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← Mission 47 · Coral, Coral Reefs, and Live/Hardbottom Habitats of the South Atlantic and the Shrimp Fishery of the South Atlantic Region; Amendments 11/12
MTJP CORPS · MORE THAN JUST PARKS ·47
Mission 47 · Oculina Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern

Oculina Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern

The agency files it as “Coral, Coral Reefs, and Live/Hardbottom Habitats of the South Atlantic and the Shrimp Fishery of the South Atlantic Region; Amendments 11/12”

19 days left

Anyone can write to the agency about this until November 17, and it has to answer. What you send before then joins the file a judge is allowed to look at later.

What to go and check

Get out over the eastern edge of Oculina Bank's northern extension and photograph what is living there now: fish schooling over the bottom, any coral branch pieces that come up, with your date and position in the frame.

The decision

NOAA and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council are proposing to reopen part of the Oculina Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern (OHAPC) to rock shrimp trawling by creating a designated shrimp fishery access area along its northern extension's eastern boundary. The proposal would restore commercial rock shrimp fishing access to historically used grounds that are currently off-limits due

Read the whole thing, and write to the agency about it

How to record it so it counts

  1. 01Photograph any sign: tracks, scat, feathers, rubs, nests, dens, burrows, carcasses. Put something for scale beside it (a coin, a pole tip, your boot).
  2. 02Photograph the surroundings so the habitat shows.
  3. 03Note the time of day and the weather.
  4. 04Keep your distance from any animal. Never approach a nest or a den.
  5. 05Write down what you think it is and why. If you’re not sure, say so; a photo of unidentified sign is still sign.
What would count
  • Presence, not absence. Sign proves something is there; a quiet walk proves nothing.
  • Scale, time and habitat in the same set.
All of it, with the phone settings, in the field guide
Are you going?

Say yes or no. It tells the next person whether anyone has this ground covered, and it is the only way we know a request was answered rather than just read. You can change your mind any time, and nobody follows up.

Join, then say you’re going

Nobody has answered yet

Before you go
  1. Public land only. Plenty of land inside a national forest or park boundary is privately owned, and that is not yours to walk on. A gate or a closure sign means stop. Check the rules for the specific place you are going, because they differ.
  2. Don’t touch survey stakes, flagging, equipment or anything a crew left. Photograph it; leave it.
  3. Don’t approach crews, contractors or agency staff about the project. Don’t interfere with any operation.
  4. Wildlife at a distance. No drones in wilderness or anywhere they’re prohibited. Stay off closed roads and trails.
  5. If you’re not sure, don’t. Weather, terrain, water, fire and people are your call, and yours alone.

More Than Just Parks doesn’t direct where you go or what you do. Terms.