Nationwide
HAPCs have been designated in all regions around the United States and its territories. This dataset provides all HAPCs that are currently mapped in the EFH Mapper.
Latest data update: 07/10/2024
Atlantic Highly Migratory Species
The Atlantic Highly Migratory Species are managed internationally through the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), and domestically under the Magnuson-Stevens Act through a fishery management plan administered by NOAA Fisheries. HAPCs developed for these species are focused on areas of ecological importance for spawning and early life stages.
Latest data update: 07/10/2024
Alaska
The Alaska region includes the Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska, and the Aleutian Islands. HAPCs have been designated by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. The council utilizes a highly structured and inclusive process for identifying and reviewing potential HAPCs. Proposed HAPCs in this region must meet at least two of the four considerations identified above, including rarity. Read more about HAPCs in Alaska.
Latest data update: 07/10/2024
Caribbean
The Caribbean region includes Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. These islands are part of NOAA Fisheries' Southeast Region. The Caribbean Fishery Management Council has designated a large number of discrete sites as HAPCs under its Reef Fish and Coral Fishery Management Plans.
Latest data update: 07/10/2024
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico region includes the states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and the west coast of Florida. These states are also part of NOAA Fisheries' Southeast Region. The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council has designated several HAPCs primarily designed for the purposes of protecting coral and hard bottom habitat.
Latest data update: 07/10/2024
Mid-Atlantic
The Mid-Atlantic region includes the states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia. Four HAPCs for golden tilefish have been designated within NOAA Fisheries's Greater Atlantic Region by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, three in New England and one in the Mid-Atlantic. The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council has also designated HAPC for summer flounder within the Mid-Atlantic and New England. Summer flounder EFH is defined as all native species of macroalgae, seagrasses, and freshwater and tidal macrophytes in any size bed, as well as loose aggregations, within adult and juvenile summer flounder EFH. In locations where native species have been eliminated from an area, then exotic species are included. Because regional mapping does not exist, local mapping and/or site specific data is used to determine the presence of this HAPC.
Latest data update: 07/10/2024
New England
New England includes the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The New England Fishery Management Council has designated 18 HAPCs in the region:one for Atlantic salmon in Maine, three for juvenile cod, two multi-species HAPCs in the Gulf of Maine, one for two seamounts, and 11 for discrete submarine canyons on the outer continental shelf in both the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions.
Latest data update: 07/10/2024
Pacific Islands
The Pacific Islands includes the state of Hawai'i, the territories of Guam and American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and eight remote island areas. The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council defines HAPCs primarily by habitat types.
Latest data update: 07/10/2024
South Atlantic
The South Atlantic includes the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and the east coast of Florida. The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council has designated two distinct types of HAPCs in the region. Coral HAPCs minimizes the impacts of fishing and fishing gears on corals, coral reefs, and live/hard bottom habitat, while the EFH-HAPCs focuses on the value of habitat to the species in the context of its FMP.
Latest data update: 07/10/2024
West Coast
The West Coast includes the states of Washington, Oregon, and California. The Pacific Fishery Management Council has designated HAPCs for both groundfish and salmon species. Defining criteria of all HAPCs, as described in Amendment 19 of the Pacific Coast Groundfish FMP and Appendix A to Amendment 18 of the Pacific Coast Salmon FMP, should be applied to determine whether a given area is designated as HAPCs for groundfish or salmon.
Latest data update: 07/10/2024
