A SUMMARY OF BIOLOGICAL AND FISHERY DATA ON RED HIND (ZEEMEUM GUTTATUS) AND CONEY (MBUDMIIS STOCKS IN THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS

by

Stephania K. Bolden

March 1994

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries service Southeast Fisheries Science Center 75 Virginia Beach Drive Miami, Florida 33149 Contribution: MIA-93/94-32 INTRODUCTION

Red hind (ERinephelus guttatus) and coney (formerly

Epinepbelus but re-classified as CephaloRholis fulva, (Heemstra and

Randall, 1993)) were chosen for this investigation because of their representation of the grouper complex in the U.S. Caribbean fishery and their recent decline in length at capture. These species are the serranids most often landed in both Puerto Rico and the U.S.

Virgin Islands (USVI) and represented 81% of the total serranid catch samples in 1990 (Appeldoorn et al. , 1992). Red hind is believed to have replaced the Nassau grouper (F^ striatus) in the fishery, and has become the dominant grouper in recent U.S.

Caribbean landings (Beets and Friedlander, 1992). Because coney is ecologically and biologically similar to red hind, and because both red hind and coney are caught by the same gear in the same area, this assessment also investigates the status of coney. This report only addresses the USVI fisheries. A comparable assessment of the

Puerto Rico red hind fishery can be found in Sadovy (1993) and

Sadovy and Figuerola (1992). Notably, coney assessments from Puerto Rico are lacking.

Traditionally, the tropical shelf of the USVI has supported a small-scale fishery. The reef fish communities of the Caribbean provide the only immediate source of fresh reef-fish for the island and the increasing population of the USVI adds demand to the already stressed Caribbean fisheries. In recent years more people, along with newer boats equipped with more efficient gear, have

greatly increased the density of fishers on the limited fishing

2 grounds (Goodwin, 1988). Small platforms surrounding islands with large population densities can be easily overexploited. This status report was prompted by an observed decline in size- of harvested fishes from the U.S. Caribbean (Olsen and

LaPlace, 1978; Clavijo et al., 1986; Beets at al.,1990; Appeldoorn et al., 1992; Beets and Friedlander, 1992; Sadovy and

Figuerola, 1992). This inquiry was prepared to meet Shallow-Water Reeffish Fishery Management Plan (SWRFFMP) requirements . of continued monitoring by the National Marine Fisheries service

(N"S) .

OBJI=IVES

This report is a review of red hind and coney literature and

investigates the status of fisheries data for the USVI. This report, coupled with the recent work of Sadovy (1992, 1993), represents a summary of the literature on the status of the grouper

complex representatives in the U.S. Caribbean. This report complements the red hind and coney resource assessment prepared by

the NMFS, Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) in 1994.

STOCK GROUPS Grouper stocks are particularly vulnerable to exploitation

because of their life history characteristics (Colin et al., 1987;

Bannerot at al., 1987; Manooch, 1987; Ralston, 1987; Bohnsack,

1989). The long-lived, slow growing protogynous nature of groupers coupled with intensive short-term fishing of spawning aggregations, renders groupers especially vulnerable to overexploitation.

3 Because they exhibit protogyny (sequential hermaphroditism in which an individual transforms from female to male), groupers can be particularly effected by fishing which may ultimately reduce mean individual size. This reduction in mean size decreases the number of males in the stock since males are generally larger than females. If male genetic material is limiting and if sex change is controlled by size (or age) , then a heavily fished stock may not be able to compensate for the differential removal of the larger males. If, on the other hand, sex change is behaviorally induced, then a decline in males may be compensated for by increased numbers of females changing sex. However, this could result in a decline

in mean female size leading to a reduction in stock egg production.

The unit stock for this report was determined by species: red hind and coney. Although the two major islands of the USVI (St.

Thomas and St. Croix) could potentially support distinct red hind and coney stocks, not all available data are island discrete.

These two islands lie on separate geological platforms and are

separated by approximately 65 km (40 miles). Known tagging studies have not been conducted to examine mixing of grouper stocks between St. Thomas and St. Croix, nor are any morphological or

physiological characteristics known which indicate discrete stocks.

Both major islands reportedly have spawning aggregation sites for

E. g=atus; on their insular platforms (Beets and Friedlander, 1992). However, there has been no formal investigation of synchronous spawning or abundance of either the red hind or coney during peak spawning periods at St. Thomas and St. Croix.

4 Migration to spawning aggregation sites is well known for F, g =atus (Colin et al., 1987; Sadovy et al., 1992). Considerable distances may be traveled by F. auttatus to spawning sites - one reportedly travelled 18 ka (11.2 miles) (Sadovy et al., 1992).

BIOLOGY

Generally speaking, groupers (Serranidae) are unspecialized carnivores (Thompson and Munro, 1974), that are slow growing. and live relatively long lives (Sadovy and Figuerola, 1992). They attain a large size at sexual maturity, and are generally protogynous hermaphrodites. Because they aggregate to spawn (Colin et al., 1987) they are, at times, relatively easy to catch and thereby susceptible to a wide range of sizes (mesh and hook) and types of fishing gear. Red hind and coney are groupers possessing the aforementioned life history characteristics which collectively make the groupers extremely susceptible to overfishing.

The geographical distribution of the red hind and coney overlap. Both are found in the tropical western Atlantic from

North Carolina to Venezuela (Heemstra and Randall, 1993). However, the distribution of coney is more extensive than red hind and is also found in Bermuda and along the South American coast to southern Brazil, including Atol das Rocas (Heemstra and Randall,

1993).

Larval life for groupers is from 3 - 8 weeks. Little is known of critical juvenile habitat for the majority of grouper species, nor of their principal settlement periods. Settlement may be

5 assumed to occur from 3 - 8 weeks after spawning (Colin et al.,

1987). The presence of red hind males as young as the youngest mature female indicates some males may be diandric (Sadovy et al.,

1993), however the event is likely to be rare (Sadovy et al.,

1994). Female red hind are determinate spawners (all oocytes for the spawning period are present at the beginning of the season) and may spawn more than once during the spawning season (Sadovy et al.,

1993).

Adult red hind and coney are often associated with rocky and coral reefs areas in relatively shallow waters and are basically sedentary unless foraging. Juvenile red hind have been observed in shallow rocky, rubble and sandy areas. Juvenile coney (3 - 4 cm

TL) have been observed camouflaged in filamentous algal growth on shallow (10 m) artificial cement module reefs (pers. obs.).

Both red hind and coney are protogynous hermaphrodites (Smith,

1959; Nagelkerken, 1979; Shapiro, 1987). Both species spawn over a limited period, perhaps reliant to the first full moon of the calendar year (Table 1). Al though mature, ripe ovaries of red hind in Puerto Rico have been found over a three-month period, spawning acti vi ty is limited to about 2 weeks each year (Sadovy et al.,

1993). Red hind is a pair spawner in single male/multi-female clusters which forms short-term spawning aggregations (Burnett-

Herkes, 1975; Colin et al., 1987; Sadovy et al., 1992; Shapiro et al., 1993; Sadovy et al., 1994). The reproductive activity of coney is not as well documented with only a single pair spawning reported (Colin et. al., 1987; Colin and Clavijo, 1988). A

6 summation of basic lif e history parameters for both species are presented in Table 2.

Table 1. Spatial and temporal summary of spawning observations for red hind (ERineRhelus guttatus) and coney (CephaloRholis fulva).

2MES TM LOCIM 3VMGUM

L q9ta Jan-Feb** Puerto Rico Colin at al., 19V auttatus Feb-Jun* Jamica Kanro at al., 1973 Jan Puerto Rico Erdsan, 1956 Jan Janice Thospson and Kunro, 1974 L. tun Dec Puerto Rico Erdnan, 1956 fulva Jan Puerto Rico Colin and Clavijo, 1988 fulva Jan Babasas Colin, 1982 fulva Jan-Kar Jaimica Thoapson and Mairo, 1978 C. fulva may-Aug Bersuda Siith, 1971 *presence of ripe fish, not actual spawning **noted lunar phase as fall toon

Length-f requency distributions of male and female red hind and

coney show that the males are of larger average size than the

females, although there is a broad overlap in the length distribution of the sexes (Thompson and Munro, 1974). In both

species the percentage of males increases steadily with total

length: most red hind greater than 40 cm TL are males (Heemstra and

Randall, 1993). The red hind Puerto Rico stock have been

determined as having a 13:1 (F:M) ratio with 93% of captured red hind being female (Puerto Rico Dept. of Natural Resources, unpubl.

data), and more recently a 3.25:1 (F:M) ratio (Sadovy et al., 1994). This variation in female:male ratios suggests an influx of

males, and/or egress of females and is a common serranid event. The coney stock of Puerto Rico was found to be mostly female (78%)

with a 3:6:1 (F:M) ratio (Puerto Rico Dept. of Natural Resources,

7 unpubl. data).

Red hind in st. Thomas are long-lived and attain their maximum size slowly, after fast growth during the first year (Sadovy et al., 1992). Ages were validated by marginal increment on otoliths and determined to be deposited annually (in spring/summer) on adult and juvenile red hind taken by trap and hook-and-line in the u.s.

Caribbean (Sadovy et al., 1992). Back-calculated mean fork lengths for st. Thomas red hind ranged from 194 mm at age-1 to 470 mm at maximum age-18 (Sadovy et al., 1992). Notably, the st. Thomas red hind growth study (Sadovy et al., 1992) is perhaps limited as sample sizes were too low for marginal-increment analysis by individual age-group and should thereby be treated with caution.

However, Sadovy et al. (1992) is the most recent study and probably best reflects red hind growth regime and the most commonly captured

fishery size-classes. Total apparent mortality is higher for

female red hind than for males due to their 'mortality' when they change sex to males (Sadvoy, 1993).

otoliths of coney showed numerous light-and-dark bands, but did not appear to be seasonal (Thompson and Munro, 1974).

Addi tional information on the age and growth of coney are not

available. Relationships between total length, standard length,

maximum body depth and total weight for coney and red hind were

determined by Thompson and Munro (1978). Red hind taken from

Puerto Rico have been sexed and staged for sexual maturation: 50%

of females had attained sexual maturity at age-3, transitionals

were age 3-7 and males were 2-17 years (Sadovy et al., 1992).

8 Table 2. Summary of basic life history parameters of the red hind (Ez)inephelus auttatus) and coney (Cephalopholis fulva). Area of study noted when available. Citation in parentheses. biwWa aftatas wwlQpwk MH SM IT ^ 25 cK TL ^ 16 co TL UTURM (MoRpson and Nwzo,. 1974) (Thompson ad Maro, 1974)

22 - 24 ea TL 16 ca TL (Beemstra and Randall, 1993) (Beemetra ad Randall, 1993) 195 - 285 M FL (Puerto Rico) (Sadovy at al., l"2, 1994)

22D me FL (sadovy at al., 1989)

SIB RANGE 38.0 - 39.9 ca TL (471) 26.0 -26.9 ca TL (461) FOR MI (Thompson and MM, 1974) (nompson ad IM, 2974) RUMUL 270 - 350 n FL (S&dM at al., 1993)

NW SIB OF 9 339.6 ma TL (St. Tbomas) SPANIM d 397.0 ma TL (St. Tbomas) MrVID= (Beets and friedlader, 1992)

ME a 150 - 250 a n (Puerto Rico) RSCRUIMUM 200 - 300 w FL (St. ftws) To FLUM (Sado" and Figuerols, 1"2)

200 me TL (USVI) (Beets and Friedlander, 1992)

FKMrff 90,000 - 3,000,000 eggs/fezale 150,DOO - 2U,ODD eggs/female MMTM (kanoDch, 1984) (KNIStra and Randall, 1993)

96,982 - 526,358 eggs/female 67,883 - 292,389 eggs/female (Thompson and Kunro, 1974) (Tbompson slid Runro, 1974)

MG 0.70 - 0.90 ma 0.50 - 0.65 a DIAMM (%oapson and Munro, 1974) (7buipson and Iumo, 1974)

Le 72 a TL (Bermuda) 37 cm TL (Bermuda) (Luckburst et al., 1992) (Beelstra And Randall, 1993)

601.0 me FL (St. Thom) 292.7 - 425.0 a TL (St. Croix) (Sadovy and Figuerola, 1992) (Beets at al., 1990)

515 ma FL (Puerto Rico) 30 cm TL (Puerto Rico) (Sadovy and Figwola, 1992) (Sadovy, 1993)

76 cm TL 34.0 cm TL (BeeRStra and Randall, 1993) (ThOVSon and MUnro, 1974)

0.071 ^St. Thous) 0.14 - 0.32 (St. Croix) 0.101 (Puerto Rioo) (Beets at al., 1990) (Sadoxy at al., 1992)

0.22 Querto Rico) 0.44 (Puerto Rico) (Stevenson, 1978) (Stevenson, 1978) FISHERY

Red hind and coney are taken mainly by fish trap. Hook and line f ishing removes some red hind and coney, however the percentage is small relative to f ish traps. The USVI shallow water reef fish catch is made Up Of 60 to 70 different species. The trap and handline f isheries of the inner shelf and shelf edge (reef f ish) account for 90% of the f inf ish catch, with migratory pelagics making up the remaining portion (NOAA, 1979). Both red hind and coney fisheries are year-round, with the fish trap fishery having more fishers than hook and line (Figure 1). The USVI fishery is economically universal, with nearly every species salable (Swingle et al., 1970).

Number of fishermen 600

600 ^

400 ^

300 ^

200 ^ \n 100-1 19 1^ 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 Fishing year

M Fish trap Eal Hook and line = All gears

Figure 1. Summary of licensed USVI fishprmen by gear. Data from annual catch reports submitted to NMFS. 10 There are around 10 active fishing ports in St. Thomas; 17 in St. Croix. St. Croix has more of a central fish market area than

St. Thomas where fish are mainly sold off boats. Nearly all fishers own and operate their own their vessel that are mostly engine powered in the 16-25 ft. class. More small trailerable vessels are present in St. Croix than in St. Thomas due to its f lat terrain. The trap fis hery is non-selective in that the fishers cannot target one species, instead they simply trap in areas of potential abundance on the insular shelf surrounding the island in waters from 10 to 50 fathoms. Trap fishers can, at times, locate their gear in areas of known spawning aggregations, and thereby attempt to target a particular species (e.g., red hind off the southern coast of St. Thomas). While fish traps are non-selective, hook and line mainly targets pelagics. The catch composition of the fish trap fishery includes serranids:groupers (red hind F, cruttatus; coney g. fulva), labrids:parrotfishes (redtail SRarisoma chrysopter ; stoplight 5. viride; redband 5. auroruebens), lutjanids:snappers (yellowtail Ocvurus chrysurus; Lane Lutianus synagris; vermilion Rhomboplites aurorubens; silk L. vivanus), haemulids: grunts (white Haemulon

Plumieri; bluestriped H. sciurus; french H, flavolineatum), holocentrids:squirrelfish (squirrelfish Holocentrus ascensionis; longspine squirrelfish H. rufus), ostracids:trunkfish (honeycomb cowf ish Lactophyrs p2lygonia; scrawled cowf ish L^ guaricornis; smooth trunkfish L. trigueter), acanthurids:surgeonfish (ocean

11 surgeon Acanthurus bahianus; doctorfish &. chirurgus; blue tang A. coeruleus), balistids:triggerfish (queen Balistes vetula), and mullids:goatfish (yellow Mulloidicht= martinicus; spotted

Psuedopeneus maculatus). Red hind are found in deeper water than coney and their abundance increases with depth (Puerto Rico Dept of Natural

Resources, unpubl. data; Thompson and Munro, 1978) both however are caught with handlines and fish traps and are marketed fresh. Red hind catch appears to follow a lunar trend: 87% of the spawning

aggregation catch came between the first and last lunar quarters

(Olsen and LaPlace, 1978) and more are prone to be caught during

the f irst quarter moon (Puerto Rico Deot. of Natural Resources,

unpubl. data). Coney and red hind have recently become dominant commercial reef species in the USVI fishery. Coney was previously not very-

sought after due to its relatively small size (Fischer, 1978), however this species has become more prevalent in the West Indies

fish markets (Heemstra and Randall, 1993). Coney has risen to the

fifth most dominant fish by weight in landings, comprising greater than 6t of all fish in total catch in St. Croix (Beets et al.,

1990). Red hind has become one of the most important commercial species in the Caribbean in terms of numbers caught and total

weight of landings (Heemstra and Randall, 1993). Red hind was one

of the top five most dominant species (by weight) in the 1992 St.

Thomas fishery with a 1989 market value of U.S. $3.00 - $3.50/lb

(Beets and Friedlander, 1992). Catch composition of red hind and

12 coney in the commercial f ishery varies between the USVI islands: red hind are caught in greater abundance in St. Thomas than St.

Croix (Beets and Friedlander, 1992).

Increased landings of . non-traditional species (i.e., parrotf ish, surgeonf ish, squirrelf ish) and deeper water species

(i.e., vermillion, queen and silk snapper) can be attributed to shifts in the reef fish fishery away from the major traditional species (i.e., groupers) because of their decline. Harvest of deeper water species (30 to 150 fathoms) in significant amount began ca. 1979, and accounted for about 15-20% of total finfish landings-(NOAA, 1979). No formal recreational data collecting presently occurs in the

USVI. Historically, the recreational USVI fishery emphasized pelagic resources to a greater degree than the commercial and removed less (67.3%) shallow water reef fish than the commercial (78.9%) fishermen (Olsen and Wood, 1983).

GEAR

Fish traps, and hook and line gear are used to harvest shallow-water reef species almost exclusively. Historically, fish traps have been the basic unit of gear in the USVI f ishery: 83% of fishermen used fish traps at some point in their fishing operations

in 1969 and in 1972 they were reported as the basic unit of gear in the USVI commercial fishery (Swingle et al., 1970; Sylvester and

Dammann, 1972). Since traps are easy and inexpensive to build, and allow pursuit of other jobs while fishing unattended, they are the

13 preferred gear by USVI fishers. The most popular fish traps used in USVI are· the Arrowhead and the 2-entrance rectangular. The dimensions of the traps vary widely, with larger traps being placed in deeper waters (Sylvester and Dammann, 1972). Fish traps are set in depths from one to about 100 fathoms (Sylvester and Dammann,

1972). Trap placement relative to underwater features (ledges, reefs) is extremely important (Sylvester and Dammann, 1972). Traps are set with and without bait (Swingle et al., 1970: Sylvesterand

Dammann, 1972). Baits range from non-marine items (e.g., sage brush, bread, animal skins, fruits) to bycatch (Swingle et al.,

1970: Sylvester and Dammann, 1972). Some fishers claim that the algal growth on traps attracts small fish which in turn attracts

larger species (Swingle et al., 1970). The average number of trap hauls per week has been reported as 16.3 for each USVI trap fisher

(Swingle et al., 1970), however recent effort estimates are not yet

available.

Many fishers use hook and line techniques in conjunction with

other gear but very few use this method of fishing exclusively

(Swingle et al., 1970). Hand lines are usually the method of line

fiShing with rod and reel being the exception. At times the hand

lines are trolled.

Some gear utilization differences do exist in the USVI. st.

Thomas fish trappers haul their pots more often and catch more fish

per fisher than st. Croix fishers (Swingle et al., 1970). st.

Thomas fishers land more of their fish (by weight) by trap fishing

(72%) than st. Croixans (63%), with the reverse being true when

14 fishing by hand-lines as 25% (by weight) of landings are reported in St. Croix and only 15% in St. Thomas (Beets and Friedlander,

1992). Fish traps accounted for 73% of the reported weight landed in St.Thomas and 71% of that landed in St. Croix in the 1985

(Appeldoorn et al., 1992). Beets et al. (1990) reported an estimated 10-fold increase in the number of traps in USVI from 1975 to 1990, although supporting data were not provided. Modern traps are better made and more durable over time as they are built with galvanized or coated wire reinforced by steel braces.

MANAGEMENT

A major problem in managing the fisheries of the world's shal low- insular-tropical-coralline platforms is a difficulty of estimating maximum sustainable yields (CFMC, 1985). The maximum sustainable yield (MSY) is the largest mean catch of fish that can be taken on an annual basis without depleting the reproductive stocks. It is not concerned with socio or economic factors. The problems in obtaining a MSY arise from 1) the reef environment is extremely dynamic and its fishery is diverse 2) very little is known about the biology of many reef fishes in terms of growth

rates, mortality, reproduction potential, etc. 3) the number of

species utilized in a tropical fishery is very high and the

interactions in these assemblages are poorly understood 4) the bulk of the landings, for reef fish, come from one gear type which

has undergone extreme variations over the years and 5) databases

is are scarce for the fisheries and those that do exist sometimes have questionable integrity or may provide inadequate information. MSY has been set at 7.7 million pounds for the shallow-water reeffish fishery of the U.S. Caribbean (CFMC, 1985). Optimum yield (OY) is def ined by the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act as the amount of fish "which will provide the greatest overall benef it to the nation, with particular reference to food production and recreational opportunities and which is prescribed on the basis of MSY as modified by any relevant economic, social or ecological factor. OY may be set above or below the MSY. OY was set at MSY (7.7 million pounds) for the U.S.

Caribbean shallow-water reef fish fishery by the CFMC (CFMC, 1985).

By SWRFF74P Amendment 1 definition, a reeffish stock is overfished when it is below the level of 20% spawning stock biomass per recruit (SSBR) that would occur without fishing mortality.

SSBR is a ratio which compares levels of individual reproduction at given rates of fishing to reproductive levels without fishing.

Individual reproductive levels are determined by the amount of

reproductive products an individual will produce over its lifetime,

discounted by the chance it will die from natural causes (natural mortality) and due to fishing (fishing mortality). Two well known USVI red hind spawning aggregation sites (Beets

and Friedlander, 1992; Sadovy et al., 1992) are protected by the

SWRFFMP (Appendix A). Spawning areas south of St. Thomas and east of St. Croix are protected (from fishing) December through

February. The aggregation site in St. Thomas is protected under

16 Amendment 1 of the SWRFFNP (November 29, 1990) and protects 14

square miles, the St. Croix site (approximately 3.5 square miles)

received protection with implementation of SWRFFMP Amendment 2

(October 14, 1993). An aggregation site south of Puerto Rico is also protected under SWRFFMP Amendment 2. There are no other

management measures for red hind or coney in the USVI. Prior to the seasonal closing of the spawning areas, all known spawning

aggregations of red hind, in Puerto Rico and St. Thomas were being

heavily exploited (Sadovy and Figuerola, 1992).

A change in the mesh size of fish traps became effective

September 14, 1993 after an interim exemption. There are no regulations for fish trap dimensions or number.

FISHERY CATCH STATISTICS

Projected commercial landings have averaged 1.2 - 1.8 million

pounds since 1981 (Figure 2). These values include landings from

all finfish fisheries: reef fish, pelagics and baitfish. Reef

fish projected landings, as derived from fish trap, and hook and

line fisheries, varied from 1.1 million (1980) to 1.5 million

pounds (1991). Reef fish landings data are not available by

fisheries from published reports for 1985-88 (Table 3). The number

of USVI licensed fishers has been relatively stable at 400-525 per

year with the exception of a 1990 low (370) and a 1981 high (578)

(Figure 2). The market value pf the USVI f ishery is not well

documented (Table 3), however the values reported for 1989 and 1990

averaq^^ 4.7 million (based on projected yield of all seafood

17 combined). The USVI commercial fisheries produced 1.1 million pounds worth about $1.2 million in 1976 with the majority of the yield harvested from shallower portions of the shelf areas (NOAA,

1979).

Historical catch reports are scattered and few. From 1964 to

1972, USVI fishers reported total catches per fishing trip either remaining stable or decreasing slightly, with monetary return increasing (Sylve ster and Dammann, 1972). Catch per unit effort

(CPUE) increased in the St. Croix red hind fishery from 375 grams/trip in 1985 to approximately 750 grams/trip in 1990

(Appeldoorn et al., .1992). Table 4 presents a comparison (1985 to

1990) of red hind and coney length/weight frequencies for the USVI.

Although some historic data are available, it has been dif ficult to ascertain changes in length/weight frequencies of USVI reef-fishes because sample sizes are sometimes small (e.g., 1990) or artifacts disallow comparisons (e.g., modification of mesh size).

18 Table 3. Summary of available data for USVI f inf ish fisheries 1978 1992'. NIA indicates data are not available.

FISHING PMJWTED LANDINGS (IBS) LICENSED RETAIL VALE (US$) YKAR no MAP BOOK FISHEMS (III FISMES) 1978-79 N/A N/A 281 $1,856,826 1979-80 N/A N/A 355 2,533,809 1980-81 966935 122954 421 2,712,566 1981-82 1398562 313311 578 4,690,406 1982-83 1006360 139150 454 2,915,678 1983-84 974926 2HU3 437 N/A 1984-85 914336 212396 437 N/A 1985-96 N/A NIA 536 N/A 1986-87 NIA N/A 529 N/A 1987-88 NIA N/A 523 N/A 1988-89 -N/A N/1 425 NIA 1989-90 901221 N/A 404 4,619,067 1990-91 1081783 416074 370 4,805,537 1991-92 1097559 428 1,815,819*

iData in fishing year: 1978 July 1, 1978 - June 1, 1979 *St. Croix only - reported landings source: Annual State/Federal reports submitted to MUS by USVIDFW

Pounds landed (in thousands) 2000

1500

1000

500

01 1 1 1 1 1 1 t 1 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 Fishing Year

- Projected i Reported

Figure 2. Summary of USVI landings for 1980-1991 fishing years (3uly - June). Data from annual State/Federal reports submitted to NMFS.

19 Table 4. Mean weight (grams) and length (mm) of coney (Cephalopholis fulva) and red hind (Epinephelus guttatus) as reported in biostatistical sampling for st. Thomas/st. John and st. Croix, USVI for calendar years 1985 and 1990. n values for the sample are reported in parentheses.

msiIIT ~ 1985 1990 1985 1990 SPECIES ~ ~ fulva st. Tholas 256 316 244 219 (189) (21) (189) (21)

st. croix* 208 280 230 244 (1644) (20) (1644) (20) E. gyttatus st. Tholas 642 377 335 262 (448) (15) (448) (5) st. croix* 510 759 307 339 (567) (436) (567) (21) Source: Appeldoorn et al., 1992 *The fishenan who supplied nearly all of st. croix data began lodifying his traps frol 1~" to 2" lesh in 1987, cOlpleting the conversion in 1988. Therefore shifts to larger fish indicated by the 1985 - 1990 st. croix length-frequency cOlparisons are lost probably a result of lesh change rather than an increased fish length/weight at capture.

DATA

Data were acquired for this analysis in several ways. First,

recent commercial catch reports for the USVI (1989-1991, and 1992

for st. Thomas only) were provided by the USVI Dept. of Fish and

wildlife (DFW). Second, individual commercial catch reports

submitted by fishermen were examined per year (1980-1992) and month

to determine effort for the fish trap and hook and line fishery.

These data are being computerized to build fisher summaries

regarding effort, gear utilization and compliance. Third, some

historic biostatistical data files were provided by the SEFSC as

received per cooperative agreement (State/Federal Cooperative

20 statistics Program). Finally, raw biostatistical data were entered into the Trip Interview Program (TIP). These TIP data are discussed in the following paragraph . . Data from approximately 2148 trips, entered at the Caribbean

Fishery Management Council (CFMC) under contract, were received on diskette (in TIP) and in raw hard copy form. These data underwent extensive editing, reformatting and re-entry before incorporation into the Caribbean database. Approximately 157 trips entered at the CFMC were deleted from the database as they were replicated during data entry (i.e., identical data were entered two or three times as unique trips). Once these data were uploaded, audit revealed errors were rectified via hard copy verification. Approximately 400 interviews included in the hard copy form, but not present in the computer database were entered by NMFS. Approximately 110 trips were added to the Caribbean database for

1991 - 1993 by the USVIDFW in mid-December 1993, bringing the grand total for USVI in the Caribbean database to 2630 trips. This includes commercial reef fish, ocean and coastal pelagic trips and a few private vessel interviews. Data for the 1992-93 fishing year are not yet available.

In addition, annual reports summarizing commercial catch reports (submitted to NMFS by the USVIDFW as required by State/Federal Cooperative Statistics Agreement), were utilized to determine reported and projected landings (in pounds), and the number of licensed fishermen to ascertain yield and effort. The data elements available from these reports include reported total

21 and projected total landings of all finfish in pounds, reported total and projected landings by gear in pounds, and the number of licensed fishers in the fishery (Table 3, Figure 2). Total

Caribbean catch has been projected by appropriate natural resource departments since 1974. Catches are "projected" by applying a correction factor to t he data in order to better estimate actual catch and effort (see State/Federal Commercial Fishery Statistics

Report #SF-42, 1992). Projected landings have been accepted by, the USVIDFW as a reasonable estimate of yield. Because effort data are scarce, individual catch reports were examined to determine the number of fishers in the reef-fish trap

and hook fishery (Figure 1). These commercial catch reports are

submitted by fishers to USVIDFW as required by law (1974 USVI legislation - Act 3330). Mandatory annual reporting for commercial landings was initially required, however recent legislation

mandates monthly reporting. Unfortunately the information obtained

from these reports is far from complete: no species specific

landings are available for the USVI (landings are only reported by

gear - "potfish," "hookfish," etc.) and effort data are usually absent or incomplete. No recreational or artisanal fishery data

are currently available. Two sources of fisheries dependent biological data were

available for this study: 1) Biostatistical data which sampled the lobster fishery, but included reef fishes, collected from 1983

- 1989 and 2) Data collected by USVIDFW from 1985 - 1989 (except for the 1986-87 fishing year) under the State/Federal Cooperative

22 Statistics Program between the NMFS and the USVI.

Biostatistical sampling was initiated in 1983 in the USVI as part of the State/Federal Cooperative Fisheries Statistics Program between USVI and the NNFS. objectives of State/Federal Statistics Program are to describe the commercial fisheries of the USVI, estimate the total annual landings and value of the commercial harvest, and to obtain catch and effort information along with biological data on spiny lobster and reef fishes. A specif ic intent of the program has been to obtain length and weight data on as many commercial species as possible every month of the year.

The initial goal was to obtain a stratified sample of commercial harvest by sampling catches of different gear types on a voluntary basis with cooperative fishers. Ideally the random sampling would include complete catches from most fishers on both major islands.

The biostatistical data would include length, weight and possible reproductive status of individual specimens. Information on vessel length, gear soak time, location fished, units of gear and estimated catch would also be sought.

STATUS OF THE STOCKS

Previous inquiries into the status of the red hind stock have indicated that the stock is approaching pivotal conditions. Red hind have exhibited a gradual, consistent decline in mean size at capture from 1984 to 1988 with a complete loss of the largest size class for that period (Sadovy, 1990, Beets and Friedlander, 1992).

Beets and Friedlander (1992) hypothesized spawning failure due to

23 the absence of males in the second year of their study, with an alternate hypothesis of differential recruitment. Red hind have been determined as both growth and recruitment overfished

(Stevenson, 1978; Sadovy and Figuerola, 1992). A large fraction of the potential yield of red hind in St. Thomas is taken at low levels of fishing mortality (Sadovy and Figuerola, 1992). A yield- per recruit analysis for St. Thomas red hind indicated that the current fishing 1evel is 20% greater than the theoretical optimum level as determined by the FO., criteria (Sadovy and Figuerola,

1992). It was determined that red hind yield-per-recruit could not significantly increase by increasing size at entry to the fishery at assumed fishing levels ca. 1971 - 1987 (Sadovy and Figuerola, 1992).

Coney have also exhibited a gradual, consistent decline in mean size at capture from 1984 to 1988 (Beets et al., 1990). The proportion of coney in total catches by year has demonstrated a significant decline in abundance from 1984-1989 (Beets et al.,

1990). Prior to that decline, the coney had risen to the fifth dominant fish (by weight) in landings at St. Croix, comprising greater than 6% of all fish in total catches (Beets et al., 1990). significant declines in mean length and proportion of total catch was' reported for St. Croix coney from 1984 to 1989. St. Croix coney also shifted to smaller size classes, as determined by length frequency, from 1984 to 1988 (Beets et al., 1990). Spawning stocks of protogynous species are very vulnerable to overfishing because of annual spawning aggregations. The loss of

24 large individuals in a grouper stock leads to a decline in the proportion of males and potential spawning failure. A similar trend Was observed in the late 1970's for the Nassau grouper, E. striatus, which has since become fishery extinct in the U.S.

Caribbean (Olsen and LaPlace, 1978).

DATA CONCERNS

USVI data are difficult to compare over time because data values are usually vaguely reported, therefore fishery trends are difficult to identify. "Landings" include a variety of fisheries and gears and are not always fully defined. Some landings are species specific; some are classified only by gear type. Landings are reported in fiscal, calendar and fishing year, and may not be specified. Lengths and weights are difficult to evaluate over time as they are reported in a variety of units and measures (e.g., means, medians, TL, FL) and sometimes are not designated.

Specific problems, which have been identified almost from the onset, of the biostatistical sampling program include:

1. Few fishers allow catches to be sampled

2. Complete catches are rarely sampled

3. Preferred species are usually undersampled as fishers "bag"

them before landing

4. Large individuals are sold before a sample can be taken

5. Effort data are unreliable

6. Data are entered in a variety of formats and programs,

sometimes affecting data integrity when reformatted, and

25 7. Data are, at times, unavailable thereby limiting historic databases to a relatively short (3-5 years) period, which

usually does not encompass an individuals entire lifecycle.

Special attention was exercised when analyzing the Caribbean data. It should be noted that: the commercial landings are reported by gear and are "projected," the biostatistical data are mostly from one of the three islands (i.e., St. Croix) and are mostly limited to one gear type (i.e., trap), the number of fishes

(red hind and coney) sampled is relatively low and the randomness of the data is restricted.

ACKNOWLEDGEMW1TS

Thanks are extended to Susan Gold and Laura Bishop, of the NMFS

SEFSC Miami for the countless hours and numerous meetings they endured in order to help create, verify and amend the Caribbean database. Ruth Gomez USVIDFW St. Thomas provided assistance with her knowledge of the fisheries and examining historic data. Any

Woodhead NMFS SEFSC Miami entered and verified data, an extremely

tedious chore which she gave complete attention. Nancie Cummings-

Parrack NMFS SEFSC Miami greatly improved this manuscript with her

attention, direction and review.

26 LITERATURE CITED

Appeldoorn, R., J. Beets, J. Bohnsack, S. Bolden, D. Matos, S. Meyers, A. Rosario, Y. Sadovy and W. Tobias. 1992. Shallow waterreef fish stock assessment for the U.S. Caribbean. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS:SEFSC-304. 70 pp.

Bannerot, S.P., W.W. Fox Jr., and J.E. Powers. 1987. Reproductive strategies and the management of snappers and groupers in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. Pages 561-603 in J.J. Polovina and S. Ralston, eds. Tropical snappers and groupers: biology and fisheries management. Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado. 659 pp.

Beets, J.,and A. Friedlander. 1992. Stock trends and management strategies for red hind, ERineRhelus cruttutas, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Proc. Gulf Carib. Fish. Inst. 42:66-79.

Beets, J., A. Friedlander and W. Tobias. 1990. Stock analysis of Coney, (ERineRbelus fulyus) in St. Croix, USVI. Gulf Carib. Fish. Inst. In press.

Bohnsack, J.A. 1989. Protection of grouper spawning aggregations. NOAA, NMFS, SEFSC, Miami, Florida. Contri. No. CRD-88/89-06. 08 pp- Burnett-Herkes, J. 1975. Contribution to the biology of the red hind, Epinephelus auttutas, a commercially important serranid fish from the tropical western Atlantic. Ph.D. Dissertation, Univ. of Miami, coral Gables, Florida. 154 pp.

Caribbean Fisheries Management Council. 1985. Fishery management plan. Final environmental impact review for the shallow-water reeffish fishery of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 69 pp.

Clavijo, I.E., W.J. Tobias, and C.A. Jennings. 1986. Virgin Islands Commercial Fisheries Research and Development Project. PL 88-309. Project No. 2-411-R-2. Annual Report. 15 pp.

Colin, P., D.Y. Shapiro, and D. Weiler. 1987. Aspects of the reproduction of two groupers, E. auttatus and F. striatus in the West Indies. Bull. Mar. Sci. 40:220-230.

Colin, P., and I.E. Clavijo. 1988. Spawning activity of fishes producing pelagic eggs on a shelf edge coral reef, southwestern Puerto Rico. Bull. Mar. SCi. 43(2):249-279.

Erdman, D.S. 1956. Recent records from Puerto Rico. Bull. Mar. Sci. Gulf Caribb. 6:315-340.

27 Fischer, W. (Ed.) 1978. FAO species identification sheets for f ishery purposes. Western Central Atlantic (Fishing Area 31). Volume IV, Rome.

Goodwin, M. 1988. Changing times for Caribbean fisheries. Oceanus 30(4):57-64. Heemstra, P. C. and J. E. Randall. 1993. FAO species catalogue. Val 16. Groupers of the world (Family Serranidae, Subfamily Epinephelidae). Rome, Italy. 382 p.

Luckhurst, B.E., J.A. Barnes and Y. Sadovy. 1992. Records of an unusually large red hind, Epinephelus guttatus (Pisces: Serranidae) from Bermuda with comments on its age. Bull. Mar. Sci. 51:267-270.

Manooch, C.S. 111. 1984. Fisherman's guide to the fishes of the southeastern United States. N.C. Museum of Natural History. Raleigh, North Carolina. 362 pp.

------1987. Age and growth in snappers and groupers. Pages 329- 373 in J.J. Polovina and S. Ralston, eds. Tropical snappers and groupers: biology and fisheries management. Westview Press. Boulder, Colorado. 659 pp.

Munro, J.L., V.C. Gaut, R. Thompson and P.H. Reeson. 1973. The spawning seasons of Caribbean reef fishes. J. Fish. Biol. 5:69-84.

Nagelkerken, W.D. 1979. Biology of the graysby, ERineRhelus cruentatus, of the coral reefs of Curacao. Stud. Fauna Curacao Other Carib. Isl. 60:1-118.

NOAA, NMFS, SEFC. 1979. Fishery resources of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. NOAA, NMFS, SEFC, Miami, Florida. SEFC Contri. No.79-54F. 14 pp.

Olsen, D.A. and J.A. LaPlace. 1978. A study of a Virgin Islands grouper fishery based on a breeding aggregation. Gulf Carib. Fish. Inst. 33:130-144.

Olsen, D.B. and R.S. Wood. 1983. The marine resource base for marine recreational fisheries development in the Caribbean. Proc. Gulf Carib. Fish. Inst. 35:152-160.

Ralston, S. 1987. Mortality rate of snappers and groupers. Pages 375-404 in J.J. Polovina and S. Ralston, eds. Tropical snappers and groupers: biology and fisheries management. Westview Press. Boulder, Colorado. 659 pp.

28 Sadovy, Y. 1993. Biology and fishery of the red hind in Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. Report to the Caribbean Fishery Management Council, July, 1993. 19 pp + Figures. ------1993. Spawning stock biomass per recruit: ERinephelus guttatus (Puerto Rico) . Report to the Caribbean Fishery Management Council, May 1993. 12 pp + Tables and Figures.

Sadovy, Y. and M. Figuerola. 1992. The status of the red hind fishery in Puerto Rico and St. Thomas, as determined by yield- per-recruit analysis. Proc. Gulf Carib. Fish. Inst. 42:23- 38. Sadovy, Y., Figuerola, and A. Roman. 1992. Age and growth of, the red hind in Puerto Rico and St. Thomas. Fish. Bull., U.S. 90:516-528.

Sadovy, Y., A. Rosario and A. Roman. 1994. Reproduction in an aggregating grouper, the red hind, ERineplielus guttatus. Env. Bio. Fish. In press.

Shapiro, D.Y. 1987. Reproduction in groupers. Pages 295-328 in J.J. Polovina and S. Ralston eds. 1987. Tropical snappers and groupers: biology and fisheries management. Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, 659 pp.

Shapiro, D.Y., Y. Sadovy and M.A. McGehee. 1993. size, composition, and spatial structure of the annual spawning aggregation of the red hind, ERinephelus auttatus (pisces:serranidae). Copeia 2:399-406.

Smith, C. L. 1959. Hermaphroditism in some serranid f iBhes of Bermuda. Pap. Mich. Acad. Sci. Arts Lett. 44:111-118.

Smith, C.L. 1971. A revision of the American groupers: Epinephelus and allied genera. Bull. American Museum of Nat. Hist. 146:2.

Stevenson, D.K. 1978. Management of a tropical.fish pot fishery for maximum sustainable yield. Proc. Gulf Carib. Fish. Inst. 30:95-115.

Swingle, W.E., A.E. Dammann, and J.A. Yntema- 1970. Survey of the commercial fishery of the virgin Islands of the United States. Gulf Carib. Fish. Inst. 22:110-121.

Sylvester, J.R. and A.E. Dammann. 1972. Pot fishing in the Virgin Islands. Marine Fish. Rev. 34(9-10):33-35.

29 Thompson, R. and J. L. Munro. 1974. The biology, ecology and bionomics of the hinds and groupers, Serranidae. Pages 59 - 81 in J. L. Munro (ed.) Caribbean Coral Reef Fishery Resources. ICLARM Studies and Reviews 7. International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management, Manila, Phillippines. 276 pp.

------1978. Aspects of the biology and ecology of Caribbean reef fishes: Serranidae (hinds and groupers). J. Fish. Biol. 12:115-146.

30 Appendix A. USVI red hind spawning aggregation areas which are seasonally (December I through February 28) protected from fishing.

31 'REED HIND CLOSURE THE RED. HIND SPAWNING AREA IS CLOSED FROM DECEMBER 1. 1993 THROUGH FEBRUARY 28,1994. AS SrATEDDISNALREGULAMONS OPA-NWMPWrr7MOFTFECARMEEM'^ISHERI' MANMIRMff COUNMSHA=% WAM RUFF= KS§ffRl"9WAG1%WrFLM

FISHING IS PROHIBITED WITHIN THE APPRO30MATELY 3.5 SQUARE AfILEAREA EAST OF ST CROIX ATTHEHE4DOFLANG BANK

CONNECTING THE FOLLOWING POINTS DEFINES THE BOUNDARY OF THE CLOSED AREA;

A - 179 502N, 649 27.9V B - 17' 50.1'K. 641 26.IW C - 172 491N, 644 25.81V D - 170 48.GN. 04t 25.81V E - 17* 48.1N. 64q 26.IV F - I'P 47.5N. 641 26.VW POINTS A THROUGH EDEFTNE THE 5C FATHOM DUrIH adqTCUP

ANYONE CAUGHT FISHING IN THIS AREA WILL BE CONSIDERED IN VIOLATION OF THE CLOSED AREA AND MAY BE GIVEN A FEDERAL FINE UP TO S IMOOfl OD AND ONE YEAR IN JAIL

BOUYS ALOKO LEO ATOZ MARK THE WEN.-T.R14 BOUNDARY OF TIE. CLOSM) AREA

J

C

I D

a.

L

32 I RUED HIND CLOSURE. THE RED HIND SPAWNING AREA IS CLQSED FROM DECEMBER 1. 1993 THROUGH FEBRUARY 28,1994. AS STATED IN AMMENDMENTONE OF THE CARIBBEAN ESHERY MANAMIENTOOLINCIL SHAL:.0W WATER REEF PISH FISHERY MANAODIENTFLAN

FISHING IS PROHIBITED IN THE 14 SQUARE MILE AREA SOUTH OF WESTERN ST. THOMAS.

THE FOLLOWING POINTS DEFINE THE CORNERS OF T14E CLOSED AREA; A - 19* 13.2N, 65* 06,0V B - IS' I 32N, 64,59.0'W C - I Ir I I.R'N. 6'r 59.0V D - 1 9'10.7'N. 65* 06.OV

ANYONE CAUGHT FISHING lo THIS AREA WILL BE CONS IDERED IN VIOLATION OF THE CLOSED AREA AND MAY BE GIVEN A FVqE UP TO $10U.".00 AND ONE YEAR IN JAIL,

5A VA-KA

Q. 6 SAB4 I

I - SAILRnCK I

A

RFDD KJN^

33