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III: AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT 



A. The Physi cal and Biolo gical Environment 



The area encompassed by the proposed action 

 extends off the Atlantic coast from Cape Hatteras 

 to Newfoundland. Within this reqion, the waters lying 

 above the continental shelf and slope to approximately 

 the 100 fathom line are the most productive and imnortant 

 fishing areas. Relatively narrow at Cape Hatteras, the 

 shelf w'dens markedly to the north to form Georges Bank 

 (figure 2;. The Northeast Channel, a major break in 

 the shelf, divides Georges Bank from the Scotian Shelf 

 and connects the deeper portions of the Gulf of Maine 

 with the Atlantic. In the Gulf the shelf narrows consi- 

 derably, but northeast of the Channel off Nova Scotia it 

 widens again. Another major break occurs at the Laurentian 

 Valley, the deep channel between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. 

 To the east and south of Newfoundland the shelf extends 

 to its greatest breadth, forming the Grand Banks. 



The southern portion from Cape Hatteras to Georges Bank 

 is fairly uniform physically, with a continental shelf area 

 influenced by many large coastal rivers and estuaries and 

 incised by prominent shelf-edge canyons. Typically, the 

 bottom is sand interspersed with large pockets of sand-gravel 

 and sand-shell. Below 110 fathoms (200 meters, or m), the 



