Essential Fish Habitat

Conventional theory assumes that shark nursery areas are habitats where female sharks give birth to young or lay eggs, or where juvenile sharks spend their first weeks, months, or years of life. The Shark Population Assessment Group is currently testing a number of hypotheses regarding juvenile sharks and Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) that challenge this assumption.

There are many bays and inlets along the Gulf of Mexico coastline which may serve as EFH for sharks.

These habitats vary from near-oceanic conditions to shallow, enclosed estuarine areas. Through the Gulf of Mexico States Shark Pupping and Nursery Area (GULFSPAN) project, the Shark Population Assessment Group is attempting to identify which shark species use which coastal ecosystems, gauge the relative importance of these areas, and determine migration and distribution patterns of neonate and juvenile sharks. This project is in conjunction with research groups at the USM's Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, LSU's School of the Coast and Environment, and the Florida Museum of Natural History.

For more information on the GULFSPAN project, see:

Shark nursery grounds and essential fish habitat studies. Gulfspan Gulf of Mexico-FY03. An Internal Report to NOAA's Highly Migratory Species Office. Sustainable Fisheries Division Contribution No. PCB-03/06.

Shark nursery grounds and essential fish habitat studies. Gulfspan Gulf of Mexico-FY04. An Internal Report to NOAA's Highly Migratory Species Office. Sustainable Fisheries Division Contribution No. PCB-04/06.

Shark nursery grounds and essential fish habitat studies. Gulfspan Gulf of Mexico-FY05. An Internal Report to NOAA's Highly Migratory Species Office. Sustainable Fisheries Division Contribution No. PCB-06/02.

Shark nursery grounds and essential fish habitat studies. Gulfspan Gulf of Mexico-FY06. An Internal Report to NOAA's Highly Migratory Species Office. Sustainable Fisheries Division Contribution No. PCB-07/04.

Shark nursery grounds and essential fish habitat studies. Gulfspan Gulf of Mexico-FY07. An Internal Report to NOAA's Highly Migratory Species Division. Sustainable Fisheries Division Contribution No. PCB-08/02.