ReefKeeper International has formally requested that the USVI Department of Planning & Natural Resources designate an expanded Marine Reserve to encompass the waters off Southeast St. Thomas, and that it adopt special management regulations to prohibit the harvesting of marine life in this area. The requested Marine Reserve would be bounded within a line running from Long Point to Buck Island to Capella Island to Dog Island to Great St. James Island to Cabrita Point, as illustrated on the enclosed map. This expanded reserve would include the existing Compass Point Pond, Cas Cay and Mangrove Lagoon, and the St. James Islands Marine Reserves and Wildlife Sanctuaries, which were designated by the Government of the United States Virgin Islands in 1994.
Unique Resources Southeast St. Thomas has diverse marine and coastal communities which form a productive and significant ecosystem important for the sustenance of the local fishing, tourism, and recreation industries. The site displays high diversity and abundance of reef fish and invertebrates including: 76 species of algae, 46 species of mollusks, 15 sponge species, 58 echinoderms, numerous cnidarian, annelid, and crustacean species, 243 fish species, 5 marine turtle species, 100 shore bird species, and three whale species (Wells, 1988). It also supports several endangered and threatened species such as the Brown Pelican, Roseate Tern, Hawksbill Sea Turtle, Leatherback Sea Turtle, Green Sea Turtle, Sperm Whale and the Humpback Whale.
Jersey Bay's Mangrove Lagoon is considered a unique area since it is the largest original strand of mangroves left in the U.S. Virgin Islands. In addition to being a unique mangrove forest, Mangrove Lagoon and Benner Bay are important fish nursery grounds (Olsen, 1979), with over 80% of the reef fish in the area being juveniles (Wells, 1988). The seagrass beds, primarily Halimeda sp. and Thalassia sp. (Wells, 1988), provide shelter for spiny lobster, mollusc, finfish and other reef fish juveniles. These shallow water ecosystems are the basis for providing the 1.7 million lbs of fish and 122,000 lbs of lobster harvested every year by the local fisheries.
There are numerous well developed fringing reefs in the area, with some located relatively close to the mainland. Long and Cabrita Points, Packet Rock, Cow and Calf Rocks, Birsk Island, Capella Island, Great St. James and Little St. James, Dog Island and Cowpet Bay all have extensive reef systems. In addition to these areas, coral reefs also occur within the entrances to Mangrove Lagoon and Jersey Bay between Patricia and Cas Cay. The shallow fore-reef of this area is dominated by hard corals (Wells, 1988). In deeper waters, gorgonian forests are found. Existing and Proposed Protection The establishment of the Compass Point Pond, Cas Cay and Mangrove Lagoon, and the St. James Islands Marine Reserves and Wildlife Sanctuaries recognized the value of these areas' diverse marine and coastal communities, which form the basis for the Southeast St. Thomas marine ecosystem's productivity. Mangrove Lagoon, Benner Bay, and Vessup Bay, including the east end of St. Thomas, are recognized as Areas of Particular Concern by the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources under the Coastal Zone Management Program.
These existing Marine Reserves and Wildlife Sanctuaries were also included within the larger proposed Southeastern St. Thomas National Marine Sanctuary, which was nominated in 1983. The Southeastern St. Thomas National Marine Sanctuary still remains undesignated, languishing on the potential candidate list.
In spite of the regulations now in force in these Marine Reserves, the coral reefs and other marine habitats found within the Marine Reserves are continuing to be degraded. And similar areas outside of these limited reserves remain totally unprotected. Additional measures need to be urgently implemented if the outstanding resource values that prompted the reserve designations and national marine sanctuary nomination are to be preserved from loss and degradation.
Status of Fisheries in the U.S. Virgin Islands Studies conducted on heavily fished areas have concluded that overfishing has had a considerable impact on commercially viable fish populations, in addition to the alteration of reef community structure by shifting dominance to less commercially important fish (Tilmant, 1987).
Fish stocks in the U.S. Virgin Islands have declined considerably within the past twenty years. Twenty years ago, twelve fish traps pulled twice a week would yield 200 to 300 pounds of fish a week with 60% of them being grouper, snapper, and goatfish. Today, the same number of traps yields only 40 to 50 pounds with 7 to 10% grouper, snapper, or goatfish (Skov, T., 1987). Quantitatively, the catch-per-unit effort (CPUE) has dropped an average of 5% per year between 1975 and 1987 (based on page 22 of Appledoorn et al.,1992). This means that the fishermen have to employ a larger number of fish traps each year to catch the same number of fish.
At the Proceedings of the Conference on Fisheries in Crisis held on September 24-25, 1987 at Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, it was shown that while net fishing effort had increased 25-50%, there was no significant increase in landings. Additionally, the average size of the fish caught decreased by as much as 20%. However, the most alarming fact is that the fishery is now predominantly supported by pre-spawning individuals. The fish are not allowed to mature enough to reproduce, therefore causing a logarithmic decrease in the amount of fish harvested the following season (de Graaf and Moore, 1987).
A major concern at the conference was to identify the main cause for the declining fish stocks. It seems, however, that a combination of factors are responsible for the degradation of the Virgin Island fishery. Loss or degradation of nursery and living habitats, harvesting of pre-spawning individuals, and too many fishermen have been identified as significant factors requiring regulation if the fish stocks are going to be preserved. In 1987, the amount of licensed fishermen was 530 (Beets, 1987). In recent years, this number has not changed significantly, with the latest data indicating about 362 registered fishers (USCFMC, 1998).
However, the amount of fishermen is not nearly as important as recognizing the amount of traps the fishermen use. Some say they have and use as much as 1,500 traps, while others are content with using 300-400 (Berry, 1987). The number of fishermen multiplied by the number of traps they use add up to an alarming reason for concern.
Fisher Support for Expanded SE St. Thomas Marine Reserve While the U.S. Caribbean Fishery Management Council was evaluating potential marine reserves in 1997, a number of fishers expressed support for a "no-take" marine reserve in the area of SE St. Thomas (USCFMC, 1999). At a public hearing on October 22, 1997, Mr. Harry Clinton, representing the St. Thomas/St. John Fisheries Advisory Committee, proposed the closure of an area similar to but slightly larger than the one outlined in this letter. He proposed that the area be designated as "no-take" except for bait fishing. Mr. Clinton was followed at that hearing by numerous fishers supporting the closure of this area southeast of St. Thomas. Additional support was also expressed at a public hearing on June 11, 1998.
As noted in the statements made at the public hearings, the support of fishers is critical to effectively enforcing any "no-take" marine reserve. Mr. Clinton stated that fishers would be willing to "police" themselves in an effort to assist law enforcement officers. Placing a "no-take" reserve in an area acceptable to fishers will greatly decrease the number of poachers in the area.
Obviously, the fewer number of violations that occur in the marine reserve, the more effective the closure will be to achieve its goals of providing a refuge for stocks, rebuilding overfished populations, and protecting habitat from adverse impacts of fishing gears.
Therefore, ReefKeeper International has requested the expansion of the existing Marine Reserves to include the Southeast St. Thomas marine areas bounded within a line running from Long Point to Buck Island to Capella Island to Dog Island to Great St. James Island to Cabrita Point. We've also requested adoption of additional management measures to protect these outstanding marine resources from fishing pressures by designating the entire area as "no-take".
Designation of an expanded Southeast St. Thomas Marine Reserve and implementation of these additional measures will give the outstanding coral reef resources of Southeast St. Thomas a fighting chance to be preserved from loss and degradation.
References Appledoorn, R., J. Beets, J. Bohnsack, S. Bolden, D. Matos, S. Meyers, A. Rosario, Y. Sadovy and W. Tobias. 1992. Shallow Water Reef Fish Stock Assessment for the U.S. Caribbean. NOAA Tech Memo NMFS-SEFSC-304. DOC/NOAA/NMFS/SFSC Miami, FL 33149. 70 pp.
Beets, J.P., 1987. Profile of a Collapsing Fishery: V, In: Proceedings of the Conference on Fisheries in Crisis, de Graaf, J. and Moore, D. eds., September 24-25, 1987; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas. 147 pp.
de Graaf, J. and D. Moore, eds. 1987. Proceedings of the Conference on Fisheries in Crisis. September 24-25, 1987; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas. 147 pp.
Olsen, D.A., 1979. Socio-economic survey of recreational boating and fishing in the U.S. Virgin Islands. National Marine Fisheries Service. 76 pp.
Skov, T. 1987. Profile of a Collapsing Fishery: III, In: Proceedings of the Conference on Fisheries in Crisis, de Graaf, J. and Moore, D. eds., September 24-25, 1987; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas. 147 pp.
Tilmant, J.T., 1987. Impacts of Recreational Activities on Coral Reefs, In: Human Impacts on Coral Reefs: facts and recommendations, B. Salvat ed., Antenne Museum, E.P.H.E., French Polynesia: 195-214
United States Caribbean Fishery Management Council (1999), Amendment Number 1 to the Fishery Management Plan for Corals and Reef Associated Plants and Invertebrates of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Island, January 1999.
United States Caribbean Fishery Management Council (1998), Draft Comprehensive Amendment Addressing the Provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act in the Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) of the U.S. Caribbean, December 1998.
Wells, S.M. ed., 1988. Coral Reefs of the World. Volume 1: Atlantic and Eastern Pacific. IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre. Cambridge, U.K.