This dataset depicts the boundaries of the North Atlantic Right Whale Critical Habitat in ESRI shapefile format for the NOAA Fisheries Service s Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO). This shapefile includes boundaries for the following Regulated Areas: - Critical Habitat for North Atlantic Right Whale Unit 1 - Critical Habitat for North Atlantic Right Whale Unit 2 Please Note: Unit 1, in the Gulf of Maine, falls under the jurisdiction of the NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Region. Unit 2, off the southeastern US coast, falls under the jurisdiction of the NOAA Fisheries Southeast Region. Because GIS projection and topology functions can change or generalize coordinates, these GIS files are considered to be approximate representations and are NOT an OFFICIAL record for the exact regulated area boundaries.
Beginning in 2010 and in response to mounting requests for digital depictions of NMFS Regulated Areas in Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Waters (Regulated Areas), the NMFS Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO) Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Committee launched a project to standardize the development, publication and regular updating of GIS files depicting Regulated Area boundaries. This dataset is a product of that initiative. This dataset was created to depict the boundaries of NMFS Regulated Areas in Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Waters (Regulated Areas) only. For information on the proper use of the dataset refer to the Use Constraints metadata section.
Unit 1, in the Gulf of Maine, falls under the jurisdiction of the NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Region. Unit 2, off the southeastern US coast, falls under the jurisdiction of the NOAA Fisheries Southeast Region.
publication date
*** Attribution
*** Whenever NMFS material is reproduced and re-disseminated,
we request that users attribute the material appropriately. Pursuant to 17 U.S.C.
403, parties who produce copyrighted works consisting predominantly of material
created by the Federal Government are encouraged to provide notice with such
work(s) identifying the U.S. Government material incorporated and stating that
such material is not subject to copyright protection. Please cite Regulated Area
datasets as follows, with the appropriate information substituted for all text in
{CURLY BRACKETS}: NOAA Fisheries Service. NMFS Regulated Areas
in Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Waters. {SHAPEFILE TITLE} [Shapefile].
Gloucester, MA: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries
Office (GARFO) [producer] {SHAPEFILE PUBLICATION DATE}.
http://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/gis.
*** No Warranty
*** The user assumes the entire risk related to its use of
these data. NMFS is providing these data "as is," and NMFS disclaims
any and all warranties, whether express or implied, including (without limitation)
any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
No warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the accuracy or utility
of the data on any other system or for general or scientific purposes, nor
shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. It is strongly
recommended that careful attention be paid to the contents of the metadata
file associated with these data to evaluate dataset limitations, restrictions or
intended use. In no event will NMFS be liable to you or to any third party for
any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special or exemplary damages
or lost profit resulting from any use or misuse of this data.
*** Proper Usage
*** The information on government servers are in the
public domain, unless specifically annotated otherwise, and may be used
freely by the public. Before using information obtained from this server,
special attention should be given to the date and time of the data and
products being displayed. This information shall not be modified in content
and then presented as official government material. This dataset was
created to depict the boundaries of NMFS Regulated Areas in Northeast
and Mid-Atlantic Waters (Regulated Areas) only. The dataset should not
be used for a legal definition. The dataset should not be used to infer
information regarding the existence or details of other marine features or
resources, including, but not limited to, navigable waters, coastlines,
bathymetry, submerged features, or man-made structures. Users assume
responsibility for determining the appropriate use of this dataset.
*** Not the Legal Definition
*** This Geographic Information System
(GIS) dataset is not the legal definition of the Regulated Area. The
description published in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations is the
only legal definition. This dataset and metadata document provide a
broad overview of a subset of applicable fishing regulations, restrictions
and requirements; it is not a substitute for the actual regulations. Users
are encouraged to read the applicable regulations in conjunction with
use of this dataset.
*** Temporal Considerations
*** Regulated Area boundary definitions are
subject to change or modification. Published datasets may represent
historic, current, or future Regulated Areas. When changes to fishing
regulations affect this dataset, it will be archived and replaced by an
updated version as soon as feasible. Approved Regulated Area boundaries
may also be published prior to their effective date. It is the user s responsibility
to ensure the applicable Regulated Area boundaries are being used.
*** Shorelines/Base Layers
*** The accuracy of this dataset is dependent
upon the accuracy and resolution of the datasets (e.g., shoreline, bathymetry,
shared administrative boundaries) used in the creation process. Source
datasets used are specified in the metadata. These data sources were
selected for their suitability to a broad audience, and may not be suitable
for specific uses requiring higher-resolution information. Coastlines change.
Unless otherwise noted, where the NOAA Medium Resolution Shoreline is
used, assume the regulatory boundary reaches the most current coastline
delineation available.
55 Great Republic Drive
2382 Sadler Rd
http://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/ | http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/
GeoPlan relied on the integrity of the attribute information within the original data.
Check Geometry test has been performed in ArcGIS.
Features represented are valid. No geometry problems were detected.
Data were collected using methods that are accurate to within 2-5 meters (EPA National Geospatial Data Policy [NGDP] Accuracy Tier 2). For more information, please see EPA's NGDP at http://epa.gov/geospatial/policies
This data is provided 'as is' and its vertical positional accuracy has not been verified by GeoPlan
Spatial and Attribute Information
[Template Generation] Many NMFS Regulated Areas in Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Waters (Regulated Areas) share boundaries that are partially coincident with any combination of the following: 1) the U.S. Atlantic coastline; 2) the Submerged Lands Act boundary; 3) the U.S.-Canada Maritime Boundary in the Gulf of Maine; 4) the outward extent of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (a.k.a. the "200-nautical mile line"). To standardize Regulated Area features sharing these boundaries, published shapefiles of the shared administrative boundaries were obtained from the authoritative agencies. A shoreline was selected that was suitable for general mapping purposes, freely and publicly available, of medium-resolution, and covering the extent of the U.S.. When necessary, the boundaries were transformed to NAD83. A series of template polygon shapefiles were then generated, using these authoritative boundaries as the outward extents of the polygon. All templates were generated in NAD83 geographic coordinate system. The templates created are: 1) Coast-to-EEZ: bounded by the coastline, the U.S.-Canada Maritime Boundary, the U.S. EEZ, and 81W longitude off the southern extent of Florida (an arbitrary cut-off for the Atlantic); 2) Coast-to-SLA: bounded by the coastline, the U.S.-Canada Maritime Boundary, the Submerged Lands Act boundary, and 81W longitude off the southern extent of Florida; 3) SLA-to-EEZ: bounded by the Submerged Lands Act boundary, the U.S.-Canada Maritime Boundary, the U.S. EEZ, and 81W longitude off the southern extent of Florida. These templates were subsequently copied and edited, as needed by the Regulated Area spatial definitions.
[Get Definition Text] The current legal spatial definition for the Regulated Area was copied from the e-CFR website.
[Features From Templates] The Coast-to-EEZ template shapefile was copied and projected to NAD83 Mercator Projection. The coordinates of the Regulated Area definition were transferred to a spreadsheet, converted to Decimal Degrees, plotted as a point shapefile in NAD83, and then projected to NAD83 Mercator Projection. To generate the Regulated Area boundary in ArcGIS, the template polygon was split by connecting these points in the order specified in the spatial definition. When the spatial definition specified that points were connected by following the Coastline, the coinciding outward extent of the template polygon was used. When the spatial definition specified that points were connected by following a straight line, rhumb lines were constructed. As an exception, points intended to fall along the U.S.-Canada Maritime Boundary were connected by following the geodesic line that legally defines that international boundary. After all points were appropriately connected, any portions of the template outside the defined Regulated Area were discarded. When multiple Regulated Areas are a part of a larger grouping of related Regulated Areas, these steps were repeated to generate a unique feature for each Regulated Area and the features were then combined into a single shapefile. The boundaries were densified with consecutive vertices spaced no more than 10 nautical miles apart, to preserve rhumb line paths in other coordinate systems. The file was projected back to the un-projected NAD83 coordinate system.
[COLREGS] Where specified in the Regulated Area definition, inshore and offshore waters were separated following COLREGS lines. These inlet/bay crossings were drawn after consulting a combination of a) the COLREGS definitions in 33 CFR 80, b) the NOAA Coastal Services Center COLREGS shapefile, and c) the NOAA Medium Resolution Shoreline shapefile because COLREGS lines described by a single source may not always fully cross the specified waterway as depicted by the source shoreline data set.
[Combine Features] The Unit 1 (produced by the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office) and Unit 2 (produced by the Southeast Regional Office) boundaries were merged into a single shapefile.
[Add Attributes] The standardized attribute schema was applied to the shapefile, and the fields were defined.
[Check Geometry] The ESRI ArcGIS Check Geometry tool was run on the shapefile to identify any geometry problems. If problems were encountered, they were reviewed and corrected.
[Final Review] The shapefile was reviewed by members of the GARFO GIS Committee, policy experts from the GARFO Division responsible for the Regulated Area, and General Counsel, according to the GARFO GIS Data Distribution Policy.
[Publication] The shapefile, with accompanying metadata, was uploaded for public download on the NOAA NMFS GARFO GIS website.
GeoPlan downloaded this data in shapefile format from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website: (https://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/maps_gis_data/protected_resources/critical_habitat/index.html) on June 28, 2019. When received, the data was in Geographic projection Albers NAD 83, Spheroid: GRS 80. The file was projected to FGDL Albers HARN. - Reprojected data to FGDL Albers HPGN - Added DESCRIPT field base on field AREAGROUP - Added a FGDLAQDATE field based on date received from source - Renamed shapefile from North_Atlantic_Right_Whale_Critical_Habitat to ch_rightwhale_jan16 - Upcased all records in the attribute table
Dataset copied.
Internal feature number.
ESRI
Feature geometry.
ESRI
A unique identifier used to identify and track this feature; a new GARFO_ID is generated for each version of a Regulated Area (i.e. whenever boundaries or attributes are changed, edited or updated)
GARFO
Official name of the Regulated Area, usually the area name as printed in the CFR
GARFO
Most commonly used name. May be identical to AREANAME, an abbreviation of AREANAME, or a different name altogether.
Specifies if the Regulated Area is part of a group of related areas
GARFO
A brief description of the purpose of the Regulated Area
GARFO
CFR Title citation where the Regulated Area is legally defined
GARFO
CFR Part citation where the Regulated Area is legally defined
GARFO
CFR Part citation header text
GARFO
CFR Subpart citation where the Regulated Area is legally defined
GARFO
CFR Subpart citation header text
GARFO
CFR Section citation where the Regulated Area is legally defined
GARFO
CFR Section citation header text
GARFO
CFR Paragraph citation where the Regulated Area is legally defined
GARFO
CFR Paragraph citation header text
GARFO
Federal Register citation of original Regulated Area spatial definition, or last modification to the spatial definition, whichever is most recent. Refers to SPATIAL DEFINITION ONLY. Subsequent FR notices may have modified the requirements affecting waters within or outside this Regulated Area.
GARFO
Federal Register citation date of original Regulated Area spatial definition, or the last modification to the spatial definition, whichever is most recent. Refers to SPATIAL DEFINITION ONLY. Subsequent FR notices may have modified the requirements affecting waters within or outside this Regulated Area.
GARFO
Date Regulated Area officially became law, or most recent modification
GARFO
If Regulated Area is defined in the CFR, this is the citation for the Amendment/Framework/etc. that established the area. If the Regulated Area is not defined in the CFR, this is the alternative source citation establishing the Regulated Area.
GARFO
Annually recurring date Regulated Area becomes active
GARFO
Annually recurring date Regulated Area becomes inactive
GARFO
Name of the NOAA staff person who created the GIS feature
GARFO
Creation date of the GIS feature
GARFO
Miscellaneous notes regarding the Regulated Area or feature
GARFO
FGDL added field based on AREAGROUP
GeoPlan
FGDL added field based on date downloaded from source
GeoPlan
Unique ID added by GeoPlan
GeoPlan
Area in meters
GeoPlan
Perimeter in meters
GeoPlan
FILEDS_Map.xlsx fully describes the Attribute Schema used for regulated area GIS data sets. To access this document, see the Contact Information.
431 Architecture PO Box 115706
The Florida Geographic Data Library is a collection of Geospatial Data compiled by the University of Florida GeoPlan Center with support from the Florida Department of Transportation. GIS data available in FGDL is collected from various state, federal, and other agencies (data sources) who are data stewards, producers, or publishers. The data available in FGDL may not be the most current version of the data offered by the data source. University of Florida GeoPlan Center makes no guarantees about the currentness of the data and suggests that data users check with the data source to see if more recent versions of the data exist. Furthermore, the GIS data available in the FGDL are provided 'as is'. The University of Florida GeoPlan Center makes no warranties, guaranties or representations as to the truth, accuracy or completeness of the data provided by the data sources. The University of Florida GeoPlan Center makes no representations or warranties about the quality or suitability of the materials, either expressly or implied, including but not limited to any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. The University of Florida GeoPlan Center shall not be liable for any damages suffered as a result of using, modifying, contributing or distributing the materials. A note about data scale: Scale is an important factor in data usage. Certain scale datasets are not suitable for some project, analysis, or modeling purposes. Please be sure you are using the best available data. 1:24000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the county level. 1:24000 data should NOT be used for high accuracy base mapping such as property parcel boundaries. 1:100000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the multi-county or regional level. 1:125000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the regional or state level or larger. Vector datasets with no defined scale or accuracy should be considered suspect. Make sure you are familiar with your data before using it for projects or analysis. Every effort has been made to supply the user with data documentation. For additional information, see the References section and the Data Source Contact section of this documentation. For more information regarding scale and accuracy, see our webpage at: http://geoplan.ufl.edu/education.html
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http://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/