NOAA Proposes Rock Shrimp Access Area Inside Florida Coral Habitat, Comments Due December 14
NOAA Fisheries published a proposed rule on November 10 to establish a rock shrimp fishery access area inside the Oculina Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern (OHAPC), about 15 miles off Fort Pierce, Florida. The access area would cover 14.10 square nautical miles, and the public comment period runs from November 12 through December 14.
Oculina Bank is a key habitat for the deepwater coral Oculina varicosa, known as ivory tree coral, and the protected area extends north toward Cape Canaveral. The proposed access area sits along the eastern boundary of the habitat area's northern extension, where seafloor mapping confirmed flat, soft-bottom habitat with no live coral, dead coral or coral rubble. A variable buffer of 350 to 1,580 meters separates the access area from known coral pinnacles.
If the rule takes effect, vessels holding limited-access commercial rock shrimp permits could bottom-trawl for rock shrimp inside the access area, while other restrictions in the habitat area, including limits on anchoring and bottom longlines, would remain in place. Comments on the proposed rule, docket NOAA-NMFS-2026-1750, can be submitted through the federal rulemaking portal; a companion fishery management plan amendment was published in the Federal Register on September 18, with comments due by November 17.
(Source: NOAA Fisheries)
Source: NOAA Fisheries
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：象牙树珊瑚 Oculina varicosa。Wikimedia Commons 图片（公共领域）。 / Photo: Ivory tree coral, Oculina varicosa. Image via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).
