The 1996 reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSFCMA) mandates that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) identify habitats essential for managed species and conserve habitats from adverse effects of fishing and other anthropogenic activities. Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) is defined under the act as ‘those waters and substrates necessary to fish for spawning, breeding, feeding or growth to maturity.’ As part of this mandate, EFH descriptions for all species listed under a Fisheries Management Plan (FMP) in Alaska waters are needed. In addition, these descriptions are routinely revisited under a 5-year cycle that reviews and updates EFH information (including species descriptions) with new data and research.