Okaloosa County BOCC — June 2, 2015 — Okaloosa Co ABF Feasibility Study C2014-042 — reading text

0 0 -15 Of 5 0 -2 0 Mexico -50 00 STUDY -10 FOCUS -50 28°0'0"N 28°0'0"N AREA W 50 es -1 t 0 -25 00 -50 0 -15 -3000 Fl -10 orida 00 00 500 -20 -1 Es car 0 50 -2 27°0'0"N 27°0'0"N pm Legend ent Tuna EFH Distance to East Pass Depth (meters) PROJECT Notes: C2014-042 5 FIGURE 3 TAYLOR ENGINEERING INC. ADULT TUNA, ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT (EFH) 1. Bathymetry Source: National Geophysical Data Center, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce DRAWN BY PL 1221 AIRPORT ROAD, SUITE 210 OKALOOSA ABF STUDY 2. Basemap Source: USGS SHEET DESTIN, FL 32541 OKALOOSA COUNTY, FL 3. Vertical Datum: MLLW Meters DATE CERTIFICATE OF AUTHORIZATION # 4815 4. Horizontal Datum: NAD 1983 AUGUST 2014 \\NAS2K12\nass2\PROJECTS\C2014-042 Okaloosa ABF Study\GIS\MXDs\Figure 3 Tuna.mxd 3.0 MOORED BUOY LOCATIONS Mooring and fishing buoys are in use around the world, in all major oceans and seas, in estuarine, nearshore, and deep ocean waters. Anchored buoys for artisanal / subsistence fishing occur around many Caribbean islands, Guam, West Indian Ocean islands (e.g., around the Seychelles, Comores Island, and Mauritius), Australia, New Guinea, the South Sea islands, etc.; however, very few documented fishing buoys occur in American waters. A very old technology, the use of buoys and other floating objects to attract fish has garnered a great deal of interest as expanding populations and industries continue to exploit ocean fisheries at an ever increasing rate, aided in part by these devices. The islands of Hawaii have an extensive anchored FAD system for recreational uses, in place for over 30 years (Holland et al., 2000). The Hawaii system is the only currently active FAD system in the United States. The State of Hawaii, University of Hawaii (which manages the FAD system), and NOAA are discussing a permit for the system, which was developed prior to a permitting requirement (personal communication, July 2014, Warren Cortez, University of Hawaii). The government of Guam, an American protectorate, began development of an anchored FAD system in 1979 (Torres, 2000) and has a system of 14 FADs in its program (Government of Guam, 2011). The FADs are part of a Marine Conservation Plan approved by the US National Marine Fisheries Service for the period 2011 – June 2014 (Government of Guam, 2011). The Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CFRM), an organization of 20 Caribbean Island nations, is exploring the use of anchored FADs to increase sustainable fisheries and provide an economic boost to the member countries (CRFM, 2013). Given the lack of documented buoy systems within the United States and the limited information available on the above programs, the Hawaii program serves as a model for developing a similar program in Florida offshore of Okaloosa County. 4.0 BUOY DESIGNS AND ORDER OF MAGNITUDE COSTS The state of Hawaii has maintained a FAD system since 1977. Following the success of a few experimental anchored rafts established by the Honolulu Laboratory (Southwest Fisheries Center) of the National Marine Fisheries Service, the state expanded the system in the 1980s and placed the program under the operational management of the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB), School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) of the University of Hawaii in 1996. HIMB currently maintains 55 buoys statewide. The Hawaii FADs lie in 700 – 10,000 ft (200 – 3,000 m) of water. Surface buoys (buoys floating on the surface) (Figure 4) maintain an average life span of 3 – 4 years (Holland et al., 2000; personal communication, July 2014, Cortez) and subsurface buoys (Figure 4) last 5 – 6 years. In comparison, deep ocean NOAA data buoys have a reliability of 50% (even odds of failure of the mooring system) in 1 – 3 years after deployment and a reliability of about 15% in 5 years (Maxwell et al., 2010). 6  Figure 4. Surface and Subsurface Buoys (figure provided by HIMB, SOEST, University of Hawaii) For the Hawaii system, depth does not affect buoy longevity; however, exposure to constant Trade Winds tends to shorten buoy longevity to the low end of the range. Typically, the Hawaii buoys experience conditions ranging from calm waters on the leeward side of the islands to 15 – 30 mph winds producing 5 – 6-ft short frequency waves with strong currents on the windward side. These “tradewind seas” with more rapid movements can significantly reduce buoy longevity. Generally, leeward buoys survive