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| ![]          | **SOUTH ATLANTIC FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCIL**         |
| (media/image |                                                       |
| 1.wmf){width | ONE SOUTHPARK CIRCLE, SUITE 306                       |
| ="1.56875in" |                                                       |
| height       | CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA 29407-4699                 |
| ="1.49930555 |                                                       |
| 55555554in"} | TEL 843/571-4366 or FAX 843/769-4520                  |
|              |                                                       |
|              | Toll Free 1-866/SAFMC-10 E-mail: safmc@safmc.net      |
|              |                                                       |
|              | Web site: www.safmc.net                               |
|              |                                                       |
|              | David Cupka, Chairman Robert K. Mahood, Executive     |
|              | Director                                              |
|              |                                                       |
|              | Louis Daniel, Vice-Chairman Gregg T. Waugh, Deputy    |
|              | Executive Director                                    |
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|              |                                                       |
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August 12, 2004

Dr. William Hogarth

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries

National Marine Fisheries Service

1315 East-West Highway

Silver Spring, MD 20910

Dear Dr. Hogarth:

Thank you for giving the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council the
opportunity to comment on the Petition submitted by Oceana to address
protection of deep-water corals and associated habitat. Our comments are
restricted to the South Atlantic region under the jurisdiction of the
Council.

The Council has taken a proactive approach in the designation and
protection of EFH and HAPCs in the South Atlantic region. Regulations to
protect corals and coral reefs from fishing-related impacts were
implemented early on under the Coral, Coral Reefs and Live/Hardbottom
Fishery Management Plan. Subsequent amendments to this and other FMPs
have minimized fishing-related impacts on these areas. Moreover, the
Council actively comments on non-fishing projects or policies that may
impact habitat, including deep-water corals, through its habitat
policies. Below is a summary of Council activities addressing each of
the actions requested in the Oceana Petition. In drafting a response, we
request that NOAA Fisheries utilize the activities summarized below to
emphasize the Council's cooperative efforts in the South Atlantic region
with our habitat and ecosystem partners including NOAA, state, other
Federal, local and NGOs, to address the majority of the needs cited in
the Petition.

**1. Identify, map, and list all known areas containing high
concentrations of deep-sea coral and sponge habitat**

To address the need to characterize the distribution, health and
abundance of deep water coral species in the South Atlantic, the Council
has partnered with the National Undersea Research Center at the
University of North Carolina at Wilmington (NURC/UNCW) to conduct
multi-beam, high-resolution (1-2 m) mapping of the outer continental
shelf and upper continental slope. This region of the Exclusive Economic
Zone (EEZ) from North Carolina through the east coast of Florida covers
a depth range of 100-500 m, includes important habitat for current and
future economically valuable species (e.g., groupers, wreckfish, crabs,
tilefish, etc.). Throughout the region, and toward the deeper end
(350-450 m), are extensive deep coral reef systems (e.g., *Lophelia*).
The area to be mapped also includes important and unique features such
as "The Point" canyon system (just north of Cape Hatteras, North
Carolina) and the "Charleston Bump" (off of Cape Romain, South
Carolina). The features of these two HAPCs result in significant
oceanographic effects in the region (e.g., upwellings) and also
represent productive fishery areas. Mapping will be accomplished using
an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) that will be operated by
NURC/UNCW. The Council is also completing a Research and Monitoring and
Evaluation Plan for the *Oculina* Closed Area and initiating the
development of a Research and Monitoring Plan for Deep-water Coral and
Associated Habitat. Each effort will provide guidance and an
implementation strategy for further mapping and characterization of
these habitats. In addition, the Council is partnering in a multi-agency
proposal to the Office of Ocean Exploration to facilitate the
cooperative mapping and characterization of the deep-water coral systems
in FY2005.

The Council understands the need to compile all available information on
deep and shallow water corals and other benthic habitats in the South
Atlantic region and make it available to researchers and the general
public. To fulfill this need, the Council and the Florida Fish and
Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) are developing an Essential Fish
Habitat/Ecosystem web site that will be accessible from the South
Atlantic Council's web site. The website focuses on habitat and
ecosystem management activities by the Council and hosts an Internet Map
Server (IMS) application that is a repository for recent and historic
data on bottom habitats, including EFH and HAPCs, collected throughout
the South Atlantic region. The IMS application also features video and
still imagery archives that provide users a unique opportunity to
observe the health and abundance of benthic habitats, including
deep-water corals, and that of the species that they sustain. Users may
perform queries, download (and possibly update) data and associated
metadata. In addition, the Essential Fish Habitat/Ecosystem website will
include a section focusing specifically on deep-water corals in the
South Atlantic region and Council activities pertaining directly to this
important element of the ecosystem.

**2. Designate all known areas containing high concentrations of
deep-sea coral and sponge habitat both as EFH and HAPC, and close HAPC
to bottom trawling**

The first step in designating new deep-water coral HAPCs (C-HAPCs) is to
identify and characterize those areas. Efforts are already underway to
accomplish this task as the mapping effort outlined above describes. In
addition a summary of existing information on *Lophelia pertusa* in the
South Atlantic region is being prepared with an anticipated completion
date of October 2004. This information will facilitate the Habitat and
Coral Advisory Panels and Council identification of areas for C-HAPC
designation. The Council has already initiated the process to identify
deep-water C-HAPCs and has already included the areas specified in the
Oceana Petition as potential candidate sites. The Research and
Monitoring Plan will provide a framework from which comprehensive
mapping and characterization of the deep water corals will be
accomplished to further support the designations as C-HAPCs.

Following is a listing of regulations that extend protection to EFH and
HAPCs, including deep-water corals and associated habitat, under the
Council's FMPs:

**Coral, Coral Reef and Live/Hardbottom Habitat FMP**

-   prohibits all harvest or possession of these resources which serve
    as essential fish habitat to many managed species with the exception
    of the limited harvest of soft coral by permit; and

-   established the *Oculina* Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern
    (HAPC) where all bottom tending gear (including trawls) is
    prohibited. All anchoring or use of grapples by fishing vessels is
    prohibited in the HAPC.

**Snapper Grouper**

-   prohibits use of bottom longlines inside of 50 fathoms or anywhere
    south of St. Lucie Inlet, Florida;

-   prohibits use of fish traps;

-   prohibits use of bottom tending (roller-rig) trawls on live bottom
    habitat;

-   prohibits use of entanglement nets;

-   established a Closed Area within the *Oculina* HAPC where the
    harvest and retention of all snapper/grouper species is prohibited;
    and

-   established Special Management Zones (SMZs) which limit use of
    highly efficient and potentially habitat damaging gear.

**Shrimp FMP**

-   prohibits rock shrimp trawling in the *Oculina* HAPC; and

-   requires Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) on vessels participating in
    the rock shrimp fishery off Florida and Georgia.

In addition to protecting EFH and HAPCs, including deep-water corals and
associated habitat, from the impacts of fishing activities, the Council
actively comments on non-fishing projects that may impact EFH and HAPCs
under its existing policies on beach dredging and filling and
large-scale coastal engineering; energy exploration, development and
transportation; protection and enhancement of Submerged Aquatic
Vegetation (SAV) habitat; alterations to riverine, estuarine and
nearshore flows; ocean dredged material disposal sites and underwater
berm creation.

***Oculina* Bank HAPC**

In 1984, the Council established the 92-square-mile *Oculina* Bank
Habitat Area of Particular Concern (HAPC) through implementation of the
Coral and Coral Reefs Fishery Management Plan in order to protect the
fragile coral. Within the *Oculina* Bank HAPC use of bottom-tending
fishing gear including bottom trawls, bottom longlines, dredges, fish
traps and fish pots was prohibited. Subsequent amendments to the
Snapper/Grouper, Coral and Coral Reefs and Shrimp FMPs provided further
protection to the *Oculina* HAPC through prohibitions on anchoring of
fishing vessels and trawling for rock shrimp. The Council's
Comprehensive Amendment Addressing Essential Fish Habitat in Fishery
Management Plans of the South Atlantic Region (Comprehensive Amendment)
created two *Oculina* HAPC Satellite Areas adjacent to the existing
HAPC. These Satellite areas were created to protect concentrated areas
of *Oculina* coral. The current *Oculina* HAPC now encompasses
300-square-miles. A Research and Monitoring Plan, an Outreach Plan and a
Law Enforcement Plan for the *Oculina* Closed Area (within the larger
HAPC) are being developed and will be finalized by March 2005. In
addition, Amendment 5 to the Shrimp FMP implemented the requirement of
vessel monitoring systems (VMS) in the rock shrimp fishery (effective
October 2003) to increase the ability to enforce regulations within the
*Oculina* HAPC and the Closed Area. The Council has also requested that
penalty schedules be increased and the maximum penalty be imposed on
fishermen who violate regulations within the *Oculina* areas.

In anticipation of expanding and/or increasing the number of HAPCs,
including C-HAPCs, in the South Atlantic region, the Council established
a framework procedure through its Comprehensive Amendment. This
procedure allows for rapid modifications to EFH definitions,
establishment of new or modification of existing HAPCs, and
establishment of new or modification of existing C-HAPCs. Modifications
and new measures can thus be accomplished through a streamlined public
review process that can occur at any time during the year. It is this
framework procedure that the Council intends to rely on to create new
deep-water C-HAPCs in the near future. Furthermore, the Council intends
to coordinate research and monitoring activities pertaining to
deep-water corals and sponges in the region and develop a comprehensive
Research and Monitoring Plan for Deep-Water Corals and Associated
Habitat. This Plan will be developed during fall 2004.

**3. Identify all areas not fished within the past three years with
bottom-tending mobile fishing gear, and close such areas to bottom
trawling**

The data collection system for the penaeid or royal red shrimp fisheries
does not provide information specifying fishing locations. The Atlantic
Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program (ACCSP), once fully implemented,
will provide the level of information necessary to assess fishing
activity. Therefore, this action request will be addressed through the
Council's efforts to identify and map significant deep-water coral
areas, as described under action request #1. However, the Snapper
Grouper FMP, as amended, already prohibits use of bottom tending roller
rig trawls on live bottom habitat in the South Atlantic EEZ. The major
provision of the petition falls well short of the proposals that are
under development for C-HAPCs. The Council is developing a Fishery
Ecosystem Plan for the South Atlantic and workshops are already
scheduled to expand the limited information on fishing patterns
collected from existing collections systems, including logbooks, with
input from fishermen on Council Advisory Panels. Such an effort will
provide a finer resolution of fishing effort in the region.

**4. Monitor bycatch to identify areas of deep-sea coral and sponge
habitat that are being currently fished, establish appropriate limits or
caps on bycatch of deep-sea coral and sponge habitat, and immediately
close to bottom trawling areas where these limits or caps are reached
until such time as the areas can be mapped, identified as EFH and HAPC,
and permanently protected**

Through implementation of the Coral, Coral Reefs and Live/Hardbottom FMP
and subsequent amendments, the Council has prohibited taking of corals
and, specifically, stony corals and black corals, fire coral and
hydrocorals and two species of seafans. The plan provides for a limited
harvest of soft corals or octocorals except the two prohibited species
of seafans. In addition, toxic chemicals may not be used to take fish or
other marine organisms in or on a "coral area" including patch reefs,
outer bank reefs, deepwater banks, and hard bottoms. Collection of dead
coral or calcium carbonate rock (known as "live rock" in the aquarium
trade) was prohibited and a live rock aquaculture permit system for the
South Atlantic EEZ was established to encourage aquaculture of live rock
as a substitute. The Council has been successful in protecting the
fragile coral resources in the South Atlantic from degradation due to
direct harvest and/or unintended damage from bottom tending fishing
gear. The Council has protected these coral resources by establishing an
optimum yield of zero for coral, coral reefs and live hard bottom
habitat which includes deep-water coral species. Also, existing gear
prohibitions directly protect the coral systems from fishing-related
impacts.

**5. Establish a program to identify new areas containing high
concentrations of deep-sea coral and sponge habitat through bycatch
monitoring, surveys, and other methods, designate these newly discovered
areas as EFH and HAPC, and close them to bottom trawling**

The Council is already addressing this need through activities described
under action requests #1 and #2

**6. Enhance monitoring infrastructure, including observer coverage,
vessel monitoring systems, and electronic logbooks for vessels fishing
in areas where they might encounter high concentrations of deep-sea
coral and sponge habitat (including encountering HAPC)**

As discussed under action request #2, Amendment 5 to the Council's
Shrimp FMP implemented a requirement for the use of Vessel Monitoring
Systems (VMS) for vessels participating in the rock shrimp fishery,
effective October 2003. This action was taken in response to reports of
illegal trawling occurring within the *Oculina* HAPC. To further enhance
enforcement ability, the Council has requested that maximum penalties be
imposed on vessels engaging in illegal activities within the *Oculina*
areas and is in the process of developing a Law Enforcement Plan for the
*Oculina* Closed Area to be finalized by March 2005.

The Council has supported research efforts to evaluate the use of
electronic logbooks in the snapper grouper fishery in our region.
Refined fishing pattern information gained from such a system could
enhance our understanding of fishing operations relative to all benthic
habitat including deep-water coral.

**7. Increase enforcement and penalties to prevent deliberate
destruction of deep-sea coral and sponge habitat and illegal fishing in
already closed areas**

Refer to discussion above and under action request #2.

**8. Fund and initiate research to identify, protect, and restore
damaged deep-sea coral and sponge habitat**

As discussed under action request \# 1, the Council has sought the
cooperation of institutions with suitable technological capabilities to
accomplish accurate mapping of the deep-water coral systems within its
area of jurisdiction. Moreover, Research and Monitoring Plans for the
*Oculina* Closed Area and for Deep-Water Corals and Associated Habitat
will be drafted in the coming months with input from renowned
researchers with expertise in deep-water corals, geologists and physical
oceanographers. Therefore, the Council supports all efforts to
adequately fund mapping, characterization of these complex coral
habitats.

In conclusion, the Council has established policies and a **Fishery
Management Plan for Coral, Coral Reefs and Live/Hard bottom Habitat in
the South Atlantic Region** under which deep-water coral is managed.
Presently all corals identified in the petition are prohibited from
harvest or retention pursuant to the Coral FMP. Mechanisms exist and are
being initiated through the approved FMP to further protect deep-water
coral habitats. Research and characterization of habitat in the
*Oculina* HAPC are continuing. Additionally, long-term research,
monitoring and evaluation and law enforcement plans are currently being
developed for the *Oculina* Closed Area. The Council's Habitat Advisory
Panel and Coral Advisory Panel have endorsed proactive efforts to
identify and protect deep-water coral systems just now being explored in
the South Atlantic region, the *Lophelia* banks. The Council has
endorsed the Panels' recommendation that these areas, as identified, be
considered for designation as Coral Habitat Areas of particular Concern
pursuant to the Coral FMP. Regulations implemented through such a
designation will go beyond those proposed in the petition in that
prohibition of the use of all bottom-tending gear and the use of anchors
and grapples would be mandated with no bycatch of any coral habitat by
fishing vessels allowed. The Council has integrated the consideration of
new Coral HAPCs into the process underway to evolve our Habitat Plan
into a Fishery Ecosystem Plan. In addition, preliminary efforts are
underway to map and characterize the habitats which are now known to
extend from North Carolina through the east coast of Florida.

In closing, the Council would like to point out that the Oceana Petition
fails to take into consideration the social and economic impacts of the
actions requested. The South Atlantic Council and other regional
Councils are working towards sustainable management of the marine
resources under their jurisdiction, as mandated by the Magnuson-Stevens
Act. Consequently, the Council believes that conservation of deep-water
corals and associated habitat is best accomplished through the existing
management framework so that potential social and economic impacts to
communities can be properly addressed.

Sincerely,

> David Cupka

Chairman

cc: Council members, Staff

Habitat and Environmental Protection AP

Coral AP

Law Enforcement AP