U.S. Virgin Islands Marine Resources and Fisheries Strategic and Comprehensive Conservation Plan 2005 UNITED STATES VIRGIN ISLANDS MARINE RESOURCES AND FISHERIES STRATEGIC AND COMPREHENSIVE CONSERVATION PLAN Division of Fish and Wildlife Department of Planning and Natural Resources U.S. Virgin Islands December 2005 U.S. Virgin Islands ii Marine Resources and Fisheries Strategic and Comprehensive Conservation Plan 2005 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The US Virgin Islands (USVI) is a territory of the United States. It lies in the northeast Caribbean and consists of four major islands, St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix, and Water Island, and about 50 cays. The USVI is endowed with many natural resources and contains examples of tropical ecosystems such as coral reefs, seagrass meadows, salt ponds, and mangrove forests. These habitats provide food and shelter for a large variety of resident marine and terrestrial life. In addition, a variety of fish and wildlife migrate through the USVI annually. These natural resources are under pressure from a variety of user groups. The marine waters are heavily fished by both recreational and commercial fishermen. Annually, thousands of tourists visit the USVI to go snorkeling and diving. Pollution is also a primary impact on the marine resources. In addition, economic development such as home and hotel construction continues to infringe on coastal environments. There have been numerous plans completed, at least to draft stage, relating to some aspect of the fisheries and marine resources in the U.S. Virgin Islands (Chapter 1). Plans have been written regarding management of specific areas, topics and issues, and species related to the fisheries and marine resources of the USVI. Some of these plans have been successfully implemented, or at least partially implemented. To date, there has been no comprehensive plan for the management of fish and wildlife resources in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Therefore, there is a need to compile such a plan. This plan also provides a forum for public input regarding the priority issues affecting USVI marine resources and fisheries, which is critical to identifying the priority issues. In July 2004, USFWS provided guidelines for writing this plan in the form of eight specific elements, and this plan was developed accordingly (Chapter II). These were the basis for the format and approach used to making this plan (Chapter II). In the USVI there are many types of marine habitats such as coral reefs, seagrass beds, algal plains, mangroves, and salt ponds (Chapter III). These are discussed separately in this document, but they are not separate and independent entities. These distinctive habitats are linked and interact with each other in a variety of ways. In addition to nutrient flows, many marine species have specific habitat requirements for each portion of their life cycle. A detailed overview of many USVI marine species was recently completed by the Caribbean Fisheries Management Council in their 2004 draft “Sustainable Fisheries Act Amendment”. This species overview is attached as Appendix 1. In addition to marine species and habitats, there are various sources of anthropogenic impacts to the marine environment. These include commercial fisheries, recreational fisheries, marine recreation, development, and pollution. An overview is provided for commercial and recreational fisheries as well as marine recreation (Chapter IV). Priority issues were identified (Chapter V) based on various user group and public opinion surveys that were recently conducted by DFW. The common perceived problems with USVI U.S. Virgin Islands iii Marine Resources and Fisheries Strategic and Comprehensive Conservation Plan 2005 marine resources and fisheries included: (1) pollution, (2) lack of enforcement, (3) gillnets, (4) overfishing, (5) traps, (6) longlines, (7) habitat degradation, and (8) lack of moorings. Species of concern were also identified (Chapter V). To focus on species with conservation concerns, species under Territorial, Federal, and National Park Service management were identified. Various external agencies such as IUCN, FishBase, NOAA Fisheries, and CFMC have also identified species of concern. These were added to the list for consideration. Strategies for addressing priority issues and species of concern were then developed (Chapter VI). User group and public input, from various opinion surveys, were used to guide this process. Common user group and public suggestions for addressing USVI marine resource problems include (1) improve enforcement, (2) more education, (3) pollution control, (4) deploy more FADs, (5) develop more artificial reefs, and (6) develop/improve boat and public access. These suggestions were the basis for the development of strategies to address priority issues and species of concern. Plans for implementing priority issue strategies and for addressing species of concern were developed (Chapter VII). The primary (lead) and cooperating (supporting) agencies for each strategy were identified. Detailed planning for implementing of each conservation strategy is left to the primary agency. In cases where DFW is the primary agency, more specific plans to implement conservation strategies are indicated. These implementation activities, especially those in which DFW is the primary agency, are subject to the availability of funds and resources. As funding opportunities for stated strategies come up, DFW will pursue funding to implement these conservation strategies. Plans for monitoring implementation strategies were then developed (Chapter VIII). Detailed planning for monitoring the implementation of strategies is left to the primary agency. In cases where DFW is the primary agency, more detailed plans for monitoring of implementation of strategies is provided. These monitoring activities, especially those in which DFW is the primary agency, are subject to the availability of funds and resources. Coupled with monitoring, is the need for assessing results, new information, or changing environments so that appropriate adjustments can be made to the conservation strategy. These feedback loops are critical to ensure that the conservation strategies are appropriate or are adjusted as necessary to ensure that objectives are addressed. This is essential for adaptive management of conservation strategies. Since development of this plan was a rather lengthy process (2 to 3 years), a decadal review and update of this plan is proposed (Chapter IX). Procedures for the decadal review of this plan are basically the same as for formulating this plan (see Chapter II). A review should also be conducted to determine the extent to which conservation strategies identified in this plan have been implemented or resolved, and have had the desired effect on the marine resources, in 10 years. Review and update of this plan in 10 years is contingent on the availability of funds and resources. U.S. Virgin Islands iv Marine Resources and Fisheries Strategic and Comprehensive Conservation Plan 2005 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page No. Executive Summary ii Table of Contents iv Figures vi Tables vii Preface viii List of Acronyms x Acknowledgements xii I INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE 1 1. Setting 1 2. Need for Conservation and Strategic Plans 4 3. Previous USVI Fisheries and Marine Resources Related Plans 5 4. Benefits of a USVI Strategic and Comprehensive Marine Resources and Fisheries Plan 8 5. Objective 9 6. References Cited 9 II APPROACH 22 1. USFWS Eight Essential Elements 22 2. Approach to Making This Plan 23 3. References Cited 31 III OVERVIEW OF HABITATS, ECOSYSTEMS, AND SPECIES 33 1. Physical Setting 33 2. Coral Reefs 36 3. Mangroves 71 4. Seagrass Beds 88 5. Salt Ponds 96 6. Algal Plains 100 7. Marine Species 102 8. References Cited 103 IV OVERVIEW OF FISHERIES AND MARINE RECREATION 132 1. Commercial Fisheries 132 2. Recreational Fisheries 147 3. Marine Recreation 154 4. References Cited 165 V IDENTIFICATION OF PRIORITY ISSUES AND SPECIES OF CONCERN 174 1. Identification of Priority Issues 173 2. Identification of Species of Conservation Concern 178 3. References Cited 189 U.S. Virgin Islands v Marine Resources and Fisheries Strategic and Comprehensive Conservation Plan 2005 Table of Contents Page No. (continued) VI CONSERVATION STRATEGIES 191 1. Strategies for Addressing Priority Issues 191 2. Strategies for Addressing Species of Greatest Conservation Concern 211 3. References Cited 217 VII PLAN IMPLEMENTATION 225 1. Implementation of Priority Issue Conservation Strategies 225 2. Implementation of Species of Concern Conservation Strategies 225 VIII PLANS TO MONITOR IMPLEMENTATION OF CONSERVATION STRATEGIES 244 1. Plans to Monitor Priority Issue Strategies 244 2. Plans to Monitor Species of Concern Strategies 244 3. Adjusting and Adaptive Conservation Strategies Based on Feed Back 262 from Monitoring 4. References Cited 264 IX DECADAL REVIEW AND UPDATE OF THIS PLAN 262 1. Review Period 262 2. Decadal Review Procedures 262 3. Review the Success in Implementation of this Plan 263 4. Resources for Conducting the Review 263 APPENDICES 1. MARINE SPECIES OVERVIEW 268 A. Reef Fish 268 B. Invertebrates 373 C. Other Species 386 D. References 419 2 U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS MARINE HABITAT MAPS 443 A. Marine Habitat Maps of St. Thomas/St. John 443 B. Marine Habitat Maps of St. Croix 469 3 SUMMARY OF MARINE RESOURCE AND FISHERIES REGULATIONS 500 A. Territorial Regulations 500 B. Federal Regulations 506 4 DRAFT PLAN REVIEW COMMENTS 513 5 PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS AND PUBLIC MEETINGS 540 U.S. Virgin Islands vi Marine Resources and Fisheries Strategic and Comprehensive Conservation Plan 2005 Figures Figure Description Page Figure I-1 Map showing the location of the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. 1 Figure I-2 Map of the Virgin Islands. 1 Figure I-3 Regional APC map for St. Thomas and St. John. 5 Figure I-4 Regional APC map for St. Croix. 6 Figure III-1 Map of the U.S. Virgin Islands. 34 Figure IV-1 USVI total number of licensed commercial fishers per year for 140 1973/74 to 2002/03 fishing years. Figure IV-2 St. Thomas/St. John and St. Croix number of licensed commercial 141 fishers per year for 1984/85 to 2002/2003 fishing years with linear trend lines.