Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) Assessments

INSPIRE is skilled at providing expertise in environmetal impact assessments for EFH evaluations to support project developers and regulators in ensuring that proposed activities do not adversely affect EFH, as mandated by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act in the United States.

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INSPIRE fisheries scientists are experienced at successfully evaluating potential impacts of proposed actions on EFH and finfish species and working with developers to ensure appropriate mitigation measures are included in project plans.

Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) is designated for federally-managed fisheries species and is defined as habitat necessary for fish to spawn, breed, feed, or grow to maturity, as mandated by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act in the United States.

INSPIRE scientists have the experience and tools to evaluate whether a proposed project may adversely affect EFH, either directly or indirectly via physical, chemical, or biological alterations.

Related Projects

Sunrise Offshore Wind Project

INSPIRE produced a technical report for the COP that describes fish and invertebrate species and life stages with designated EFH within the project area.

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Related Projects

South Fork Offshore Wind Project

INSPIRE produced a technical report for the COP that describes fish and invertebrate species and life stages with designated EFH within the project area.

Learn More View All Projects

Scientific Rigor and Precision

Key Aspects of EFH Evaluations

Regulatory Compliance
Guiding clients to adhere to regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which protect habitats crucial for fish life stages.

Interested Party Engagement
Involving various interested parties, including government agencies, tribes, fishing industries, environmental organizations, and the public, to understand potential impacts on EFH.

Habitat Mapping — Popup Map
Our interactive web-based Popup map provides users with real-time, detailed information about benthic habitats that serve as EFH for demersal species, enhancing accessibility, user engagement, and decision-making in marine spatial planning and conservation efforts.

Mitigation Measures
Developing and recommending measures to mitigate adverse impacts on EFH, such as altering project designs.

Monitoring and Adaptive Management
Planning and implementing monitoring programs to assess the effectiveness of project design measures to minimize EFH impacts.

EFH Crosswalks
The seasonal occurrences of EFH species by life-stage are compared to EFH maps in the area of interest. These “crosswalks” help resource managers and developers design projects with minimal environmental impacts.

RELATED RESOURCES

Explore our services further

The Nature Conservancy Webinar: Understanding Interactions Between Fish, Fish Habitat & Offshore Wind, featuring Dr. Annie Murphy, INSPIRE Environmental

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INSPIRE Scientists publish study of Effects of Offshore Wind Construction on Glacial Moraine Habitats

Benthic Impact Assessments Offshore Wind

INSPIRE Scientists publish study of Effects of Offshore Wind Construction on Glacial Moraine Habitats

As several of New England’s offshore wind energy projects move forward, INSPIRE scientists continue to make waves in the field of wind farm impact assessment with the publication of a new paper in Estuaries and Coasts. Authors Marisa Guarinello and Dr. Drew Carey present a multi-modal approach to assess the effects of construction within glacial […]

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