Atlantic Estuarine Fish Habitat (Southeast Blueprint Indicator)

Reason for Selection This indicator captures many factors influencing Atlantic estuarine fish habitat quality and promotes consistency with the priorities of the Atlantic Coast Fish Habitat Partnership. Estuarine habitat provides critical food resources and serves as a refuge from predators for many recreational and commercial fish, crabs and small animals (Naturally Resilient Communities 2017). Submerged aquatic vegetation in coastal and estuarine ecosystems is a food source for waterfowl and, along with marsh edges and seagrass, serves as important nursery habitat for many species (Dennison et al. 1993). Oyster reefs and beds also help to improve surrounding water quality, buffer coasts from waves, and reduce erosion (Naturally Resilient Communities 2017). Input Data * [Atlantic Coast Fish Habitat Partnership (ACFHP) Fish Habitat Conservation Area Mapping and Prioritization Project]: [South Atlantic, Mid-Atlantic, and South Florida Estuarine Analysis] * [Base Blueprint 2022 extent] * [Southeast Blueprint 2023 extent] Mapping Steps * Convert the South Atlantic Estuarine Analysis from vector to a 30 m raster using the FINALSCORE field. * Convert the Mid-Atlantic Estuarine Analysis from vector to a 30 m raster using the TotalPoints field. * Convert the South Florida Estuarine Analysis from vector to a 30 m raster using the FINALSCORE field. * Combine the above rasters using the ArcPy Spatial Analyst Cell Statistics “MAX” function. * Reclassify the above raster into 9 classes, seen in the final indicator values below. * Clip to the spatial extent of Base Blueprint 2022. * As a final step, clip to the spatial extent of Southeast Blueprint 2023. Note: For more details on the mapping steps, code used to create this layer is available [in the Southeast Blueprint 2025 Data Download] under > 6_Code. Final indicator values Indicator values are assigned as follows: 8 = Final score of 80 (areas of excellent fish habitat) 7 = Final score of 70 (areas of excellent fish habitat) 6 = Final score of 60 (restoration opportunity areas) 5 = Final score of 50 (restoration opportunity areas) 4 = Final score of 40 (restoration opportunity areas) 3 = Final score of 30 (restoration opportunity areas) 2 = Final score of 20 (restoration opportunity areas) 1 = Final score of 10 (degraded areas of opportunity) 0 = Final score of 0 (degraded areas of opportunity) Known Issues * This indicator underestimates scores in parts of Georgia and North Florida that weren’t well-surveyed for oyster reefs at the time of the ACFHP assessment. Disclaimer: Comparing with Older Indicator Versions There are numerous problems with using Southeast Blueprint indicators for change analysis. Please consult Blueprint staff if you would like to do this (email [hilary_morris@fws.gov]). Literature Cited Dennison, William C., Robert J. Orth, Kenneth A. Moore, J. Court Stevenson, Virginia Carter, Stan Kollar, Peter W. Bergstrom, Richard A. Batiuk, Assessing Water Quality with Submersed Aquatic Vegetation: Habitat requirements as barometers of Chesapeake Bay health, BioScience, Volume 43, Issue 2, February 1993, Pages 86–94. [[https://doi.org/10.2307/1311969]]. Martin, Erik, Kat Hoenke, and Lisa Havel. Atlantic Coast Fish Habitat Partnership. Fish Habitat Conservation Area Mapping and Prioritization Project: A Prioritization of Atlantic Coastal, Estuarine, and Diadromous Fish Habitats for Conservation. August 2020. [[https://www.atlanticfishhabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/ACFHP-Mapping-and-Prioritization-Final-Report.pdf]]. Naturally Resilient Communities. 2017. Solution: Oyster Reefs. [[https://nrcsolutions.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/NRC_Solutions_Oyster_Reefs.pdf]].