Habitat/MPA/Ecosystems Committee June 6 7, 2006 Mansfield, MA

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1 New England Fishery Management Council 50 WATER STREET NEWBURYPORT, MASSACHUSETTS PHONE FAX Frank Blount, Chairman Paul J. Howard, Executive Director Habitat/MPA/Ecosystems Committee June 6 7, 2006 Mansfield, MA DRAFT Meeting Summary Committee Members: Council Staff: Advisory Panel: NMFS Staff: Others: Ms. Sally McGee (Chair), Mr. John Nelson, Mr. Dana Rice, Mr. Rip Cunningham, Mr. Jim Salisbury, and Mr. Dennis Spitsbergen Ms. Leslie Ann McGee (PDT Chair) and Mr. Tyler Hautaniemi Mr. Dave Wallace, Mr. Chris Zeman, Mr. Ron Smolowitz and Ms. Mary Beth Tooley Mr. Lou Chiarella and Dr. David Stevenson Approximately 8 audience members. The Committee met on June 6 7, 2006 to review and approve a range of EFH designations alternatives and review and approve a prey species section for the EFH Omnibus Amendment 2. Additionally, the Committee was briefed on the recent Advisory Panel meeting and received an update on many non fishing impact projects in the New England Region. The following meeting summary is not in the order of events so that discrete topic can be kept together. Habitat AP Meeting Briefing Mr. Wallace (Chair) provided a briefing of the May 9, 2006 Habitat Advisory Panel meeting to the Committee. The Committee Chair commented on the issue of funding for a potential gear description workshop and the identification of the Northeast Consortium as a potential funding source as noted by the AP. 1

2 EFH Omnibus Amendment Timeline Staff (Ms. McGee, PDT Chair) provided the Committee with an update on the Phase 1 timeline. Non Fishing Impact Project Update Winthrop Beach Winthrop Beach project has approval to move forward with permitting with an order of conditions which has been appealed by Massachusetts Lobstermen Association. As mitigation for sand and cobble mining, they are proposing to create a cobble reef in the same areas as was done for the Hub Line. It hasn t been determined that an EIS is necessary by the ACOE. Council should consider commenting to ACOE as to whether an EIS is necessary. Motion 1 Goethel/Rice Committee requests that staff draft a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) in strong opposition to the Winthrop Beach project and potential for fishing impacts for Council consideration. Motion passes unanimously. Scionsett Beach Area (Nantucket, MA) This project, which proposes to use public trust off shore sand to replenish a private beach, is on the fast track and the applicants will be submitting a Draft Impact Statement (State level) this fall. About 200 acres is being requested for mining. Epsilon Associates is the lead consultant and the biological work is being done by a Florida firm. At appropriate time, Council will comment. Cape Wind Project Now under the jurisdiction of the Mineral Management Service (MMS) and will be writing a new EIS for which they are currently accepting scoping comments. The Committee was briefed that MMMS is not considering doing any additional directed fishery study in the EIS. The next opportunity to engage MMS is after they have released their DEIS. Also, MMS is currently soliciting comments on renewable energy projects in general and the comment period closes in July. NMFS has a national effort underway to respond the comment period. NMFS NERO HCD staff will forward the FR notice and advise on the appropriate avenue and timing for Council comments. Within the Northeast Region alone, NMFS NERO HCD is addressing approximately 7 or 8 regional Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) energy proposals (Weaver s Cove, ME, Gloucester, Long Island Sound, NY Bight and NJ) and they are starting to see tidal 2

3 energy proposals that are installed in a river (not associated with a dam) and will likely see the same impacts as a dam. A Buzzard Bay wind field is proposed ( turbines). Additionally, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is moving forward with re licensing of nuclear power plants nationally. FERC has taken the position that they only license the facility to operate and that the state or EPA is responsible for the water quality impact issues. Staff informed the Committee that the SAFMC issued an energy development policy and it includes how they would like to see energy developed and some of the considerations that they suggest considering when developing energy projects. The Committee decided to review the SAFMC document at their next Committee meeting and determine if this type of proactive approach is something the NEFMC wants to pursue in the near future. Draft NMFS National Guidance on EFH Issues Staff notified the Committee that NMFS HQ has drafted guidance on a variety of issues related to EFH and aspects of the five year review. Staff reported that the NEFMC is in compliance with the document based on the approach of the EFH Omnibus Amendment 2. NMFS NERO Habitat Conservation Division Staff concurred. The Committee was concerned generally that although the guidance is intended to provide flexibility to the Councils, the language seems contradictory as it states it is not appropriate to identify wide swaths of the ocean and nearshore areas as EFH and doesn t provide a mechanism for adaptable EFH designations based on stock status. The Committee suggested including the NMFS HQ guidance in the public hearing document if it is in final form. The Chair noted that the Committee is on target. EFH Designations Staff provided the Committee with a detailed review of the progress the PDT has made since the last Committee meeting (March 20, 2006). The PDT evaluated all new available information and science given the timeline and determined that the egg and larvae EFH for many species did not warrant change at this time given the lack of new information. NMFS NERO HCD representative informed the Committee that if no new information is available or if any new information would not substantially change the understanding of the species and life stage habitat needs then no action is warranted. In this instance, the Committee should recommend to the Council that no action be taken. This is very different than recommending status quo (Alternative 1). Staff also explained that if there is no new information on a life stage (usually eggs and larvae) then an Alternative 2 was not created for that particular species and life stage due to the fact that Alternative 2 is basically a modified and updated version of Alternative 1 (Status Quo). However, if in 1998 the EFH designation (status quo as housed in Alternative 1) for a particular life stage was based on a proxy of another life 3

4 stage (e.g. using adults as a proxy for egg EFH), then the data were updated for the proxy basis and an Alternative 2 was created. The PDT removed all of the poorly sampled and not recently sampled survey strata from the analysis and development of Alternatives 2, 3 and 4; these included mostly Canadian strata and southern Atlantic seaboard strata. Additionally, the PDT removed all of the Canadian area survey data for Atlantic cod, Atlantic herring, haddock, yellowtail flounder and winter flounder with the exception of the survey data on the entire George s Bank to preserve ecological integrity while noting that the stock boundaries are both ecologically and politically based. The PDT Chair informed the Committee that staff had very recently determined that the EFH designation maps for all of the skate species in the original skate FMP were wrong and didn t reflect the Council decisions. However, this cannot be changed at this time without delay. The Committee discussed the definition of essential fish habitat and its components at length in order to determine how they would proceed in their recommendations to the Council. Before the Committee made recommendations on each species and life stage, Ms. McGee (staff and PDT chair) briefed the Committee on the discussion by the PDT and their subsequent recommendations for approach, designations and preferred alternatives. Additionally, in many instances, staff briefed the Committee on the EFH source document material for a particular species and life stage. At the recommendation of staff, the Committee discussed and acted on the species under management by the NEFMC in alphabetical order. Due to the detail of the discussions, it is impossible to record them in summary format in this meeting summary other than to offer the Committee motions. American plaice Juveniles Alternative 3C Adults Alternative 3C Motion 2 Salisbury/Nelson Move to recommend Alternative 3D for juveniles and adult American plaice as the preferred alternative. Motion failed (1/4/0) 4

5 Motion 3 Nelson/Cunningham Adopt recommendation of PDT and recommend Alternative 3C for juvenile and adult American plaice as a preferred alternative. Motion carries (4/1/0) Motion 4 Nelson/Goethel Recommend as the preferred alternative the status quo EFH designation for eggs and larvae for American plaice. Passed unanimously. Audience: Dr. Kenchington the Committee should designate EFH based on what is essential for productivity for the species but not for the survival of the species which argues for a more inclusive area. Mr. Smolowitz advised that the motion is appropriate given that we don t really know what is essential. He also reminded the Committee to focus on the alternative text descriptions as opposed to the map representations. Atlantic cod Juveniles Alternative 3E Adults Alternative 3E Motion 5 Cunningham/Rice Recommend no action on the EFH designation for egg and larvae Atlantic cod as the preferred alternative. Passed unanimously. Committee consensus: Committee noted that motions on various life stages include both the text descriptions and map representations. Motion 6 Goethel/Nelson Create and recommend as preferred an Alternative 3E for both juvenile and adult cod that incorporated Alternative 3D for juveniles and Alternative 3C for adults and include the area noted by the PDT for inclusion in SBNMS and the area adjacent to and Piscataqua River. 5

6 The Committee was concerned with area in coastal Maine that are spawning areas for cod that aren t included in Alternative 3C but are in Alternative 3D and that argues for the creation of an Alternative 3E. Motion 6A Salisbury/Rice Move to substitute to create and recommend as preferred an Alternative 3E which includes Alternative 3D for juveniles and Alternative 3C for adult Atlantic cod with filling ten minute squares as EFH as the areas immediately adjacent to the MA, NH and ME coast including the islands and inclusion of the SBNMS TMS as identified by the PDT and the Committee. Motion 6C (Main motion as substituted) Nelson/Goethel Move to substitute to create and recommend as preferred an Alternative 3E which includes Alternative 3D for juvenile Atlantic cod and Alternative 3C for adult Atlantic cod with filling ten minute squares as EFH as the areas immediately adjacent to the MA, NH and ME coast including the islands and inclusion of the SBNMS TMS as identified by the PDT and the Committee. Atlantic halibut Juveniles Alternative 3D Adults Alternative 3D The Committee noted that the 1998 EFH amendment had limited data for Atlantic halibut. Motion 7 Nelson/Cunningham Recommended as the preferred alternative for halibut EFH Alternative 3D for juveniles and adults and the status quo for eggs and larvae. 6

7 Atlantic herring Egg Alternative 5 Larvae No Action Juveniles Alternative 2E Adults Alternative 2E Staff noted that the PDT didn t discuss using ELMR data in this map representative because we have new and more recent information in the source document that provides data on the inshore egg range. For instance, should not include Cape Cod Bay, Casco Bay and Downeast. The PDT felt that a more sensible approach would be to combine the herring egg bed data and the habitat suitability analysis results. The PDT also considered using recently hatched larvae data but ended up shying away from this approach. Motion 8 Nelson/Rice Develop and recommend as preferred an Alternative 5 for herring egg EFH that includes the status quo as the base for the EFH designation with the inclusion of the ten minutesquares (TMS) associated with observed herring egg beds as documented in the EFH Source Document. Motion passes unanimously. Motion 9 Cunningham/Goethel Recommend creating and recommending as preferred an Alternative 2E that uses Alternative 2C as the basis for herring juveniles EFH with the inclusion of TMS adjacent to coastal CT and RI. Motion 10 Cunningham/Goethel Recommend creating and recommending as preferred an Alternative 2E that uses Alternative 2C as the basis for herring adult EFH with the inclusion of TMS adjacent to coastal CT, RI and ME as depicted in the revised map and not included in the Alternative 2C map. Motion passes unanimously. 7

8 The Committee decided to fill parts of the map representation based on their understanding of the species habitat requirements and the lack of sampling in some areas. This approach was used for many specie and life stages. Atlantic sea scallop Juveniles Alternative 5 Adults Alternative 5 Motion 11 Nelson/Cunningham Create and recommend as a preferred alternative an Alternative 3F for juveniles and adult Atlantic sea scallops that are based on Alternative 3D and include the TMS in downeast Maine as highlighted by the Committee. Audience: Dr. Kenchington noted that juvenile scallops are not pelagic and that the text description for geographic location of scallops needs to be more precise to include the George s Bank. Mr. Smolowitz noted that the survey covers the main part of the resource and not the Gulf of Maine. The Committee considered the importance of reflecting the scallop habitat in the Gulf of Maine (GOM) even though it only makes up 1% of the resource or landings. Motion 11A Goethel/Salisbury Motion to substitute and create an alternative and recommend it as preferred an Alternative 5 for juvenile and adult sea scallop EFH which is based on Alternative 4 and also includes the TMS downeast Maine, Phippines Ledge, Stellwagen Bank (south) and east and southeast of Nantucket Island as highlighted by the Committee. Motion 11B Main motion as amended Goethel/Salisbury Motion to substitute an Alternative 5 as the preferred alternative for juvenile and adult sea scallop EFH which is based on Alternative 4 and also includes the TMS downeast Maine, Phippines Ledge, Stellwagen Bank (south) and east and southeast of Nantucket Island as highlighted by the Committee. 8

9 Barndoor skate Juveniles Alternative 3D Adults Alternative 3D Motion 12 Cunningham/Nelson Motion to recommend Alternative 3D as the preferred alternative for juvenile and adult barndoor skate EFH. Clearnose skate Juveniles Alternative 3C Adults Alternative 3C Motion 13 Nelson/Goethel Motion to recommend no action for egg clearnose skate EFH and Alternative 3C as the preferred alternative for adult clearnose skate EFH. Motion 14 Nelson/Cunningham Motion to recommend Alternative 3C as the preferred alternative for juvenile clearnose skate EFH. Deep Sea Red Crab Committee preferred alternative recommendations and actions*: Larvae Alternative 2A Juveniles Alternative 2A Adults Alternative 2A 9

10 * See motion 42 on red crab Motion 15 Nelson/Cunningham Motion to recommend Alternative 2A (Map 149 for larvae, Map 150 for juveniles and Map 152 for adults) as the preferred alternative for larvae, juvenile and adult red crab EFH. (Committee intent: Alternative 2A does not include the addition of Retriever Seamount as recommended by the PDT.) Haddock Juveniles Alternative 3D Adults Alternative 3E Motion 16 Nelson/Goethel Motion to recommend no action for egg and larvae haddock EFH. Motion 17 Nelson/Goethel Motion to recommend Alternative 3D as the preferred alternative for juvenile haddock EFH. Audience: Dr. Kenchington noted that the question of what is essential can be a thorny one. In this case, the haddock range contracts when depleted and expands when more abundant. The Committee discussed which approach was more appropriate to define an area that supports the year class explosion, an area that supports the rebuilt resource or an area that reflects the historical range. They commented that it may be important to interpolate historically significant areas by filling in the blanks to show areas that are important in robust conditions. The concept of the success of the closed areas in rebuilding haddock was discussed and that the EFH for haddock may well be housed within these areas. 10

11 Motion 18 Nelson/Goethel Motion to create and recommend as preferred an Alternative 3E that includes the union of the juvenile Alternative 3D map representation and the adult Alternative 3D map representation as a proxy for adult haddock EFH and the text description remains as the adult text description under Alternative 3. Motion passed (3/0/1). The Committee discussed reconsidering (day 2) the recommendation on adult haddock due to the concern that the extension of the EFH beyond the middle of the NY area and southward probably doesn t have the correct justification. Committee consensus to reconsider the preferred alternative recommended for adult haddock under Motion 19 for the reasons articulated. Motion 20 Nelson/Goethel Motion to substitute to create and recommend as preferred an Alternative 3E that includes the union of the juvenile haddock Alternative 3D map representation and the adult haddock Alternative 3D map representation which will be terminated at the west and south extent of Alternative 3D adults as a proxy for adult haddock EFH and the text description remains as the adult text description under Alternative 3. Motion to substitute passed unanimously. Motion 20A Main motion as amended: Motion to substitute to create and recommend as preferred an Alternative 3E that includes the union of the juvenile haddock Alternative 3D map representation and the adult haddock Alternative 3D map representation which will be terminated at the west and south extent of Alternative 3D adults as a proxy for adult haddock EFH and the text description remains as the adult text description under Alternative 3. Little skate Juveniles Alternative 3E Adults Alternative 3E 11

12 Motion 21 Goethel/Nelson Create and recommend no action on egg and larvae little skate and as preferred an Alternative 3E that is based on Alternative 3C for juvenile and adult little skate and include the TMS those areas immediately adjacent to the RI and CT coast and east of Nantucket Island where no survey data exist as identified by the Habitat Committee. Motion passes unanimously. Monkfish Juveniles Alternative 3C Adults Alternative 3C The Committee recommended to the PDT that an explanation on what size of monkfish is pelagic be included in the EFH text description. Staff noted that monkfish have a brief pelagic stage before the settling to the bottom. Motion 22 Nelson/Cunningham Accept the recommendation of the PDT and recommend as preferred Alternative 3C for juvenile and adult monkfish and no action for egg and larvae monkfish. Motion 22A Salisbury/Rice Move to substitute and recommend as preferred Alternative 3D for juvenile and adult monkfish and no action for egg and larvae monkfish EFH. Motion carries unanimously. Motion 22B Main motion as substituted. Recommend as preferred Alternative 3D for juvenile and adult monkfish and no action for egg and larvae monkfish EFH. Ocean Pout Egg no preferred alternative Larvae no preferred alternative 12

13 Juveniles Alternative 3C Adults Alternative 3C Motion 23 Nelson/Goethel Accept the PDT recommendations and recommend no preferred alternative for egg and larvae ocean pout and Alternative 3C as a preferred alternative for juvenile and adult ocean pout EFH. Motion carries unanimously. Offshore hake Juveniles Alternative 3E Adults Alternative 3E Motion 24 Salisbury/Cunningham Recommend no action for egg and larvae offshore hake EFH and create and recommend as preferred an Alternative 3E that includes Alternative 3D juveniles and adult offshore hake EFH and the exclude of the areas in the Gulf of Maine north of Cape Cod for juveniles. The Committee noted that the offshore hake identified in the Gulf of Maine are likely misidentified and are really whiting (silver hake). Pollock Juveniles Alternative 3D Adults Alternative 3D The Committee noted that the distribution of adults and juveniles may be different if used the commercial fishing definition of age at maturity as opposed to the science definition of Length At Maturity of 39cm. However, the Committee decided not to recommend filling in and areas that weren t filled in under the status quo designation; opting to wait until after the public comment to decide to fill in these areas. 13

14 Motion 25 Cunningham/Salisbury Recommend no action for egg and larvae pollock and Alternative 3D for juvenile and adult pollock as the preferred alternative. The Committee specifically requested that the public hearing document ask the public to comment specifically on the area between Chatham and Long Island Sound for juvenile and adult Pollock as potential EFH. Red Hake Juveniles Alternative 3C Adults Alternative 3D Motion 26 Cunningham/Salisbury Recommend no action for egg and larvae red hake EFH and as preferred Alternative 3C for juvenile red hake and Alternative 3D for adult red hake. Staff noted that the depth distributions for red hake are very different in the fall and spring which explains the gap in the maps. Audience: Dr. Kenchington questioned whether it is appropriate to use NMFS survey data for defining red hake EFH since they are so migratory and the survey is done is specific times of year Redfish Larvae Alternative 2E Juveniles Alternative 3D Adults Alternative 3D The Committee noted the general understanding that redfish are associated with hard bottom. Motion 27 Nelson/Salisbury 14

15 Recommend no action for egg redfish and recommend as preferred Alternative 2D for larvae redfish EFH and Alternative 3D for juvenile and adult redfish. Rosette skate Juveniles Alternative 3C Adults Alternative 3E Motion 28 Salisbury/Nelson Accept the PDT recommendation for no action on egg and larvae rosette skate EFH and as preferred Alternative 3C for juvenile rosette skate EFH and Alternative 3C for adult rosette skate which is represented by a proxy of juvenile Alternative 3C. Silver hake Egg Alternative 2D Larvae Alternative 2D Juveniles Alternative 3C Adults Alternative 3C Motion 29 Salisbury/Nelson Accept the recommendation of the PDT as preferred Alternative 2D for eggs and larvae silver hake EFH and Alternative 3C for juvenile and adult silver hake EFH. A discussion occurred regarding the migration and spawning habits of silver hake and what is the appropriate proxy for larvae juveniles or adults. The extensive nature of the juvenile distribution as compared to adults, which provides more opportunity for protect of EFH that may include eggs and larvae, is the basis for the original designation and current recommendation. Audience: Mr. Smolowitz was concerned that the survey is misrepresenting the distribution of silver hake. Smooth skate 15

16 Juveniles Alternative 3D Adults Alternative 3D Motion 30 Cunningham/Nelson Recommend as preferred Alternative 3D for both juvenile and adult smooth skate EFH Thorny skate Juveniles Alternative 3C Adults Alternative 3D The Committee noted the potential disparity between the survey distributions and fishermen s knowledge. For instance, Alternative 3C likely leaves out the shallow water areas which is appropriate and tends to highlight high ground in the coast of Maine. Motion 31 Goethel/Cunningham Recommend as preferred Alternative 3C for juvenile thorny skate EFH and Alternative 3D for adult thorny skate EFH. White Hake Egg Alternative 2D Larvae Alternative 2D Juveniles Alternative 3D Adults Alternative 3D The Committee suggested including blue hake in the white hake common name table. Motion 32 Cunningham/Nelson Recommend as preferred Alternative 2D for eggs and larvae white hake and Alternative 3D for juvenile and adult white hake. Motion passes unanimously. 16

17 Windowpane flounder Juveniles Alternative 3E Adults Alternative 3E Motion 33 Goethel/Cunningham Recommend no action for egg and larvae windowpane flounder EFH and Alternative 3E for juvenile and adult windowpane flounder EFH which is created by using the Alternative 3D for juveniles and adult windowpane flounder EFH including the TMS adjacent to the RI and CT coast as well as the southwestern coast of Nantucket. Winter flounder Egg Alternative 5 Larvae Alternative 5 Juveniles Alternative 3E Adults Alternative 3E Motion 34 Nelson/Goethel Recommend as preferred Alternative 3 for winter flounder eggs and create and recommend an Alternative 5 for juvenile winter flounder which uses Alternative 3 for winter flounder eggs as a proxy. Motion 34A Motion to substitute Salisbury/Rice Create and recommend as preferred an Alternative 5 for winter flounder eggs which includes Alternative 3 for winter flounder for eggs adding and including an area bounded by the 20m isobaths (to be created by staff) and to include in the winter flounder egg EFH text description the following text: collected 0.3m to 8m inshore and believed to occur to at least 20m depth and that this new Alternative 5 for winter flounder eggs map representation be a proxy for winter flounder larvae EFH. Motion to substitute passed (4/0/1) Motion 34B Main motion as substituted Create and recommend as preferred an Alternative 5 for winter flounder eggs which includes Alternative 3 (text and map) for winter flounder for eggs adding and including 17

18 an area bounded by the 20m isobaths (to be created by staff) and to include in the winter flounder egg EFH text description the following text: collected 0.3m to 8m inshore and believed to occur to at least 20m depth and that this new Alternative 5 for winter flounder eggs map representation be a proxy for winter flounder larvae EFH. Motion passed (4/0/1) The Committee was concerned with the near shore depth parameter. Staff noted the correct maximum depth should be 72 meters in the description. Change to text description: to state in the depth parameter collected from 0.3m to 8m inshore and believed to occur to at least 20m spawn as deep as 72 meters (George s Bank) In order to receive public comment on areas that have experienced recovery of winter flounder off of MA, NH and southern ME, the Committee considered adding an additional alternative (#6) to include the entire depth range of the spawning areas (inshore and on George s Bank). Motion 35 Nelson/Spitsbergen Create and include an Alternative 6 for public comment which is a depiction of eggs and larvae winter flounder EFH that is developed based on the Alternative 3 method analysis and text description with a continuous depth range to 72 meters. Motion 36 Cunningham/Rice Create and recommend as preferred an Alternative 3E for juvenile and adult winter flounder which is based on Alternative 3D for juvenile and adult winter flounder EFH and includes the TMS as indicated by the Committee that are adjacent to the ME, NH, RI and CT and to the east and south of Nantucket. Motion carries unanimously. Winter skate Juveniles Alternative 3E Adults Alternative 3E 18

19 Motion 37 Cunningham/Goethel Recommend no action for egg and larvae winter skate and create and recommend as preferred an Alternative 3E for juvenile and adult winter skate EFH that is based on Alternative 3D for juvenile and adult winter skate EFH and includes the TMS as indicated by the Committee that are adjacent to the RI and CT coast and to the east and south of Nantucket. Motion passes unanimously. Witch flounder Egg No Action Larvae No Action Juveniles Alternative 3D Adults Alternative 3E Motion 38 Nelson/Cunningham Accept the recommendation of the PDT for no action for egg and larvae witch flounder EFH and as preferred Alternative 3D for juvenile witch flounder and Alternative 3C for the adult witch flounder. Motion 38A Salisbury/Rice Motion to amend to create an Alternative 3E which for adult witch flounder EFH which uses Alternative 3D juvenile witch flounder EFH map representation and as a proxy. Motion carries (3/2) Motion 38B Salisbury/Rice Move to reconsider the motion. Motion to reconsider passed. Motion 38C Salisbury/Rice Motion to amend to create an Alternative 3E which for adult witch flounder EFH which uses Alternative 3D juvenile witch flounder EFH map representation and as a proxy. Motion passed (4/2/0) Motion to reconsider was intended to include the maker of the main motion to be present during the discussion of the amended motion. Motion 38D 19

20 Main motion as amended Nelson/Cunningham Recommend as preferred Alternative 3D for juvenile witch flounder and create and recommend as preferred an Alternative 3E that uses the Alternative 3D map representation for juvenile witch flounder EFH as a proxy for adult witch flounder EFH. Motion passed (5/1/0) Motion 39 Nelson/Cunningham Recommend no action for egg and larvae witch flounder EFH. Yellowtail flounder Juveniles Alternative 3D Adults Alternative 3D Motion 40 Nelson/Salisbury Recommend no action for egg and larvae yellowtail flounder EFH and Alternative 3D as the preferred alternative for juvenile and adult yellowtail flounder EFH. Motion 41 Nelson/Rice Move to recommend to the Council the EFH Designation Alternative as amended by the Committee and included in this are the preferred alternative recommendations from the Committee. Motion was set aside temporarily. At the staff s request, the Committee considered the additionally use of the prey species information, which currently is only included in the text descriptions for Alternative 3, in Alternatives 2 and 4 when the information is perfected. Committee consensus To inform the Council that the Prey Species document has not been reviewed to the PDT s satisfaction and will be reviewed further and that the prey species information in the EFH text description is not complete and will be reviewing the information for inclusion in Alternative 2 and 4 and modifying it for Alternative 3 where appropriate. 20

21 Staff recommended that the Committee, Advisory Panel and public review the draft prey species document and provide the PDT through the PDT Chair in the coming month. Motion 41 Salisbury/Goethel Motion to reconsider Motion 15 which read: Motion to recommend Alternative 2A (Map 149 for larvae, Map 150 for juveniles and Map 152 for adults) as the preferred alternative for larvae, juvenile and adult red crab EFH. (Committee intent: Alternative 2A does not include the addition of Retriever Seamount as recommended by the PDT.) Motion 42 Goethel/Rice Motion to substitute for deep sea red crab a motion to create a fourth classification of spatial realm for seamounts to be separate from the other spatial realms and direct the PDT to develop a range of alternatives for deep sea red crab which includes this spatial realm and for consideration by the Committee at the next meeting and the Council at the September meeting. Motion to substitute passed. Motion 42A Main Motion for Deep Sea Red Crab EFH alternatives Motion to substitute for deep sea red crab a motion to a new create a fourth classification of spatial realm for seamounts to be separate from the other spatial realms and direct the PDT to develop a range of alternatives for deep sea red crab which includes this spatial realm and for consideration by the Committee at the next meeting and the Council at the September meeting. Motion 43 Further consideration of Motion 41 Nelson/Rice Move to recommend to the Council the EFH Designation Alternative document as amended by the Committee and included in this are the preferred alternative recommendations from the Committee. Other Business None. 21