EFH are designated by NOAA Fisheries and the regional fishery management councils for species managed under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
EFH for coral consists of the total distribution of coral species and life stages throughout the Gulf of America including the East and West Flower Garden Banks, Florida Middle Grounds, southwest tip of the Florida reef tract, and predominant patchy hard bottom offshore of Florida from approximately Crystal River south to the Keys, and scattered along the pinnacles and banks from Texas to Mississippi, at the shelf edge.
These maps and corresponding Geographic Information Systems (GIS) shapefile data represent EFH in the Gulf of America. The 2005 Generic EFH Fishery Management Plan Amendment (see link below) should be consulted for specific information on habitats identified as EFH. Esri's ArcGIS software or Google Earth can be used to open GIS shapefiles. Google Earth can also be used to open zipped KML (KMZ) files to view the designated management areas. Click here to download Google Earth. Metadata (information about the GIS shapefile data) is available in XML or an easy-to-read HTML format.
2005 Generic EFH Fishery Management Plan Amendment
For more information or questions about this data please contact the GIS Coordinator at nmfs.ser.gis.coordinator@noaa.gov.
*Executive Order 14172, “Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness” (Jan. 20, 2025), directs that the Gulf of Mexico be renamed the Gulf of America. On August 7, 2025, NOAA Fisheries and the National Ocean Service amended regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations to reflect the renaming. The name change did not result in any changes to, and had no effect on the applicability or enforceability of, any existing regulations. This website continues to use “Gulf of Mexico” when quoting statutes or previously published materials.
