80204 Data Set Published / External 80307 WCR Marine Salmon Essential Fish Habitat Geodatabase Data Set Marine Chinook salmon EFH is defined in the FMP: "... the geographic extent of essential marine habitat for Chinook salmon includes all marine waters within the EEZ north of Point Conception, California (Figure 1)..." (Pacific Fishery Management Council, 2014, p. 22)The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) requires that regional management councils describe EFH in their fishery management plans (FMPs), that they minimize to the extent practicable adverse effects on EFH from fishing activities, and that federal agencies consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service on activities that may adversely affect EFH, among other things. Actions that occur outside of EFH, but that may adversely affect EFH, also warrant an EFH consultation. EFH means those waters and substrate necessary to fish for spawning, breeding, feeding, or growth to maturity (50 CFR 600.10). FMPs must describe and identify EFH in text that clearly states the habitats or habitat types determined to be EFH for each life stage of the managed species, if possible. The text descriptions are ultimately determinative of the limits of EFH. Those text descriptions of marine salmon EFH can be found in the Salmon Fishery Management Plan (FMP) available on the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) website: https://www.pcouncil.org/. In addition, FMPs must include maps that display, within the constraints of available information, the geographic locations of EFH or the geographic boundaries within which EFH for each species and life stage is found (50 CFR 600.815(a)(1)(v)(A)). This Geographic Information System (GIS) data which depicts the EFH of marine salmon within the EEZ off the U.S. West Coast, was developed to meet that requirement.Citation details for 79 FR 75450Fisheries Off West Coast States; West Coast Salmon Fisheries; Amendment 18 to the Salmon Fishery Management PlanA Rule by the Commerce Department, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationPublication date: December 18, 2014Effective date: January 20, 2015 This geospatial feature class represents the marine Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) for Chinook salmon across the Pacific Coast regions of California, Oregon, and Washington. Through the Magnuson-Stevens Act, Congress defines EFH as "those waters and substrate necessary to fish for spawning, breeding, feeding, or growth to maturity." Theme ISO 19115 Topic Category biota Theme ISO 19115 Topic Category boundaries Theme ISO 19115 Topic Category environment Theme ISO 19115 Topic Category inlandWaters Theme Chinook Salmon Theme Coho Salmon Theme EFH Theme Essential Fish Habitat Theme Magnuson-Stevens Act Theme NOAA Fisheries Theme Pink Salmon Theme Salmon Spatial California Spatial Marine Spatial Oregon Spatial Pacific Coast Spatial Pacific Ocean Spatial Pacific west coast Spatial Washington Spatial Western United States Long Beach CA Data Set As Needed Map (digital) NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region, Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) 80205 Published / External Data Table Yes ; Source: 1 OBJECTID n/a No No Active Internal feature number.; Source: Esri Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated. 2 Shape n/a No No Active Feature geometry.; Source: Esri Coordinates defining the features. 3 Shape_Length n/a No No Active Length of feature in internal units.; Source: Esri Positive real numbers that are automatically generated. 4 Shape_Area n/a No No Active Area of feature in internal units squared.; Source: Esri Positive real numbers that are automatically generated. 5 SITENAME_L n/a No No Active ; Source: 6 LIFESTAGE n/a No No Active ; Source: 7 TYPE n/a No No Active ; Source: 8 FMC n/a No No Active ; Source: 9 LTTD_TITLE n/a No No Active ; Source: 10 LTTD_LINK_ n/a No No Active ; Source: 11 ZONE n/a No No Active ; Source: 12 INSTATEWAT n/a No No Active ; Source: 13 ACRES n/a No No Active ; Source: 14 DDBOX n/a No No Active ; Source: 15 LTTD_TIT_1 n/a No No Active ; Source: 16 FMC_REPORT n/a No No Active ; Source: 17 FMP_REPORT n/a No No Active ; Source: 18 DATACAVEAT n/a No No Active ; Source: 19 ZoomLevel n/a No No Active ; Source: 20 CentroidLa n/a No No Active ; Source: 21 CentroidLo n/a No No Active ; Source: 22 LTTDT_LINK n/a No No Active ; Source: 23 Region n/a No No Active ; Source: Data Steward 2018-02-05 Person Chavez, Eric eric.chavez@noaa.gov Data Steward 2018-02-05 Person Onisko, Stephani stephani.onisko@noaa.gov Metadata Contact 2018-02-05 Person Chavez, Eric eric.chavez@noaa.gov Metadata Contact 2018-02-05 Person Onisko, Stephani stephani.onisko@noaa.gov Point of Contact 2018-02-05 Person Chavez, Eric eric.chavez@noaa.gov Point of Contact 2018-02-05 Person Onisko, Stephani stephani.onisko@noaa.gov Publication Date -129.163656 -120.470444 49.002081 34.448845 Geographic 2D EPSG:4269 NAD83 North American Datum 1983 GRS 1980 6378137 298.257222101 1 Geodetic Latitude Lat degree north 1 Geodetic Latitude Lat degree north 2 Geodetic Longitude Lon degree east 2 Geodetic Longitude Lon degree east Unclassified This spatial data is intended to assist the public and our partners with visually interpreting marine salmon EFH designations. Please refer to the Salmon FMP for official text descriptions of EFH.These data are a generalized interpretation of the textual description of EFH and do not fully represent the complexity of the habitats described in the FMP. The textual description of the EFH is always ultimately determinative of the limits of EFH. https://www.habitat.noaa.gov/application/efhinventory/index.html Essential Fish Habitat Mapper ESRI File Geodatabase Version 6.2 (Build 9200) ; Esri ArcGIS 10.8.1.14362 The West Coast Region (WCR) marine salmon EFH GIS data was developed using spatial descriptions from the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The primary reference document is: Pacific Fishery Management Council (2014). Appendix A to the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan, as modified by Amendment 18: Identification and description of essential fish habitat, adverse impacts, and recommended conservation measures for salmon (Portland, OR). Available at: https://www.pcouncil.org/documents/2019/08/salmon-efh-appendix-a.pdf Boundary Definitions and Source Data: The following spatial parameters and source datasets were utilized to define the West Coast Region (WCR) marine Coho and Chinook salmon Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) boundaries: Northern Extent: Defined by the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the International Maritime Boundary (Source: NOAA U.S. Maritime Limits & Boundaries). Southern Extent: Terminated at Point Conception, California (approx. 34.448° N). Western/Seaward Extent: Bounded by the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) as delineated on NOAA Nautical Charts. Eastern/Shoreward Extent (North of Pajaro River): Aligned with the shoreward limit of the 2014 WCR freshwater Chinook and Coho salmon EFH data (Source: NOAA EFH Mapper). Eastern/Shoreward Extent (South of Pajaro River): For the coastal segment extending from the mouth of the Pajaro River south to Point Conception, the NOAA Historical Medium Resolution Shoreline was utilized to maintain consistency with the shoreline source cited in the 2014 WCR freshwater salmon EFH metadata. Exclusions: All internal bays, estuaries, and inlets were explicitly excluded from the marine EFH polygon in this southern segment to maintain the coastal marine designation. 80205 Entity gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:80204 Stephani Onisko 2026-07-17T17:06:32 Stephani Onisko 2026-08-10T19:35:01 2026-08-10 West Coast Regional Office WCRO 501 West Ocean Blvd Long Beach CA 90802-4213 https://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/ 1001 Public No No 2026-07-21 1 Year 2027-07-21