NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) is developing a suite of digital elevation models (DEMs) for the U.S. coast to support a variety of NOAA missions, including improved inundation modeling and mapping, habitat characterization, and visualization of Earth's surface. The DEMs are being developed according to a 0.25 degree tiling scheme. The spatial resolution of the tiles "telescopes" from the coastal zone to the deep ocean floor at 1/9, 1/3, and 3 arc-second grid resolution. Only the 1/9 arc-second DEM tiles integrate both bathymetric and topographic data; all other resolutions map bathymetry only. The tiling of the DEMs facilitates targeted, rapid updates as new coastal and marine elevation data are acquired and become available. Bathymetric and topographic data utilized for DEM creation originate from a variety of sources, including (but not limited to) the NOAA Office of Coast Survey, NOAA National Geodetic Survey, NOAA Office for Coastal Management, U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

This DEM Mosaic is an image service providing access to the newer Continuously Updated Digital Elevation Model (CUDEM) bathymetric/topographic digital elevation models stewarded at NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). This service provides elevation/depth values in meters; for a visualization of the data, please see the related CUDEM Mosaic (Color Shaded Relief) service.There are 5 related image services providing access to Digital Elevation Models:DEM Mosaic (Individual DEMs)DEM Global Mosaic (Elevation Values)DEM Global Mosaic (Color Shaded Relief)CUDEM Mosaic (Elevation Values)CUDEM Mosaic (Color Shaded Relief)NCEI builds and distributes high-resolution, coastal digital elevation models (DEMs) that integrate ocean bathymetry and land topography to support NOAA's mission to understand and predict changes in Earth's environment, and conserve and manage coastal and marine resources to meet our Nation's economic, social, and environmental needs. They can be used for modeling of coastal processes (tsunami inundation, storm surge, sea-level rise, contaminant dispersal, etc.), ecosystems management and habitat research, coastal and marine spatial planning, and hazard mitigation and community preparedness. For more information about coastal DEMs at NCEI, please see: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/coastal-elevation-models or learn more from our DEM Fact Sheet (1 MB PDF).This service is a general-purpose global, seamless bathymetry/topography mosaic. Because the mosaic contains "overviews" for performance, individual DEMs cannot be separated from the others. Individual DEMs, or smaller subsets, are available in the companion DEM Mosaic (Individual DEMs) image service.The DEMs can be viewed in NCEI's Bathymetric Data Viewer along with other bathymetric datasets stewarded at NCEI.Please see NCEI's corresponding DEM Footprints feature layer for polygon footprints and more information about the individual DEMs used to create this composite view. The newer 1/3 and 1/9 arcsecond "tiled" DEMs are hosted by NOAA's Office for Coastal Management; please see the Data Access Viewer for access to these data. View these services together in a single combined map.THREDDS catalog (for extracting/downloading DEMs)Metadata for CUDEM (1/9 arcsecond)Metadata for CUDEM (1/3 arcsecond)

This DEM Mosaic is an image service providing access to the newer Continuously Updated Digital Elevation Model (CUDEM) bathymetric/topographic digital elevation models stewarded at NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). This service provides elevation/depth values in meters; for a visualization of the data, please see the related CUDEM Mosaic (Color Shaded Relief) service.There are 5 related image services providing access to Digital Elevation Models:DEM Mosaic (Individual DEMs)DEM Global Mosaic (Elevation Values)DEM Global Mosaic (Color Shaded Relief)CUDEM Mosaic (Elevation Values)CUDEM Mosaic (Color Hillshade)CUDEM Mosaic (Tiled Color Hillshade)NCEI builds and distributes high-resolution, coastal digital elevation models (DEMs) that integrate ocean bathymetry and land topography to support NOAA's mission to understand and predict changes in Earth's environment, and conserve and manage coastal and marine resources to meet our Nation's economic, social, and environmental needs. They can be used for modeling of coastal processes (tsunami inundation, storm surge, sea-level rise, contaminant dispersal, etc.), ecosystems management and habitat research, coastal and marine spatial planning, and hazard mitigation and community preparedness. For more information about coastal DEMs at NCEI, please see: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/coastal-elevation-models or learn more from our DEM Fact Sheet (1 MB PDF).The DEMs can be viewed in NCEI's Bathymetric Data Viewer along with other bathymetric datasets stewarded at NCEI.Please see NCEI's corresponding DEM Footprints feature layer for polygon footprints and more information about the individual DEMs used to create this composite view. The newer 1/3 and 1/9 arcsecond "tiled" DEMs are hosted by NOAA's Office for Coastal Management; please see the Data Access Viewer for access to these data.THREDDS catalog (for extracting/downloading DEMs)Metadata for CUDEM (1/9 arcsecond)Metadata for CUDEM (1/3 arcsecond)

NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) is developing a suite of digital elevation models (DEMs) for the U.S. coast to support a variety of NOAA missions, including improved inundation modeling and mapping, habitat characterization, and visualization of Earth's surface. The DEMs are being developed according to a 0.25 degree tiling scheme. The spatial resolution of the tiles "telescopes" from the coastal zone to the deep ocean floor at 1/9, 1/3, and 3 arc-second grid resolution. Only the 1/9 arc-second DEM tiles integrate both bathymetric and topographic data; all other resolutions map bathymetry only. The tiling of the DEMs facilitates targeted, rapid updates as new coastal and marine elevation data are acquired and become available. Bathymetric and topographic data utilized for DEM creation originate from a variety of sources, including (but not limited to) the NOAA Office of Coast Survey, NOAA National Geodetic Survey, NOAA Office for Coastal Management, U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The DEMs are referenced vertically to Puerto Rico Vertical Datum of 2002 height (m) . The vertical units of the DEMs are meters. The DEMs are referenced horizontally to NAD 83. The horizontal units of the data are decimal degrees.

The DEM Global Mosaic is an image service providing a global, seamless bathymetry/topography mosaic that includes NCEI's ETOPO 2022, NCEI's Continuously Updated DEM (CUDEM), and other NCEI-stewarded DEMs, along with regional grids such as IBCAO, IBCSO, and the Hawaiian Island Multibeam Synthesis (University of Hawaii). This service provides elevation/depth values in meters; for a visualization of the data, please see the related DEM Global Mosaic (Color Shaded Relief) service.There are 5 related image services providing access to Digital Elevation Models:DEM Mosaic (Individual DEMs)DEM Global Mosaic (Elevation Values)DEM Global Mosaic (Color Shaded Relief)CUDEM Mosaic (Elevation Values)CUDEM Mosaic (Color Shaded Relief)NCEI builds and distributes high-resolution, coastal digital elevation models (DEMs) that integrate ocean bathymetry and land topography to support NOAA's mission to understand and predict changes in Earth's environment, and conserve and manage coastal and marine resources to meet our Nation's economic, social, and environmental needs. They can be used for modeling of coastal processes (tsunami inundation, storm surge, sea-level rise, contaminant dispersal, etc.), ecosystems management and habitat research, coastal and marine spatial planning, and hazard mitigation and community preparedness. For more information about coastal DEMs at NCEI, please see: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/coastal-elevation-models or learn more from our DEM Fact Sheet (1 MB PDF).This service is a general-purpose global, seamless bathymetry/topography mosaic. It combines DEMs from a variety of near sea-level vertical datums, such as mean high water (MHW), mean sea level (MSL), and North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88). No conversion/harmonization of vertical datums was performed. Because the mosaic contains "overviews" for performance, individual DEMs cannot be separated from the others. Individual DEMs, or smaller subsets, are available in the companion DEM Mosaic (Individual DEMs) image service.By default, the DEMs are drawn in order of cell size, with higher-resolution grids displayed on top of lower-resolution grids. If overlapping DEMs have the same resolution, the newer one is shown.The DEMs can be viewed in NCEI's Bathymetric Data Viewer along with other bathymetric datasets stewarded at NCEI.Please see NCEI's corresponding DEM Footprints map service for polygon footprints and more information about the individual DEMs used to create this composite view. The newer 1/3 and 1/9 arcsecond "tiled" DEMs are hosted by NOAA's Office for Coastal Management; please see the Data Access Viewer for access to these data.THREDDS catalog (for extracting/downloading DEMs)

This is an image service providing access to bathymetric/topographic digital elevation models stewarded at NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).There are 5 related image services providing access to Digital Elevation Models:DEM Mosaic (Individual DEMs)DEM Global Mosaic (Elevation Values)DEM Global Mosaic (Color Shaded Relief)CUDEM Mosaic (Elevation Values)CUDEM Mosaic (Color Shaded Relief)NCEI builds and distributes high-resolution, coastal digital elevation models (DEMs) that integrate ocean bathymetry and land topography to support NOAA's mission to understand and predict changes in Earth's environment, and conserve and manage coastal and marine resources to meet our Nation's economic, social, and environmental needs. They can be used for modeling of coastal processes (tsunami inundation, storm surge, sea-level rise, contaminant dispersal, etc.), ecosystems management and habitat research, coastal and marine spatial planning, and hazard mitigation and community preparedness. For more information about coastal DEMs at NCEI, please see: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/coastal-elevation-models or learn more from our DEM Fact Sheet (1 MB PDF).This service provides data from many individual DEMs combined together as a mosaic (maximum of 80 rasters at once). By default, the rasters are drawn in order of cell size, with higher-resolution grids displayed on top of lower-resolution grids. If overlapping DEMs have the same resolution, the newer one is shown. Alternatively, a single DEM or group of DEMs can be isolated using a filter/definition query or using the "Lock Raster" mosaic method in ArcMap.The DEMs can be viewed in NCEI's Bathymetric Data Viewer along with other bathymetric datasets stewarded at NCEI.Please see NCEI's corresponding DEM Footprints map service for polygon footprints and more information about the individual DEMs used to create this composite view. The newer 1/3 and 1/9 arcsecond "tiled" DEMs are hosted by NOAA's Office for Coastal Management; please see the Data Access Viewer for access to these data. View these services together in a single combined map.This service has a server-side function available. This can be selected in the ArcGIS Online layer using "Image Display", or in ArcMap under "Processing Templates".None: The default. Provides elevation/depth values in meters. Please refer to the vertical datum for each DEM.ColorHillshade: An elevation-tinted hillshade visualization. The depths are displayed using this color ramp:THREDDS catalog (for extracting/downloading DEMs)

This section provides the Simplified Geographic Description for each unit designated as Nassau Grouper Critical Habitat.The 20 Designated Critical Habitat Units for Nassau Grouper include: Navassa Island Unit. Waters surrounding Navassa Island. Area = 2.46 sq. km.Puerto Rico Unit 1 - Mona Island and Monito. Waters surrounding Mona Island and Monito to the 50m contour. Area = 30.65 sq. km.Puerto Rico Unit 2 - Desecheo Island. Waters surrounding the island to the 50m contour. Area = 4.28 sq. km.Puerto Rico Unit 3 - Southwest. Waters off the southwest coast of the Puerto Rico main island. Area = 112.39 sq. km.Puerto Rico Unit 4 - Northeast. Waters off the northeast coast of the Puerto Rico main island. Area = 48.75 sq. km.Puerto Rico Unit 5 - Vieques Island. Waters off the west and northeast, east, and southeast coasts of the island. Area = 9.49 sq. km.Puerto Rico Unit 6 - Culebra/Culebrita Islands. The Culebra area consists of waters off the southeastern Culebra coastline. The Culebrita area consists of waters off the western and southern coasts of the island. Area = 4.15 sq. km.United States Virgin Island Unit 1- St Thomas. Waters off the east coast of St. Thomas Island and waters off the southwest, south, and southeast coast of the Water Island. Area = 9.18 sq. km.United States Virgin Island Unit 2- St. John. Waters off the east coast of the island. Area = 6.55 sq. km.United States Virgin Island Unit 3- St. Croix. Waters off the east end of St. Croix Island and waters off the north coast of Buck Island. Area = 50.35 sq. km.Florida Unit 1 – Biscayne Bay/Key Largo. Waters south of Rickenbacker Causeway, including portions of waters from the coastline into Biscayne Bay, and waters off the eastern coastline to 80°29'21" W, 25° 01' 59" N. Area = 1,279.69 sq. km.Florida Unit 2 - Marathon. Waters off the southern shoreline approximately between Knights Key to 80°55'51"W, 24° 46' 26" N. Area = 172.38 sq. km.Florida Unit 3 - Big Pine Key to Geiger Key. Waters off the south side of coastline and US 1 from approximately Geiger Key to Big Pine Key. Area = 372.37 sq. km.Florida Unit 4 - Key West. Shoal waters south of Woman Key. Area = 127.09 sq. km.Florida Unit 5 - New Ground Shoal. New Ground Shoal waters. Area = 31.04 sq. km.Florida Unit 6 - Halfmoon Shoal. Halfmoon Shoal waters. Area = 33.62 sq. km.Florida Unit 7 - Dry Tortugas. Waters encompassing Loggerhead Key and waters surrounding Garden Key and Bush Key. Area = 4.43 sq. km.Spawning Site Unit 1 - Bajo de Sico. All waters encompassed by 100m isobath bounded in the Bajo de Sico spawning area bound within the following coordinates: A) 67°26’13”W, 18°15’23”N, B) 67°23’ 08”W, 18°15’26”N, C) 67°26’ 06”W, 18°12’55”N, and D) 67°26’ 13”W, 18°12’56”N. Area = 10.74 sq. km.Spawning Site Unit 2 - Grammanik Bank/Hind Bank. All waters which make up the Hind Bank and the Grammanik Bank, interconnecting waters between these banks, and waters extending out to the 200 fathom line directly south from Grammanik Bank. Area = 59.69 sq. km. Spawning Site Unit 3 - Riley's Hump. All waters encompassing Riley's Hump (centroid 83.1085642°W 24.4948905°N) out to the -35m isobath on the north, west, and east side of the hump, and extending out to the 50m isobath on the south side of the hump to include the escarpment on the southern face of the bank. Area=15.35 sq. km.Source of Base Data for Unit Boundaries: The shoreline was created using the existing Acropora critical habitat designation (from NOAA NCCOS Benthic Habitat Mapping 2000-2002 - land and mangrove attribute combined for shoreline). For PR and USVI units, shoreline data using The NCCOS Benthic Habitat Mapping program provides baseline data and maps at https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/project/benthic-habitat-mapping-puerto-rico-virgin-islands/. For the Continental US, this shoreline is consistent with the US Medium Resolution Shoreline. Contours were derived from the National Geophysical Data Center’s 2004 U.S. Coastal Relief Model https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/coastal/crm.html. The NCCOS Benthic Habitat Mapping program provides data and maps at http://products.coastalscience.noaa.gov/collections/benthic/default.aspx, which was used to pull in substrate data. For the Florida Units, benthic substrate and bathymetry data were pulled from the FWC Florida Unified Reef Tract at https://myfwc.com/research/gis/fisheries/unified-reef-map/. Benthic data was also used from The Nature Conservancy and can be downloaded here: https://sites.google.com/view/caribbean-marine-maps. For Spawning Site Unit 3 - Riley's Hump, bathymetry contours (i.e. isobaths) were pulled from the NCEI's CUDEM, or Continuously Updated Digital Elevation Models. (https://noaa.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=bf72d32c6a00407bb67a285845a7fa32) The CUDEM Raster was downloaded (Global Mosaic Elevation Values) and clipped to the site in ArcPro. The Contour Tool was set to 5m intervals. The CUDEM is built in 10m increments, as noted using the 1/3 arcseconds. Did not use the 1/9 arc second model, which corresponds to 3 meter increments. The CUDEM uses LiDAR data and is an orthometric vertical datum, and compiles data from NGDC, NOS, USGS, NMFS, etc. For more information, please vist: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/coastal-relief-model. Riley's Hump (the geographic feature, not the critical habitat unit) was identified as the fully enclosed -30m hump located at 83.1085642°W 24.4948905°N (centroid). Standardized metadata has been prepopulated for the Fields and Values and the standard spatial reference is the World Geodetic System 1984 geographic coordinate system (GCS_WGS_1984, EPSG well-known identifier 4326).Attribute Values:Shape = Feature Class, Polygon Data.ID = Species IDScientific Name = Genus speciesCommon Name = Common Name of speciesListing Status = Federal status of a taxon under the federal Endangered Species Act. Critical Habitat Status = Status of Critical Habitat Designation (i.e. Proposed or Designated)Unit = Location of Identified Critical HabitatTaxon = TaxonLead Office = NMFS Regional OfficeFederal Register Notice = Public official notice of RulePublication Date = Publication Date of Federal Register Notice Effective Date = Effective Date of RuleArea SqKm = Area of Unit in Square KilometersCreate Date = Last Date Polygon and Attribute Data were ModifiedNotes = notesInPort URL = MetaData URL Link (InPort)Habitat Type = general location of critical habitatseCFR = Electronic Code of Federal RegulationsShape_Length = dynamic geodatabase field. Automatically calculated in the units of the output coordinate system specified by the Spatial Reference parameter by ESRI. Shape_Area = dynamic geodatabase field. Automatically calculated in the units of the output coordinate system specified by the Spatial Reference parameter by ESRI.

Seamless topographic-bathymetric (topo-bathy) profiles and their derived morphologic characteristics were developed for sandy coastlines along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. As such, the rocky coasts of Maine, the coral reefs in southern Florida and the Keys, and the marsh coasts in the Mississippi Delta and the Florida Big Bend region and are not included in this dataset. Topographic light detection and ranging (lidar) data (dune crest, dune toe, and shorelines) from Doran and others (2017) were stitched together with bathymetric data (nearshore slope) from the Continuously Updated Digital Elevation Model (CUDEM, 2014) to generate the seamless topo-bathy profiles. The topo-bathy profiles are published as a database in the Hierarchical Data Format version 5 (HDF5) which contain cross-shore distance coordinates, Universe Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinate system Easting and Northing coordinates, and various morphologic characteristics are provided here. A total of 3,897 topo-bathy profiles are included in the HDF5 database file. For further information regarding generation of these seamless topo-bathy profiles refer to Mickey and Passeri, 2022b.

This section provides the Simplified Geographic Description for each unit designated as Nassau Grouper Critical Habitat.The 20 Designated Critical Habitat Units for Nassau Grouper include: Navassa Island Unit. Waters surrounding Navassa Island. Area = 2.46 sq. km.Puerto Rico Unit 1 - Mona Island and Monito. Waters surrounding Mona Island and Monito to the 50m contour. Area = 30.65 sq. km.Puerto Rico Unit 2 - Desecheo Island. Waters surrounding the island to the 50m contour. Area = 4.28 sq. km.Puerto Rico Unit 3 - Southwest. Waters off the southwest coast of the Puerto Rico main island. Area = 112.39 sq. km.Puerto Rico Unit 4 - Northeast. Waters off the northeast coast of the Puerto Rico main island. Area = 48.75 sq. km.Puerto Rico Unit 5 - Vieques Island. Waters off the west and northeast, east, and southeast coasts of the island. Area = 9.49 sq. km.Puerto Rico Unit 6 - Culebra/Culebrita Islands. The Culebra area consists of waters off the southeastern Culebra coastline. The Culebrita area consists of waters off the western and southern coasts of the island. Area = 4.15 sq. km.United States Virgin Island Unit 1- St Thomas. Waters off the east coast of St. Thomas Island and waters off the southwest, south, and southeast coast of the Water Island. Area = 9.18 sq. km.United States Virgin Island Unit 2- St. John. Waters off the east coast of the island. Area = 6.55 sq. km.United States Virgin Island Unit 3- St. Croix. Waters off the east end of St. Croix Island and waters off the north coast of Buck Island. Area = 50.35 sq. km.Florida Unit 1 – Biscayne Bay/Key Largo. Waters south of Rickenbacker Causeway, including portions of waters from the coastline into Biscayne Bay, and waters off the eastern coastline to 80°29'21" W, 25° 01' 59" N. Area = 1,279.69 sq. km.Florida Unit 2 - Marathon. Waters off the southern shoreline approximately between Knights Key to 80°55'51"W, 24° 46' 26" N. Area = 172.38 sq. km.Florida Unit 3 - Big Pine Key to Geiger Key. Waters off the south side of coastline and US 1 from approximately Geiger Key to Big Pine Key. Area = 372.37 sq. km.Florida Unit 4 - Key West. Shoal waters south of Woman Key. Area = 127.09 sq. km.Florida Unit 5 - New Ground Shoal. New Ground Shoal waters. Area = 31.04 sq. km.Florida Unit 6 - Halfmoon Shoal. Halfmoon Shoal waters. Area = 33.62 sq. km.Florida Unit 7 - Dry Tortugas. Waters encompassing Loggerhead Key and waters surrounding Garden Key and Bush Key. Area = 4.43 sq. km.Spawning Site Unit 1 - Bajo de Sico. All waters encompassed by 100m isobath bounded in the Bajo de Sico spawning area bound within the following coordinates: A) 67°26’13”W, 18°15’23”N, B) 67°23’ 08”W, 18°15’26”N, C) 67°26’ 06”W, 18°12’55”N, and D) 67°26’ 13”W, 18°12’56”N. Area = 10.74 sq. km.Spawning Site Unit 2 - Grammanik Bank/Hind Bank. All waters which make up the Hind Bank and the Grammanik Bank, interconnecting waters between these banks, and waters extending out to the 200 fathom line directly south from Grammanik Bank. Area = 59.69 sq. km. Spawning Site Unit 3 - Riley's Hump. All waters encompassing Riley's Hump (centroid 83.1085642°W 24.4948905°N) out to the -35m isobath on the north, west, and east side of the hump, and extending out to the 50m isobath on the south side of the hump to include the escarpment on the southern face of the bank. Area=15.35 sq. km.Source of Base Data for Unit Boundaries: The shoreline was created using the existing Acropora critical habitat designation (from NOAA NCCOS Benthic Habitat Mapping 2000-2002 - land and mangrove attribute combined for shoreline). For PR and USVI units, shoreline data using The NCCOS Benthic Habitat Mapping program provides baseline data and maps at https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/project/benthic-habitat-mapping-puerto-rico-virgin-islands/. For the Continental US, this shoreline is consistent with the US Medium Resolution Shoreline. Contours were derived from the National Geophysical Data Center’s 2004 U.S. Coastal Relief Model https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/coastal/crm.html. The NCCOS Benthic Habitat Mapping program provides data and maps at http://products.coastalscience.noaa.gov/collections/benthic/default.aspx, which was used to pull in substrate data. For the Florida Units, benthic substrate and bathymetry data were pulled from the FWC Florida Unified Reef Tract at https://myfwc.com/research/gis/fisheries/unified-reef-map/. Benthic data was also used from The Nature Conservancy and can be downloaded here: https://sites.google.com/view/caribbean-marine-maps. For Spawning Site Unit 3 - Riley's Hump, bathymetry contours (i.e. isobaths) were pulled from the NCEI's CUDEM, or Continuously Updated Digital Elevation Models. (https://noaa.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=bf72d32c6a00407bb67a285845a7fa32) The CUDEM Raster was downloaded (Global Mosaic Elevation Values) and clipped to the site in ArcPro. The Contour Tool was set to 5m intervals. The CUDEM is built in 10m increments, as noted using the 1/3 arcseconds. Did not use the 1/9 arc second model, which corresponds to 3 meter increments. The CUDEM uses LiDAR data and is an orthometric vertical datum, and compiles data from NGDC, NOS, USGS, NMFS, etc. For more information, please vist: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/coastal-relief-model. Riley's Hump (the geographic feature, not the critical habitat unit) was identified as the fully enclosed -30m hump located at 83.1085642°W 24.4948905°N (centroid). Standardized metadata has been prepopulated for the Fields and Values and the standard spatial reference is the World Geodetic System 1984 geographic coordinate system (GCS_WGS_1984, EPSG well-known identifier 4326).Attribute Values:Shape = Feature Class, Polygon Data.ID = Species IDScientific Name = Genus speciesCommon Name = Common Name of speciesListing Status = Federal status of a taxon under the federal Endangered Species Act. Critical Habitat Status = Status of Critical Habitat Designation (i.e. Proposed or Designated)Unit = Location of Identified Critical HabitatTaxon = TaxonLead Office = NMFS Regional OfficeFederal Register Notice = Public official notice of RulePublication Date = Publication Date of Federal Register Notice Effective Date = Effective Date of RuleArea SqKm = Area of Unit in Square KilometersCreate Date = Last Date Polygon and Attribute Data were ModifiedNotes = notesInPort URL = MetaData URL Link (InPort)Habitat Type = general location of critical habitatseCFR = Electronic Code of Federal RegulationsShape_Length = dynamic geodatabase field. Automatically calculated in the units of the output coordinate system specified by the Spatial Reference parameter by ESRI. Shape_Area = dynamic geodatabase field. Automatically calculated in the units of the output coordinate system specified by the Spatial Reference parameter by ESRI.

This geodatabase provides the Final Critical Habitat designations for Nassau grouper, Epinephelus striatus (January 2, 2024). NMFS designates critical habitat for the threatened Nassau grouper pursuant to section 4 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Areas designated as critical habitat contain approximately 2,384.67 sq. kilometers (920.73 sq. miles) of aquatic habitat located off the coasts of southeastern Florida, Puerto Rico, Navassa, and the United States Virgin Islands (USVI). The NMFS identified habitats that include features essential to the conservation of Nassau grouper, including areas for spawning and for recruitment and development.The Nassau grouper is a reef fish, and is a member of the family Serranidae, which includes groupers valued as a major fishery resource such as the gag grouper and the red grouper. These large fish are associated with hard structures like reefs (both natural and artificial), rocks, and ledges. They are late-maturing, long-lived, top-level predators found in tropical and subtropical waters of the western North Atlantic. This includes Bermuda, Florida, Bahamas, the Yucatan Peninsula, and throughout the Caribbean to southern Brazil. Nassau Grouper undergo ontogenetic shifts in habitat utilization: larvae settle in nearshore habitats and then as juveniles move to nearshore patch reefs (Eggleston, 1995), and eventually recruit to deeper waters and reef habitats (Sadovy and Eklund, 1999). As adults, individuals are sedentary except for when they aggregate to spawn - the timing of which appears to be linked to both lunar cycles and water temperature (Kobara et al., 2013). Maximum age has been estimated as 29 years, based on an ageing study using sagittal otoliths (Bush et al., 2006). Maximum size is about 122 cm total length (TL) and maximum weight is about 25 kg (Heemstra and Randall, 1993).Nassau grouper used to be one of the most common species of grouper in the United States. It was easy for commercial and recreational fisherman to catch Nassau grouper and it soon became scarce. The remaining stocks are overexploited. In some cases, Nassau grouper is commercially extinct through much of its geographical range. Currently, all harvest of Nassau grouper is prohibited in the United States. Nassau grouper is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. NOAA Fisheries is dedicated to the conservation of Nassau grouper.For more information, please see the official definition and complete description at: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/01/02/2023-28483/endangered-and-threatened-species-designation-of-critical-habitat-for-the-nassau-grouperThis section provides the Simplified Geographic Description for each unit designated as Nassau Grouper Critical Habitat.The 20 Designated Critical Habitat Units for Nassau Grouper include: Navassa Island Unit. Waters surrounding Navassa Island. Area = 2.46 sq. km.Puerto Rico Unit 1 - Mona Island and Monito. Waters surrounding Mona Island and Monito to the 50m contour. Area = 30.65 sq. km.Puerto Rico Unit 2 - Desecheo Island. Waters surrounding the island to the 50m contour. Area = 4.28 sq. km.Puerto Rico Unit 3 - Southwest. Waters off the southwest coast of the Puerto Rico main island. Area = 112.39 sq. km.Puerto Rico Unit 4 - Northeast. Waters off the northeast coast of the Puerto Rico main island. Area = 48.75 sq. km.Puerto Rico Unit 5 - Vieques Island. Waters off the west and northeast, east, and southeast coasts of the island. Area = 9.49 sq. km.Puerto Rico Unit 6 - Culebra/Culebrita Islands. The Culebra area consists of waters off the southeastern Culebra coastline. The Culebrita area consists of waters off the western and southern coasts of the island. Area = 4.15 sq. km.United States Virgin Island Unit 1- St Thomas. Waters off the east coast of St. Thomas Island and waters off the southwest, south, and southeast coast of the Water Island. Area = 9.18 sq. km.United States Virgin Island Unit 2- St. John. Waters off the east coast of the island. Area = 6.55 sq. km.United States Virgin Island Unit 3- St. Croix. Waters off the east end of St. Croix Island and waters off the north coast of Buck Island. Area = 50.35 sq. km.Florida Unit 1 – Biscayne Bay/Key Largo. Waters south of Rickenbacker Causeway, including portions of waters from the coastline into Biscayne Bay, and waters off the eastern coastline to 80°29'21" W, 25° 01' 59" N. Area = 1,279.69 sq. km.Florida Unit 2 - Marathon. Waters off the southern shoreline approximately between Knights Key to 80°55'51"W, 24° 46' 26" N. Area = 172.38 sq. km.Florida Unit 3 - Big Pine Key to Geiger Key. Waters off the south side of coastline and US 1 from approximately Geiger Key to Big Pine Key. Area = 372.37 sq. km.Florida Unit 4 - Key West. Shoal waters south of Woman Key. Area = 127.09 sq. km.Florida Unit 5 - New Ground Shoal. New Ground Shoal waters. Area = 31.04 sq. km.Florida Unit 6 - Halfmoon Shoal. Halfmoon Shoal waters. Area = 33.62 sq. km.Florida Unit 7 - Dry Tortugas. Waters encompassing Loggerhead Key and waters surrounding Garden Key and Bush Key. Area = 4.43 sq. km.Spawning Site Unit 1 - Bajo de Sico. All waters encompassed by 100m isobath bounded in the Bajo de Sico spawning area bound within the following coordinates: A) 67°26’13”W, 18°15’23”N, B) 67°23’ 08”W, 18°15’26”N, C) 67°26’ 06”W, 18°12’55”N, and D) 67°26’ 13”W, 18°12’56”N. Area = 10.74 sq. km.Spawning Site Unit 2 - Grammanik Bank/Hind Bank. All waters which make up the Hind Bank and the Grammanik Bank, interconnecting waters between these banks, and waters extending out to the 200 fathom line directly south from Grammanik Bank. Area = 59.69 sq. km. Spawning Site Unit 3 - Riley's Hump. All waters encompassing Riley's Hump (centroid 83.1085642°W 24.4948905°N) out to the -35m isobath on the north, west, and east side of the hump, and extending out to the 50m isobath on the south side of the hump to include the escarpment on the southern face of the bank. Area=15.35 sq. km.Source of Base Data for Unit Boundaries: The shoreline was created using the existing Acropora critical habitat designation (from NOAA NCCOS Benthic Habitat Mapping 2000-2002 - land and mangrove attribute combined for shoreline). For PR and USVI units, shoreline data using The NCCOS Benthic Habitat Mapping program provides baseline data and maps at https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/project/benthic-habitat-mapping-puerto-rico-virgin-islands/. For the Continental US, this shoreline is consistent with the US Medium Resolution Shoreline. Contours were derived from the National Geophysical Data Center’s 2004 U.S. Coastal Relief Model https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/coastal/crm.html. The NCCOS Benthic Habitat Mapping program provides data and maps at http://products.coastalscience.noaa.gov/collections/benthic/default.aspx, which was used to pull in substrate data. For the Florida Units, benthic substrate and bathymetry data were pulled from the FWC Florida Unified Reef Tract at https://myfwc.com/research/gis/fisheries/unified-reef-map/. Benthic data was also used from The Nature Conservancy and can be downloaded here: https://sites.google.com/view/caribbean-marine-maps. For Spawning Site Unit 3 - Riley's Hump, bathymetry contours (i.e. isobaths) were pulled from the NCEI's CUDEM, or Continuously Updated Digital Elevation Models. (https://noaa.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=bf72d32c6a00407bb67a285845a7fa32) The CUDEM Raster was downloaded (Global Mosaic Elevation Values) and clipped to the site in ArcPro. The Contour Tool was set to 5m intervals. The CUDEM is built in 10m increments, as noted using the 1/3 arcseconds. Did not use the 1/9 arc second model, which corresponds to 3 meter increments. The CUDEM uses LiDAR data and is an orthometric vertical datum, and compiles data from NGDC, NOS, USGS, NMFS, etc. For more information, please vist: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/coastal-relief-model. Riley's Hump (the geographic feature, not the critical habitat unit) was identified as the fully enclosed -30m hump located at 83.1085642°W 24.4948905°N (centroid). Standardized metadata has been prepopulated for the Fields and Values and the standard spatial reference is the World Geodetic System 1984 geographic coordinate system (GCS_WGS_1984, EPSG well-known identifier 4326).Attribute Values:Shape = Feature Class, Polygon Data.ID = Species IDScientific Name = Genus speciesCommon Name = Common Name of speciesListing Status = Federal status of a taxon under the federal Endangered Species Act. Critical Habitat Status = Status of Critical Habitat Designation (i.e. Proposed or Designated)Unit = Location of Identified Critical HabitatTaxon = TaxonLead Office = NMFS Regional OfficeFederal Register Notice = Public official notice of RulePublication Date = Publication Date of Federal Register Notice Effective Date = Effective Date of RuleArea SqKm = Area of Unit in Square KilometersCreate Date = Last Date Polygon and Attribute Data were ModifiedNotes = notesInPort URL = MetaData URL Link (InPort)Habitat Type = general location of critical habitatseCFR = Electronic Code of Federal RegulationsShape_Length = dynamic geodatabase field. Automatically calculated in the units of the output coordinate system specified by the Spatial Reference parameter by ESRI. Shape_Area = dynamic geodatabase field. Automatically calculated in the units of the output coordinate system specified by the Spatial Reference parameter by ESRI.