A Win-Win for Deep-Sea Corals and Fishing: Increasing Seafloor Protections While Restoring Fishing Opportunities Off the United States West Coast

On January 1, 2020, the United States (U.S.) government implemented new regulations increasing total closed areas to bottom trawl fishing by 363,513 km 2 , including a net increase of 44,498 in essential fish habitat conservation at fishable depths (<1,280 m) along West Coast continental shelf and upper slope. At same time, reopened certain grounds originally established rebuild overfished groundfish. In combination with previously existing areas, result these is that now prohibited 90% (739,491 ) ocean waters Exclusive Economic Zone, 32.6% (<200 depth zones 56.0% slope (200-1,280 m), disproportionate focus on priority features are proxies for habitat, sensitivity trawling, biodiversity. The final spatial management measures include 53 or modified trawling precautionary prohibition all contact gears greater than 3,500 m. Together set area closures openings an overall coastwide protections hard, mixed, soft substrates; seamounts; submarine canyons; known predicted coral, sponge, pennatulid locations. Finer scale analyses indicate increases no change coral sponge observations inside protected across regions zones, despite some reductions hard substrate regions. Based historic effort data, we estimate opening restores 24.6% was displaced prior 2020. Here describe involvement approach organization, Oceana, protect seafloor habitats off Coast, which included proposal modify geospatial analyses, grassroots organizing, media stories, scientific expeditions using remotely operated vehicles. Our comparison versus previous assemblage demonstrates increased protection opportunities throughout bioregions Coast.