on slight modifications from Marine Ecoregions of the World (MEOW) (Spalding et al. 2007), the ecoregion that that the feature is nested within. There are four ecoregions: Salish Sea, Pacific Northwest, Central California, and Southern California Bight.; Source: PMEP 1: Salish Sea; 2: Pacific Northwest; 3: Central California; 4: Southern California Bight; 6 PMEP_Section Text No No Active The section, or subregion, with which the feature is nested within. There are 18 subregions integrated within the 4 ecoregions. In the U.S. waters of the Salish Sea, there are seven (7) subregions that align with Puget Sound Nearshore Ecosystem Restoration Project (PSNERP) subregions and with previous efforts by PMEP (Fig. 3). For the three outer coast ecoregions, 10 subregions were defined by existing The Nature Conservancy (TNC) ecoregional assessment boundaries (Gleason et al. 2004, 2013; Vander Schaaf 2013).; Source: PMEP 10: San Juan Islands and georgia Strait Basin; 11: Whidbey Basin; 12: South Central Puget Sound Basin; 13: South Puget Sound Basin; 14: Hood Canal; 15: North Central Puget Sound Basin; 16: Strait of Juan de Fuca Basin; 20: Point Grenville to International Boundary; 21: Cape Lookout to Point Grenville; 22: Cape Blanco to Cape Lookout; 23: Cape Mendocino to Cape Blanco; 30: Cape Mendocino to Point Reyes; 31: Point Reyes to Point Sur; 32: Point Sur to Point Arguello; 33: Point Arguello South including San Juan Seamount; 40: Point Conception to Palos Verdes; 41: Palos Verdes to US-Mexico Border; 7 PMEP_Zone Text No No Active Zones with PMEP's boundaries defined by depth, using CMECS Aquatic Setting as the basis for zone breaks.; Source: PMEP, CMECS version 4.0 0: Landward Zone; 1: Core Zone (Estuary Overlap); 2: Core Zone (Shoreline to -30m), State Waters; 3: Core Zone (Shoreline to -30m), Federal; 4: Seaward Zone (-30m to -100m), State Waters; 5: Seaward Zone (-30m to -100m), Federal; 6: Deep Shelf or Channel (-100m to -200m), State Waters; 7: Deep Shelf or Channel (-100m to -200m), Federal; 8: Outside PMEP Score (<-300m) or International Waters; 8 State Text No No Active U.S. state of the feature; Source: PMEP CA: California; International: Outside U.S. jurisdiction; OR: Oregon; WA: Washington; 9 PMEP_NSID Text No No Active Unique ID for each particular zone, it is a combination of PMEP Region, Section, Zone and State.; Source: PMEP Positive whole numbers. 10 StateWaters Text No No Active Yes or No: is the feature within State submerged lands or coastal waters, as defined by the Submerged Lands Act of 1953 (43 U.S.C. § 1301 et seq.). This boundary is generally defined as 3 nautical miles from the coastline.; Source: PMEP No: No, the feature occurs within State jurisdiction; Yes: Yes, the feature occurs within State jurisdiction; 11 CMECS_SC_Code Text No No Active CMECS Substrate Unit Code for feature.; Source: CMECS version 4.0 1.1: Rock Substrate; 1.1.1: Bedrock; 1.1.2: Megaclast; 1.2.1.1: Gravel; 1.2.1.1.1: Boulder; 1.2.1.1.2: Cobble; 1.2.1.1.3: Pebble; 1.2.1.1.4: Granule; 1.2.1.2: Gravel Mixes; 1.2.1.2.1: Sandy Gravel; 1.2.1.2.2: Muddy Sandy Gravel; 1.2.1.2.3: Muddy Gravel; 1.2.1.2.5: Sandy Cobble; 1.2.1.2.6: Sandy Muddy Cobble; 12 CMECS_SC_Name Text No No Active CMECS Substrate Unit Code name for feature.; Source: CMECS version 4.0 Bedrock: Substrate with mostly continuous formations of bedrock that cover 50% or more of the Geologic Substrate surface.; Boulder: Geologic Substrate contains > 80% Gravel, with a median Gravel size of 256 millimeters to < 4,096 millimeters.; Cobble: Geologic Substrate contains > 80% Gravel, with a median Gravel size of 64 millimeters to < 256 millimeters.; Granule: Geologic Substrate contains > 80% Gravel, with a median Gravel size of 2 millimeters to < 4 millimeters.; Gravel: Geologic Substrate surface layer contains > 80% Gravel (particles 2 millimeters to < 4,096 millimeters diameter).; Gravel Mixes: Geologic Substrate surface layer contains 30% to < 80% Gravel (particles 2 millimeters to < 4,096 millimeters in diameter).; Megaclast: Substrate where individual rocks—with particle sizes greater than or equal to 4.0 meters (4,096 millimeters) in any dimension—cover 50% or more of the Geologic Substrate surface.; Muddy Gravel: Geologic Substrate is 30% to < 80% Gravel, with Mud composing 50% or more of the remaining Mud-Sand mix.; Muddy Sandy Gravel: Geologic Substrate is 30% to < 80% Gravel, with Sand composing from 50% to < 90% of the remaining Sand-Mud mix.; Pebble: Geologic Substrate contains > 80% Gravel, with a median Gravel size of 4 millimeters to < 64 millimeters.; Rock Substrate: Igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary rock with particle sizes greater than or equal to 4.0 meters (4,096 millimeters) in any dimension that cover 50% or greater of the Geologic Substrate surface.; Sandy Cobble: Geologic Substrate is 30% to < 80% Cobble, with Sand composing 90% or more of the remaining Sand-Mud mix.; Sandy Gravel: Geologic Substrate is 30% to < 80% Gravel, with Sand composing 90% or more of the remaining Sand-Mud mix.; Sandy Muddy Cobble: Geologic Substrate is 30% to < 80% Muddy Cobble, with Sand composing 90% or more of the remaining Sand-Mud mix.; 13 CMECS_SC_Level Text No No Active The lowest level of CMECS Substrate unit level classified. This includes Origin, Class, Subclass, Group, and Subgroup.; Source: CMECS version 4.0 Origin; Class; Subclass; Group; Subgroup; 14 CMECS_SC_Cartography_Detail Text No No Active A combination of CMECS Substrate Code and CMECS Substrate Name.; Source: CMECS version 4.0 Concatenated string of CMECS Substrate Code and CMECS Substrate Name attribute values 15 CMECS_SC_Origin Text No No Active The first level of classification in the SC is substrate origin, which is subdivided into Geologic Substrate, Biogenic Substrate, and Anthropogenic Substrate. The substrate origin type is assigned based on dominance (greatest percent cover) of either the geologic, biogenic (but no longer living), or anthropogenic upper layer of substrate. Mixes of origins are addressed through Co-occurring Elements Modifiers (see CMECS Section 10).; Source: CMECS version 4.0 16 CMECS_SC_Class Text No No Active Substrate classes are determined by the composition and particle size of the dominant substrate origin in the surface sediments. Class definitions represent a merging of approaches from Wentworth (1922), Folk (1954), and the FGDC-STD- 004.; Source: CMECS version 4.0 17 CMECS_SC_Subclass Text No No Active Substrate subclasses are determined by the composition and particle size of the dominant substrate origin in the surface sediments. Subclass definitions represent a merging of approaches from Wentworth (1922), Folk (1954), and the FGDCSTD- 004.; Source: CMECS version 4.0 18 CMECS_SC_Group Text No No Active Substrate groups are determined by Folk (1954) mixes for Geologic Sediments and by taxa for the Biogenic Substrates. Groups are not used for Anthropogenic Substrates.; Source: CMECS version 4.0 19 CMECS_SC_Subgroup Text No No Active Substrate subgroups are determined by Folk (1954) mixes for Geologic Sediments and by taxa for the Biogenic Substrates. Subgroups are not used for Anthropogenic Substrates.; Source: CMECS version 4.0 20 CMECS_SC_Modifier Text No No Active CMECS Substrate Component modifier; Source: CMECS version 4.0 21 CMECS_Co_Oc Text No No Active CMECS Substrate Component co-occurring elements; Source: CMECS version 4.0 22 Induration Text No No Active substrate hardness; Source: CMECS version 4.0 hard: strongly consolidated substrate with low water content (e.g., bedrock, rock outcrop, sediment pavement); mixed: blend of hard and soft substrate materials (e.g., local sediment cover of bedrock); soft: loose, fine, unconsolidated substrate with a high water content (e.g., sediment cover); 23 CMECS_SC_Category_Code Text No No Active Code for the summary level substrate category based on CMECS Origin, Class, or Subclass Units.; Source: CMECS version 4.0 1.1: Rock Substrate; 1.2.1: Coarse Unconsolidated Substrate; 24 CMECS_SC_Category Text No No Active Summary level substrate category based on CMECS Origin, Class, or Subclass Units.; Source: CMECS version 4.0 Coarse Unconsolidated Substrate: Geologic Substrate surface layer contains > 5% Gravel (particles 2 millimeters to < 4,096 millimeters).; Rock Substrate: Igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary rock with particle sizes greater than or equal to 4.0 meters (4,096 millimeters) in any dimension that cover 50% or greater of the Geologic Substrate surface.; 25 CMECS_SC_Cartography Text No No Active A combination of CMECS Category Code and CMECS Category for use in cartography; Source: CMECS version 4.0 Concatenated string of CMECS Category Code and CMECS Category attribute values 26 NearshoreSourceUID Integer No No Active Whole number unique identifier for Nearshore habitat data source; Source: PMEP Positive whole numbers 27 Dataset Text No No Active Textual description of source dataset; Source: PMEP 28 Year Integer No No Active Data publication year; Source: PMEP 1995; 1996; 2001; 2002; 2003; 2005; 2006; 2007; 2008; 2009; 2010; 2011; 2012; 2013; 2014; 2015; 2016; 2018; 2019; 2020; 2022; 2023; 2024 29 Reference Text No No Active Source reference, citation, DOI, or relevant URL for the dataset. Source: NMFS No source URL could be located. Dataset was provided via peer-to-peer communications. 30 Source Text No No Active Textual description of source organization; Source: PMEP 31 Type Text No No Active Type of source data; Source: PMEP 32 Classification_System Text No No Active Description of data source classification system; Source: PMEP 33 Habitat_Interpretation Text No No Active Name of organization that performed the habitat interpretation of the source dataset; Source: PMEP 34 Resolution_or_Scale Text No No Active Either source data horizontal resolution (meters) or map scale; Source: PMEP Either source data horizontal resolution (meters) or map scale (format 1:#) 35 Data Text No No Active Data Score Value input to the overall data quality score. This value is determined by the resolution of the source multibeam bathymetry or sidescan/backscatter, seismic lines, bathymetric contour maps, or habitat classification maps that were used to create the substrate map.; Source: OSU/NOAA 0.25: Low resolution data (cores, > 100 m gridded or > 1:100,000 scale multibeam bathymetry or sidescan/backscatter, seismic lines, bathymetric contour maps, habitat classification lines); 1.5: Medium resolution data (> 10-100 m gridded or > 1:10,000-100,000 scale multibeam bathymetry or sidescan/backscatter, aerial imagery); 3.0: High resolution data (< 10 m gridded or 1 :< 10,000 scale multibeam bathymetry or sidescan/backscatter); 36 Interpretation Text No No Active Interpretation value input to the overall data quality score. This value is determined by the type of interpretation used to classify the substrate type.; Source: OSU/NOAA 1.5: Unsupervised classification (e.g., Terrain Ruggedness (VRM)); 3.0: Supervised classification (e.g., machine learning or expert interpretation); 37 Groundtruthing Text No No Active Groundtruthing value input to the overall data quality score. This value is determied by the relative amount of groundtruthing used as an input to develop the substrate maps.; Source: OSU/NOAA 0: No groundtruthing; 1.5: Limited groundtruthing; 3.0: Comprehensive groundtruthing; 38 Total Text No No Active Total combined data quality score of Data Type, Interpretation, and Groundtruthing.; Source: OSU/NOAA 1.75; 3.00; 4.50; 6.00; 7.50; 9.00; 39 Weighted Text No No Active Data quality categories were weighted based on perceived relative importance as follows: Data Type = 3, Groundtruthing = 1.5, Interpretation Type = 1.0. Eighteen different data quality scores are possible based on this category, ranging from 1-10.; Source: OSU/NOAA 2.25; 6.00; 8.25; 9.75; 10.50; 12.00; 14.25; 16.50 40 DQ_Score_Final Integer No No Active Final Data Quality scores (for cartography). Calculated by multiplying Final weighted scores by 10 for conversion to integer format.; Source: PMEP 0: No Data; 10: Low resolution, unsupervised, no groundtruthing; 100: High resolution, supervised, comprehensive groundtruthing; 19: Low resolution, supervised, no groundtruthing; 24: Low resolution unsupervised, limited groundtruthing; 33: Medium resolution, unsupervised, no groundtruthing; 43: Medium resolution, supervised, no groundtruthing; 48: Medium resolution, unsupervised, limited groundtruthing; 57: Medium resolution, supervised, limited groundtruthing; 62: High resolution, unsupervised, no groundtruthing; 63: Medium resolution, unsupervised, comprehensive groundtruthing; 71: High resolution, supervised, no groundtruthing; 72: Medium resolution, supervised, comprehensive groundtruthing; 86: High resolution, supervised, limited groundtruthing; Data Steward 2026-03-02 Person Whitmire, Curt curt.whitmire@noaa.gov https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9176-1486 2725 Montlake Boulevard East Seattle WA 98112 USA Distributor 2026-03-18 Organization NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information NCEI ncei.info@noaa.gov https://ror.org/04r0wrp59 https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/contact NCEI Contact Information Information for contacts at NCEI. Online Resource Distributor 2026-03-02 Organization Northwest Fisheries Science Center NWFSC nmfs.nwfsc.metadata@noaa.gov https://ror.org/05r7z1k40 2725 Montlake Boulevard East Seattle WA 98112 USA 206-860-3200 https://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov NWFSC Home Online Resource Metadata Contact 2026-03-02 Person Whitmire, Curt curt.whitmire@noaa.gov https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9176-1486 2725 Montlake Boulevard East Seattle WA 98112 USA Originator 2026-03-02 Person Whitmire, Curt curt.whitmire@noaa.gov https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9176-1486 2725 Montlake Boulevard East Seattle WA 98112 USA Point of Contact 2026-03-02 Person Whitmire, Curt curt.whitmire@noaa.gov https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9176-1486 2725 Montlake Boulevard East Seattle WA 98112 USA Publisher 2026-03-18 Organization NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information NCEI ncei.info@noaa.gov https://ror.org/04r0wrp59 https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/contact NCEI Contact Information Information for contacts at NCEI. Online Resource Publication Date Source data were collected or published from 1995-2024, in areas along the U.S. West Coast including the States of Washington, Oregon and California, from the shoreline out to the deepest edge of data (i.e., approximately 2,500 meters on the seaward side along the coast of the Pacific Northwest, and approximately 4,000 meters at the deepest extent of the data in the Southern California Bight). -125.726159 -117.132713 49.002266 31.939699 Offshore waters along the U.S. West Coast including the States of Washington, Oregon and California Vertical EPSG:5869 MHHW height Mean Higher High Water 1 Gravity-related height H metre up -4000 0 Range 1995-07-12 2024-03-25 Temporal range of source data acquisition or publication. Standard CC0-1.0 https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ 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). Unclassified Download data package and view metadata at: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0313075 Use liability: NOAA and NCEI cannot provide any warranty as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of furnished data. Users assume responsibility to determine the usability of these data. The user is responsible for the results of any application of this data for other than its intended purpose. Cite as: Whitmire, Curt E.; Sherman, Kate; Bizzarro, Joseph J.; Hanshew, Gretchen Arentzen; Cochrane, Guy R.; Wakefield, W. Waldo; Rudebusch, Jane; Miller, Rebecca Rose; Chavez, Eric (2026). NOAA Fisheries Rocky Reefs Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (HAPC) GIS data for the West Coast USA, v.2025-06 (NCEI Accession 0313075). 2025-06. [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Unpublished Dataset. https://doi.org/10.25921/2p36-q188. Accessed [date]. *** No Warranty*** The user assumes the entire risk related to its use of these data. NOAA Fisheries is providing these data "as is" and NOAA Fisheries 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 NOAA Fisheries 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. Metadata can be accessed in HTML and XML formats at: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0313075 https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0313075 2026-03-18 Organization NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information https://ror.org/04r0wrp59 hapc_rockyreefs_v2025-06_NCEI.gpkg NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, data access point for NCEI Accession 0313075. Includes ISO 19115-2 metadata and access links to downloadable file in Open Geospatial Consortium GeoPackage format. 2026-03-02T13:14:00 GPKG - GeoPackage 10.915 GB Uncompressed Not Chked Esri ArcGIS Pro 3.1.3 Check Geometry 2026-01-09T00:00:00 Curt Whitmire Northwest Fisheries Science Center Information Technology Specialist curt.whitmire@noaa.gov 99 Pacific St., Bldg 255-A Monterey California 93940 US +1 831-648-5336 Curt Whitmire Curt Whitmire Polygon geometry was checked and any errors were fixed. 1 This Rocky Reefs HAPC dataset was derived from the Pacific Marine and Estuarine Fish Habitat Partnership's (PMEP) "West Coast USA Nearshore CMECS Substrate Habitat" dataset (v.2.1, June 2025), using a simple attribute query. The PMEP v.2.1 dataset updates the previous one (v.1.1, Aug 2022). It was developed by integrating new datasets into an existing regional substrate habitat dataset, produced by the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission and published in August 2022 as part of a PMEP report entitled "State of the knowledge: U.S. West Coast nearshore habitat use by fish assemblages and select invertebrates" by Bizzarro et al. (2022). Attributes from PMEP's substrate and data quality layers were merged into this Rocky Reefs HAPC dataset to provide record provenance and attributes describing CMECS Substrate Component units and data source quality. Specific processing steps to prepare the Rocky Reefs HAPC dataset are detailed in the corresponding InPort metadata for this dataset. Data processing steps for PMEP v.1.0 and v.2.1 are described in detail in the PMEP report and PMEP metadata. See the Documentation section for cross-reference links to these resources. Pacific Marine and Estuarine Fish Habitat Partnership (PMEP) "West Coast USA Nearshore CMECS Substrate Habitat" dataset Organization Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission Publisher 2025-06-27 https://www.pacificfishhabitat.org/data/nearshore-cmecs-substrate-habitat/ West Coast USA Nearshore CMECS Substrate Habitat, v.2.1 Webpage to download "West Coast USA Nearshore CMECS Substrate Habitat" data products This dataset represents the Substrate Component (SC) of the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS) along the U.S. West Coast. Organized into a five-level hierarchy, from origin down to subgroup, the classifications are based on dominant percent cover. To create this comprehensive resource, 71 distinct datasets were cross-walked into CMECS units and applied to the PMEP "West Coast USA Nearshore Zones" layer. Because the data originates from a wide variety of sources, methods, and scales, it includes a companion Data Quality layer. These quality scores provide essential context for users, ensuring transparency regarding the reliability and resolution of the source inputs used in the compilation. State of the Knowledge: U.S. West Coast Nearshore Habitat Use by Fish Assemblages and Select Invertebrates Organization Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission Publisher 2022-08-01 https://maps.psmfc.org/media/PMEP/Documents/PMEP_Nearshore_FishInvert_Habitat_Report.pdf Downloadable Scientific Report Suggested Citation: Bizzarro, J.J., Selleck, J., Sherman, K., Drinkwin, J., Hare, V.C., and Fox, D.S. 2022. State of the knowledge: U.S. West Coast nearshore habitat use by fish assemblages and select invertebrates. Portland, OR: Pacific Marine & Estuarine Fish Habitat Partnership. https://www.pacificfishhabitat.org/assessment-reports/ 1 Step 1: Subset the data using the "Select Layer by Attribute Table" geoprocessing tool (ESRI ArcGIS Pro v.3.6.0) 2026-01-22T14:30:00 Person Whitmire, Curt curt.whitmire@noaa.gov https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9176-1486 2725 Montlake Boulevard East Seattle WA 98112 USA Pacific Marine and Estuarine Fish Habitat Partnership (PMEP) "West Coast USA Nearshore CMECS Substrate Habitat" dataset 2 Step 2: Export selected features to a new feature class, using the "Export Features" geoprocessing tool (ESRI ArcGIS Pro v.3.6.0). 2026-01-23T08:34:00 Person Whitmire, Curt curt.whitmire@noaa.gov https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9176-1486 2725 Montlake Boulevard East Seattle WA 98112 USA 3 Step 3: Remove any portions of polygons outside the Essential Fish Habitat designated area polygon, using the "Pairwise Clip" geoprocessing tool (ESRI ArcGIS Pro v.3.6.0). 2026-01-24T09:46:00 Person Whitmire, Curt curt.whitmire@noaa.gov https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9176-1486 2725 Montlake Boulevard East Seattle WA 98112 USA 4 Step 4: Add the data quality attributes, using the "Spatial Join" geoprocessing tool (ESRI ArcGIS Pro v.3.6.0) with parameters: one to many, intersect. 2026-02-07T18:40:00 Person Whitmire, Curt curt.whitmire@noaa.gov https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9176-1486 2725 Montlake Boulevard East Seattle WA 98112 USA 5 Step 5: Dissolve all attributes, using the "Pairwise Dissolve" geoprocessing tool (ESRI ArcGIS Pro v.3.6.0). 2026-02-09T11:44:00 Person Whitmire, Curt curt.whitmire@noaa.gov https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9176-1486 2725 Montlake Boulevard East Seattle WA 98112 USA 6 Step 6: Add and populate a new 'NMFS_Zone' attribute field, using the "Calculate Field" geoprocessing tool (ESRI ArcGIS Pro v.3.6.0). 2026-02-09T12:26:00 Person Whitmire, Curt curt.whitmire@noaa.gov https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9176-1486 2725 Montlake Boulevard East Seattle WA 98112 USA 7 Step 7: Export feature class to one with a Geographic Coordinate System spatial reference (WGS 1984), using the "Project" geoprocessing tool (ESRI ArcGIS Pro v.3.6.0). 2026-02-11T11:26:00 Person Whitmire, Curt curt.whitmire@noaa.gov https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9176-1486 2725 Montlake Boulevard East Seattle WA 98112 USA Not Applicable Not Applicable 79363 Entity 18425 Data Set Cross Reference The Habitat Use Database (HUD) was specifically designed to address the need for habitat-use analyses in support of groundfish EFH, HAPCs, and fishing and nonfishing impacts components of the 2005 groundfish EFH Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Habitat use in the HUD is defined in terms of latitude and depth ranges, and substrate preferences. The 2005 EIS was part of a periodic review of groundfish EFH by the Pacific Fishery Management Council. The outcomes of that review are detailed in the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan for the California, Oregon, and Washington Groundfish Fishery. June 2006, as Revised through Amendment 19. gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:79362 Curt Whitmire 2026-03-02T22:07:29 Curt Whitmire 2026-03-20T17:05:10 2026-03-20 Northwest Fisheries Science Center NWFSC 2725 Montlake Boulevard East Seattle WA 98112 USA 206-860-3200 https://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov 1001 Public No No 2026-03-02 1 Year 2027-03-02