The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) is preparing to take final action on the comprehensive Omnibus Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) Amendment, following publication of the draft amendment and corresponding Environmental Impact Statement this fall. With public hearings currently underway and the written comment period open until January 8th, 2015, it's now the public's turn to weigh in on the Council's preferred alternatives.
In advance of this winter's public hearings, GMRI worked closely with NEFMC staff to design and produce the Omnibus Essential Fish Habitat Amendment 2 Public Hearing Document, now available on the Council's website. The document summarizes the full range of alternatives included for consideration and outlines the habitat, social, and economic impacts of each alternative.
To complement the public hearing document, GMRI's Ocean Data Products team recently launched the EFH Viewer, an interactive online tool that allows users to view and compare the extensive suite of spatial management alternatives outlined in the amendment. The tool offers a nautical chart basemap layer as well as a zoom function and informational captions to allow users to view and understand specific spatial alternatives at close range.
Visit EFHviewer.gmri.org for more information.