NW Gulf of Mexico Management Zones | Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary

Map of northwestern Gulf of Mexico showing HAPCs, Coral HAPCs, No Activity Zones (NAZ), NAZ Buffer Zones, and sanctuary boundaries — *Regulatory areas in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. Click on the image for a larger view. Credit: FGBNMS*

National Marine Sanctuary status isn't the only type of habitat protection found in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, although it is the most comprehensive. Many of the reefs and banks have industry-specific protections through the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and NOAA Fisheries.

Map showing Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (HAPCs) in the western portion of the northwestern Gulf of Mexico — *A closer look at the Management Zones in the western section of the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. Click on the image for a larger view. Credit: FGBNMS*

Map showing management zones in the eastern portion of the northwestern Gulf of Mexico — *A closer look at the Management Zones in the eastern section of the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. Click on the image for a larger view. Credit: FGBNMS*

No Activity Zone (NAZ)

BOEM regulates the oil and gas industry in regards to their interaction with the reefs and banks through Topographic Features Stipulations, which establish No Activity Zones (NAZ) at the topographic features. Many of the sanctuary boundaries lie in close proximity to the NAZs at each of the banks.

No Activity Zones apply only to the oil and gas industry.

Habitat Area of Particular Concern (HAPC)

Several of the reefs and banks in the region have also been designated as Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (HAPC), a subset of NOAA Fisheries Essential Fish Habitat (EFH). These areas are identified by the regional fishery management council as priorities for habitat conservation, management, and research.

Although the HAPC designation on its own does not carry any protective measures, it identifies the site as an area for special consideration during individual fish species assessments and requires consultations on non-fishing activities that may have adverse impacts on fish habitat.

An area may be designated as an HAPC due to:

The importance of the ecological function provided by the habitat.
The extent to which the habitat is sensitive to human-induced environmental degradation.
Whether, and to what extent, development activities are, or will be, stressing the habitat type.
The rarity of the habitat type.

Coral HAPC

An additional level of designation, a Coral HAPC, does carry regulations that specifically prohibit fishing vessels from using bottom longlines, bottom trawling, buoy gear, pots or traps, and bottom anchoring. In the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, East Flower Garden Bank, West Flower Garden Bank, Stetson Bank, and McGrail Bank carry this designation, in addition to being part of the sanctuary.

More information on this type of designation can be found in the Coral HAPC Explorer from the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council.

Coral HAPC regulations apply only to fishing vessels, while sanctuary regulations prohibit anchoring and the use of bottom tending gear for all vessels. See the maps below for clarification.

In other words, sanctuary regulations are more restrictive than Coral HAPC regulations.

Map showing the Coral Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (HAPCs) and sanctuary boundaries at the Flower Garden and Horseshoe Banks — *Fisheries Management zones around East and West Flower Garden Banks. Click on the image for a larger view. Credit: FGBNMS*

Map showing the Coral Habitat Area of Particular Concern (HAPC) and sanctuary boundary at Stetson Bank — *Fisheries Management zones around Stetson Bank. Click on the image for a larger view. Credit: FGBNMS*

Map showing the Coral Habitat Area of Particular Concern (HAPC) and sanctuary boundaries at Mcgrail Bank — *Fisheries Management zones around McGrail Bank. Click on the image for a larger view. Credit: FGBNMS*