Essential Fish Habitat 5-Year Review Summary Report 2010 through 2015

Final summary report to present the 2015 Essential Fish Habitat 5-year review. In April 2017, the Council recommended amendments to revise Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) descriptions and maps in five fishery management plans (excludes FMP for the Scallop Fishery off Alaska). NOAA Fisheries and the Council made the following main determinations during the 2015 EFH Review:

• Refine EFH descriptions and maps for many managed species using more recent information and new methods.
• Use the best available science and a new Fishing Effects model to understand the effects of fishing on EFH. No changes in management with regard to fishing within EFH are recommended at this time.
• Update the non-fishing impacts analysis, including advisory EFH conservation recommendations, with the most recent information, including sections on ocean acidification, climate change, and ecosystem processes.