South Atlantic MPAs and deepwater coral HAPCs: Characterization of fish communities, benthic habitat, and benthic macrobiota. Final Report for 2012-2014 NOAA Cruises. A NOAA CIOERT Report

In 2009, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) established eight deepwaterMarine Protected Areas (MPAs) along the outer continental shelf off the southeastern U.S.Three cruises using ROVs, CTD casts, and multibeam sonar mapping, documented andcharacterized the benthic habitats, benthic macrobiota, and fish populations within and adjacentto the MPA protected areas which are within the jurisdiction of the SAFMC from north Floridato North Carolina. The six MPA sites included North Florida MPA, Georgia MPA, Edisto MPA,Charleston Deep Artificial MPA, Northern South Carolina MPA, and Snowy Wreck MPA.