Preservation, exploitation, or conservation: effects of a trap fishery in Virgin Islands National Park

As resources continue to decline throughout the Caribbean due to numerous factors, such as exploitation and development, scientists and managers have looked for more successful management strategies to maintain and/or improve resources. One strategy which has become increasingly popular is the establishment of marine parks and reserves. This strategy has great potential for sustaining or improving the condition of resources in terms of abundance of exploited resources, species composition, and biodiversity. Proper design, statement of goals, and management are critical for success. Several problems and difficulties have been identified during evaluation of resources in Virgin Islands National Park, U.S. Virgin Islands. We have documented declines of resources due to regulated exploitation, investigated effects of trap fishing on resources of a reef, and identified some factors which are critical for consideration in design of marine park and reserves. INTRODUCTION Resources throughout the Caribbean, like most of the world, have continued to decline in response to the growing human pressure for space and food (Sadovy 1989, Richards and Bohnsack 1990). Fishery resources have particularly been targeted in the Caribbean to meet increasing demands for protein. Although many nations have attempted various management strategies to maintain supply and conserve reserves, there are few examples of success. While obviously the ultimate goal is to adopt strategies which will allow for human population control, scientists and managers continue to develop management strategies which will conserve resources and maintain biodiversity. Although few marine extinctions have been documented, there is growing concern for several exploited species, with some species becoming very scarce in fishery landings (Sadovy 1993), but also for marine biodiversity (Norse 1993, Culotta 1994). In recent years, growing support has been for development of marine parks and reserves as a conservation strategy. Scientific support of the benefits of marine parks and reserves has greatly increased (Russ and Alcala 1989, Plan Development Team 1990, Roberts and Polunin 1991, 1994, Polunin and Roberts 1993, Russ et Proceedings of the 47th Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute 265 al. 1994). However, some investigators have stressed the limitations of marine parks and reserves (DeMartini 1993, Russ et al. 1994). The immediate potential benefits, such providing a preserve for a portion of fish populations and closing spawning aggregations to avoid recruitment overfishing, are obvious and easily understood by resources users. However, other potential benefits, such as fisheries enhancement to adjacent areas due to larval dispersal and adult emigration, have not been demonstrated and may not be realized for several species (DeMartini 1993). The potential benefits of marine parks and reserves must be thoughtfully considered by scientists and managers and carefully presented to resources users in order to ensure success. Numerous factors influence community structure and productivity, especially in coral reefs systems, which must be identified and evaluated while plans and goals for marine parks and reserves are derived. Our recent investigations of the status of marine resources around the island of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, and specifically within the park boundaries around that island have yielded several valuable insights and lessons related to establishment and management of marine parks and reserves. Although the Virgin Islands National Park was established as a terrestrial and marine park in 1956, no adequate evaluation of success of the original resources management strategies has been conducted. Several long-term monitoring projects were established and can only provide a brief view of natural variation, however, some results have demonstrated alarming trends and provided important information of factors for consideration. History of scientific investigation and marine resource management in Virgin Islands National Park. Information on the marine resources and resource users in and around Virgin Islands National Park/Biosphere Reserve has grown steadily during the past two decades. Most early work conducted within the Virgin Islands National Park focused on description of resources and basic systematics and ecology of marine organisms. This included the work of John Randall and staff from University of Miami during the early 1960s (numerous publications) and investigations conducted during the Tektite Program in the 1970s Collette and Earle 1972). From 1983 to 1987, numerous investigations, funded by the US National Park Service, were conducted to map and characterize the marine and terrestrial communities of St. John and surrounding areas, to evaluate the status of known resources, and document the use of marine resources, primarily by fishermen. Most relevant studies have been synthesized in a comprehensive National Park Service report (Rogers and Teytaud 1988). Proceedings of the 47th Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute 266 Figur e 1. Locat ion of St. John U.S. Virgen Island. From Putney (1982). Proceedings of the 47th Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute 267 An excellent description of historic and existing fishing around St. John is found in Rogers and Teytaud (1988). The earliest documentation of fishing around St. John has come from archeological investigation of middens produced by native Americans prior to European colonization. These early colonists were primarily gatherers who did not appear to have well developed fishing skills. Fishing was probably limited to gleaning in wading depths. Following European colonization, small scale fishing was conducted by plantations workers, which was described by in writings of a few colonists but formal records do not exist. Fishing was conducted using a few woven traps and handlines. Following decline of the plantation era and slave emancipation, island people increased their sustenance fishing which was limited to nearshore waters using woven traps and handlines from small rowboats and sailboats. The first comprehensive documentation of the fishing industry was conducted in 1932. Fishing was extremely important to island people at this time and still conducted using traditional gear. Following World War II, the fishing sector began to use available technology which allowed for improved catches. When the tourism industry began to expand during 1950-1960, the population of the U.S. Virgin Islands greatly increased along with the demand for fisheries resources. Improved technology allowed fishermen to meet the increased demand. Older fishermen describe fish catches of this period as dominated by large groupers and snappers (deGraaf and Moore 1987). Although fishermen actively debate when fishery resources began to decline in the US Virgin Islands, nearly everyone agrees that fishery resources are in decline with most catches dominated by the herbivorous parrotfishes and surgeonfishes (Beets 1987). The decline of the preferred Nassau grouper, Epinephelus striatus, was documented in 1976 (Olsen and LaPlace 1978) and the spawning aggregation was subsequently fished to extirpation (Beets and Friedlander 1992). Additional fishery resources, including other groupers, snappers, and conch, have declined in proportion of landings or in long-term landing trends (USVI DFW annual reports). Although investigations have been conducted to document the number of resource users and the status of fishery resources around St. John (Fiedler and Jarvis 1932, Idyll and Randall 1959, Dammann 1969, 1986, Boulon 1986a,b, 1987, Boulon and Clavijo 1986, Boulon et al. 1986, Koester 1986), trends in fishery resources and the impact of park regulations have not been adequately assessed. The purpose of this investigation was to assess the trends in the fishery around St. John, to obtain information on resource users and their impact on fishery resources, and to evaluate the impact of park regulations and their effectiveness in the conservation of the natural resources of Virgin Islands National Park/Biosphere Reserve. Proceedings of the 47th Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute 268 The existing regulations covering marine resources in the Virgin Islands National Park were issued in the Federal Register in 1964 (Code of Federal Regulations Title 36, Section 7.74). These regulations only include resources within U.S. National Park Service (NPS) boundaries around the island of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands (Figure 1). Regulations on fish species are limited to 1) no spearfishing and 2) fishing only with rod or handline except that fish traps of Òconventional Virgin Islands designÓ may be used and that bait fishes may be harvested with nets no greater than 20 ft and 1 in mesh (stretch). Three species of invertebrates are regulated as follows: 1) spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) harvest is limited to two per person per day and no harvest of females with eggs, 2) conch (no species named, but reference is obviously to Strombus species) harvest is limited to two per person per day, 3) whelk (no species named, but reference is obviously to Cittarium pica) harvest is limited to one gallon per person per day. All other species are given full protection and all species, included those previously mentioned, are fully protected in Trunk Bay and other waters containing underwater signs and markers. The lack of definition of ‘conventional Virgin Islands design’ of fish traps and the lack of emphasis on enforcement of fishing regulations has resulted in extensive resource decline and increase in commercial fishing within park boundaries. Additionally, there has been no legal opinion on the meaning of ‘any limitation on customary uses of or access to such areas . for . fishing’ which was stated in the enabling legislation for the park in 1956 (70 Stat. 940). When this legislation was established, fishing in the Virgin Islands, especia