Identifying Strategic Marine Fisheries Habitat in North Carolina

Abstract

In 2004 North Carolina’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources Regulatory Commissions adopted the Coastal Habitat Protection Plan (CHPP). One of the primary goals of the CHPP is to identify, designate, and protect Strategic Habitat Areas (SHAs)— areas of fish habitat that provide exceptional habitat functions for fishery and fishery dependent species managed in North Carolina. This analysis uses habitat surrogates and a spatially explicit siting algorithm to identify a network of areas that meet conservation goals for SHAs within the White Oak River Basin. The analysis further identifies focal areas of wetlands, submerged aquatic vegetation, and shellfish strata that occur in an ideal reserve design and a sensible ecological placement within the Basin. NC DENR can use these focal areas as potential Strategic Habitat Areas for socioeconomic evaluation by managers, resource users, and other stakeholders.