University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School January 2012 Fishermen, Politics, and Participation: An Ethnographic Examination of Commercial Fisheries Management in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands Cynthia Grace-Mccaskey University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the American Studies Commons, Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons, Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons, and the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons Scholar Commons Citation Grace-Mccaskey, Cynthia, "Fishermen, Politics, and Participation: An Ethnographic Examination of Commercial Fisheries Management in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands" (2012). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/4054 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Fishermen, Politics, and Participation: An Ethnographic Examination of Commercial Fisheries Management in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands by Cynthia A. Grace-McCaskey A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Anthropology College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Major Professor: Rebecca Zarger, Ph.D. Roberta Baer, Ph.D. E. Christian Wells, Ph.D. Rebecca Johns, Ph.D. Brent W. Stoffle, Ph.D. Date of Approval: April 11, 2012 Keywords: Caribbean, political ecology, natural resource management, common pool resources, small-scale fisheries Copyright © 2012, Cynthia A. Grace-McCaskey DEDICATION To the commercial fishermen of St. Croix & the rest of my “island family” ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study was made possible by funding from the PADI Foundation, the unfailing support of my husband and best friend, and the many people of St. Croix who shared their lives and experiences with me. Thank you to my committee (Dr. Rebecca Zarger, Dr. Roberta Baer, Dr. E. Christian Wells, Dr. Rebecca Johns, and Dr. Brent Stoffle) for their help and support throughout the dissertation process. Special thanks to Becky for her constant guidance, assistance, and patience, and to Brent for introducing me to St. Croix, anthropology, and the joys of fieldwork. Thank you to those involved with fisheries management in St. Croix, including the commercial fishermen, DPNR employees, FAC members, and CFMC members and staff; especially Gerson Martinez, Eddie Schuster, Tom Daley, Carlos Farchette, Barbara Kojis, Todd Gedamke, Jen Schull, and Willam Tobias. Also, thank you to the many people—especially Ed and Molly Buckley, John and Mary Ann Kelly, the rest of the staff at SCUBA, and Mitch Hennes and Robin Sterns—for making our lives in St. Croix not only financially possible but so much fun that we stayed much longer than we ever intended. I would like to thank: my husband for his constant support and for always believing in me; my parents for instilling in me the life-long joy of learning; Carylanna and Liam for their assistance as sounding boards and for always being supportive. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................ v LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ vii ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1 Significance of the Research ................................................................................... 2 A Day in the Life of a Crucian Commercial Fisher ................................................ 4 Overview of the Study ............................................................................................ 7 Contributions to Anthropology ............................................................................... 8 Structure of the Dissertation ................................................................................. 11 CHAPTER 2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: ANTHROPOLOGICAL CRITIQUES AND THE POLITICAL ECOLOGY OF FISHERIES MANAGEMENT INSTITUTIONS .......................................................................... 16 Chapter Overview ................................................................................................. 16 Fisheries Anthropology ......................................................................................... 17 Centralized Management .......................................................................... 18 Folk Management ..................................................................................... 24 Co-Management ........................................................................................ 29 Studying Current Commons and Fisheries Management Institutions .................. 33 Political Ecology of Fisheries Management Institutions ...................................... 36 Objectives of the Dissertation ............................................................................... 43 Chapter Summary ................................................................................................. 47 CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC EXAMINATION OF COMMERCIAL FISHING IN ST. CROIX .............................................................. 48 Chapter Overview ................................................................................................. 48 Selection of Research Site and Prior Research ..................................................... 48 Description of Prior Studies ...................................................................... 49 Issues of Confidentiality ....................................................................................... 51 Informed Consent...................................................................................... 51 Conducting Interviews Without Audio Recording ................................... 54 Research Design .................................................................................................... 55 Research Questions ................................................................................... 55 i Data Collection ......................................................................................... 56 Description of Stakeholder Groups and Study Participants ...................... 73 Data Analysis ............................................................................................ 83 Presentation of Data and Results .............................................................. 85 Other Considerations ............................................................................................ 86 Chapter Summary ................................................................................................. 87 CHAPTER 4 HISTORIES OF RACE, ETHNICITY, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN ST. CROIX ............................................................................ 89 Chapter Overview ................................................................................................. 89 A Note on Caribbean Anthropology ..................................................................... 90 Historical Context ................................................................................................. 91 Pre-History of St. Croix ............................................................................ 91 Colonial History ........................................................................................ 94 Post-Colonial History.............................................................................. 101 An Era of Development: 1960s to the Present .................................................... 107 Tourism ................................................................................................... 107 Manufacturing ......................................................................................... 109 Demographic Changes Since the 1960s .............................................................. 111 Ethnic Groups Today .............................................................................. 116 “Native Virgin Islander” and Politics ..................................................... 120 Linking St. Croix’s Colonial Past and Ethnicity with Fisheries Management ... 122 CHAPTER 5 THE DEVELOPMENT AND STRUCTURE OF US FISHERIES MANAGEMENT: DOCUMENTING MULTI-SCALE PERSPECTIVES IN ST. CROIX ..................................................................................................................... 124 Chapter Overview ............................................................................................... 124 Results: Findings from Archival Research and Analysis of Grey Literature ..... 125 History of US Federal Fisheries Management ........................................ 125 NMFS Approach to Fisheries Management Today: The Ecosystem Approach, Anthropology, and the Sustainable Fisheries Act ........... 135 Results: Current Structure of USVI Fisheries Management ............................... 146 Results: Findings from Analysis of Grey Literature Regarding the Structure of Territorial Fisheries Management ................................. 147