Marine Resources Assessment for the Marianas Operating ... - SPREP

AUGUST 2005 FINAL REPORT
consistency, reliability of species identification was not considered in the plotting of any marine mammal
or sea turtle data. Although it was assumed that the species identifications were correct, it could not
always be assumed that the geographic coordinates in any data set, when provided, were correct.
Several of the available marine mammal and sea turtle data sets lacked geographic coordinates, and
determination of the locations required educated predictions based upon the physical description of
locales. An underlying premise used during the map creation process was that a conservative approach
to delineating occurrence patterns of marine mammals and sea turtles was necessary since all 5 sea
turtle species and several of the marine mammal species are either threatened or endangered.
The data for individual and groups of species were used to create occurrence polygons for marine
mammal and sea turtle species. Four types of occurrence information may be displayed on each turtle or
mammal map: areas of expected occurrence (areas encompassing the expected distribution of a
species based on what is known of its habitat preferences, life history, and the available sighting and
stranding data), areas of concentrated occurrence (subareas of a species’ expected occurrence where
there is the highest likelihood of encountering that species; this designation is based primarily on areas of
concentrated sightings and preferred habitat), areas of low/unknown occurrence (areas where a
species is believed to be rare or the likelihood of encountering that species is not known), and areas
labeled occurrence not expected in study area (areas within the Marianas MRA study area where a
species is not expected to be encountered).
1.4.2.3 Biological Resource Maps⎯Fish and Fisheries
Maps displaying the EFH for all life stages of marine fish, crustaceans, invertebrates, and sessile benthos
found within the study area and vicinity were created from official FMP habitat descriptions and maps
produced by the WPRFMC. None of the EFH data were available in a usable electronic format. As a
result, the locations of EFH and HAPC were determined by developing polygons encompassing the
bathymetric ranges for each life stage. The EFH for each life stage found within the study area are
presented together on one map for each Management Unit Species (MUS) and for each family and/or
families in the Coral Reef Ecosystem (CRE). The EFH maps depict each of the associated life stages (for
MUS and individual families in the Currently Harvested Coral Reef Taxa [CHCRT]: eggs, larvae, juvenile,
adult; for CHCRT/Potentially Harvested Coral Reef Taxa [PHCRT]: all life stages). The EFH maps do not
have seasonal designations as the FMPs presented EFH information according to life history stages, not
seasons.
1.4.2.4 Maps of Additional Considerations
Information regarding the locations of maritime boundaries, commercially navigable waterways, MMAs,
and SCUBA diving sites in the Marianas MRA study area was gathered from a wide array of sources.
Maps displaying the U.S. maritime boundaries, major commercial shipping lanes, and MMAs were
created using GIS shapefiles produced by federal and commonwealth/territory agencies, academic
institutions, and privately owned companies. Recreational diving sites in the study area and vicinity were
depicted using geographic data and maps available from SCUBA diving guides, a Navy EIS, local dive
operators, and the CNMI Coastal Resources Management Office.
1.4.2.5 Metadata
The creation of metadata files was a large component of the GIS aspect of this assessment. All GIS files
used to produce maps contained within this assessment have associated metadata. Since most of the
GIS files contained in this report were collected from other agencies, it was requested that those agencies
send metadata or source information along with the donated shapefiles or databases they created.
Metadata is information about GIS data. Metadata for geographical data may include the source of the
data, its creation date and format, its projection, scale, resolution, and accuracy, and its reliability with
regard to some standard. Metadata also consists of properties and documentation. Properties are derived
from the data source, while documentation is entered by a person. ArcCatalog ® stores metadata in
extensible markup language (XML), so the same metadata can be viewed in many different ways using
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