80245 Data Set Published / External 80209 WCR Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Essential Fish Habitat Geodatabase Data Set Dolphinfish EFH is defined using a combination of data sources described in the FMP as well as expert opinion. Dolphinfish EFH includes the epipelagic and oceanic waters of the U.S. West Coast EEZ from the U.S.-Mexico border to just north of Point Conception, California (34° 34' N), seaward of the 12 m depth contour. While dolphinfish may occur in shallow water <12 m, they occur primarily in deeper waters and these shallow regions including bays and estuaries are not considered essential. The relatively warmer waters, high productivity, and presence of diverse fish, squid, and crustacean species make the SCB a suitable feeding habitat for adult dolphinfish.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 HMS EFH can be found in the HMS 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 HMS within the EEZ off the U.S. West Coast, was developed to meet that requirement. This dataset depicts the boundary of essential fish habitat (EFH) for Dolphinfish which is a Highly Migratory Species (HMS) within the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the U.S. West Coast. Theme ISO 19115 Topic Category biota Theme ISO 19115 Topic Category boundaries Theme ISO 19115 Topic Category oceans Long Beach CA Data Set As Needed Map (digital) NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region, Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) 80246 Published / External Data Table Yes polygons; Source: ESRI 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 HMS_SPECIES_NAME n/a No No Active Name of Highly Migratory Species (HMS); Source: NOAA Fisheries 4 LIFESTAGE n/a No No Active The life stage of the fish in need of that area.; Source: NOAA Fisheries 5 LTTDT_LINK n/a No No Active LTTDT_LINK; Source: NOAA Fisheries 6 LTTD_TITLE n/a No No Active LTTD_TITLE; Source: NOAA Fisheries 7 LTTD_LINK_ n/a No No Active LTTD_LINK_; Source: NOAA Fisheries 8 FMC n/a No No Active Fisheries Management Council (FMC). Designation of Pacific Highly Migratory Species (PHMS) or Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (AHMS); Source: NOAA Fisheries 9 INSTATEWAT n/a No No Active In-state-waters; Source: NOAA Fisheries 10 ZONE n/a No No Active ZONE; Source: NOAA Fisheries 11 ACRES n/a No No Active Acres; Source: NOAA Fisheries 12 LTTD_TIT_1 n/a No No Active LTTD_TIT_1; Source: NOAA Fisheries 13 DDBOX n/a No No Active DDBOX; Source: NOAA Fisheries 14 FMC_REPORT n/a No No Active Fisheries Management Council (FMC) Report; Source: NOAA Fisheries 15 DATACAVEAT n/a No No Active Data caveat; Source: NOAA Fisheries 16 FMP_REPORT n/a No No Active Fisheries Management Plan; Source: NOAA Fisheries 17 CentroidLatitude n/a No No Active Latitude of the EFH polygon's centroid in decimal degrees (DD); Source: NOAA Fisheries 18 CentroidLongitude n/a No No Active Longitude of the EFH polygon's centroid in decimal degrees (DD); Source: NOAA Fisheries 19 Region n/a No No Active Region of EFH occurrence ; Source: NOAA Fisheries PHMS: Pacific Highly Migratory Species; 20 Shape_Length n/a No No Active Length of feature in internal units.; Source: ESRI Positive real numbers that are automatically generated. 21 Shape_Area n/a No No Active Area of feature in internal units squared.; Source: Esri Positive real numbers that are automatically generated. 22 HMS_SPECIES_ALTNAME n/a No No Active Alternative name(s) of Highly Migratory Species (HMS); Source: NOAA Fisheries 23 TYPE n/a No No Active Type of Highly Migratory Species: Fish or Shark; Source: NOAA Fisheries Data Steward 2024-08-13 Person Onisko, Stephani stephani.onisko@noaa.gov Data Steward 2024-08-13 Person Chavez, Eric eric.chavez@noaa.gov Metadata Contact 2024-08-13 Person Chavez, Eric eric.chavez@noaa.gov Metadata Contact 2024-08-13 Person Onisko, Stephani stephani.onisko@noaa.gov Point of Contact 2024-08-13 Person Onisko, Stephani stephani.onisko@noaa.gov Point of Contact 2024-08-13 Person Chavez, Eric eric.chavez@noaa.gov Publication Date -125.403629 -117.129444 34.58468 30.541995 Geographic 2D EPSG:4326 WGS 84 World Geodetic System 1984 WGS 84 6378137 298.257223563 1 Geodetic Lattitude Lat degree north 2 Geodetic Longitude Lon degree east Unclassified When evaluating the effective use of EFH data in GIS, consider the following spatial data caveats:To maintain a conservatively inclusive boundary while using consistent coastwide data for the eastern boundary of EFH, some data may overlap land. This overlap can result in overly inclusive data, which may not be suitable for analyses requiring more precise inland mapping. While such errors might be negligible in large-scale maps, they become problematic when accurate information is needed for specific locations.This spatial data is intended to assist the public and our partners with visually interpreting HMS EFH designations. Please refer to the HMS 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. Esri ArcGIS 13.1.3.41833 HMS GIS data was developed using one or more of the following: 1) existing species distributions in the eastern North Pacific from published sources including the initial EFH descriptions, 2) expert opinion and 3) a review of fisheries data GIS data used to guide and establish boundaries for EFH data creation include: 1) Western extent: Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Data Source: https://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/data/us-maritime-limits-and-boundaries.html 2) Eastern extent: A -12 meter contour depth was developed from NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Coastal Relief Models; Vol. 6: Southern California (2003) Vol. 7: Central Pacific (2003) and Vol.8: Northwest Pacific (2003) Data Source: Coastal Relief Model (CRM) - Download Date 8/2024 https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/coastal-relief-model Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) GIS data https://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/data/us-maritime-limits-and-boundaries.html Source Online Linkage URL where the source data were originally accessed. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) shapefile NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Coastal Relief Models https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/coastal-relief-model Source Online Linkage URL where the source data were originally accessed. NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Coastal Relief Models; Vol. 6: Southern California (2003) Vol. 7: Central Pacific (2003) and Vol.8: Northwest Pacific (2003) 80246 Entity gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:80245 Stephani Onisko 2026-07-21T18:21:27 Stephani Onisko 2026-07-21T19:44:33 2026-07-21 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