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Data from in situ Observations of Fish Traps Set by Fishermen in St. John Waters, U.S. Virgin Islands, 1992-94

Virginia H. Garrison¹, Jim Beets², Alan M. Friedlander³, and Steven Canty⁴

¹ U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg, FL 33701
² University of Hawaii, Hilo, HI 96720
³ University of Hawaii and U.S. Geological Survey, Honolulu, HI 96813
⁴ Centro de Ecologia Marina, Tegucigalpa MDC, Honduras

U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Geological Survey
St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
Southeast Ecological Science Center

Publications are available from USGS Information Services, Box 25286, Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225-0046 (telephone 1-888-ASK-USGS; email: infoservices@usgs.gov).

Page Contents:

Information Statement
Project Description
Limitations on Use
Methods
References Cited
Acknowledgments
Suggested Citation
Acronyms and Abbreviations
Metadata File
Data File

Information Statement

This dataset publication was prepared by an agency of the United States Government. Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the U.S. Geological Survey, no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data on any other system, nor shall the act of distribution imply any such warranty. The U.S. Geological Survey shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and (or) contained herein. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof.

Project Description

Fishing is allowed in the marine waters of Virgin Island National Park (VINP; St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands [USVI]). Specifically, the park enabling legislation allows for “customary” uses of park waters for fishing, including use of traps of “conventional” USVI design. The most commonly used gears in the park are traps, and hook and line (Randall, 1961). Commercial fishing, spearfishing, gill netting, and placement of traps within Trunk Bay are not allowed, and mesh size and cast net dimensions are regulated (Code of Federal Regulations). Territorial fishing regulations apply concurrently with Federal regulations in park waters (for example, fish trap permits, operational biodegradable panel, minimum mesh size, and buoy colors). Since the early 1960s, reports have consistently documented declines in the abundance and size of many fish species in the USVI (for example, Randall 1961; Dammann, 1969; Olsen and Laplace, 1978). Information on the fishery within park waters was scarce and trap fishers were not forthcoming with information on catch, trap type, and construction, or habitat and locations fished. As a result, prior to this study, no reliable data existed on the species, lengths, and numbers of fishes trapped in and removed from the park. In order to estimate (1) the trapping pressure within park waters, (2) the effect of fish traps on park marine resources (both fish and habitats), and (3) the effectiveness of park regulations in protecting marine resources, traps set by fishers were visually observed in situ in 1992, 1993, and 1994, around St. John, within and outside of park waters.

Limitations on Use

Any use of this dataset should acknowledge the U.S. Geological Survey as originator.

Methods

Sites

Figure 1. Approximate location of traps censused around St. John by year. (from Garrison and others, 2004). - click to enlarge

All buoyed fish traps within 2 kilometers (km) of the island of St. John and within the boundaries of the U.S. Virgin Islands (fig.1; Garrison and others, 2004) were visually observed in situ using scuba gear (fig. 2). Observations were made over seven consecutive days in November 1992, July 1993, and August 1994. The extent of the censused shelf area south of the island was constrained by weather and safe scuba diving depths. Five habitat types were identified in the area where traps were set around St. John: scleractinian coral reef, gorgonian hard-bottom, algal plain, sea grass beds, and nonliving substrate (sand, rock, and so forth). A description of these habitats is provided in Garrison and others (1998, 2004).

Censusing

Figure 2. Diver censusing fish trap set on reef. - click to enlarge

A total of 1,340 individuals (56 species and 23 families) were identified and their lengths estimated for the 211 of 285 visually censused traps that contained fish (Garrison and others, 1998). Complete data exist for 285 of the 295 traps censused (1992, 52 traps; 1993, 148 traps; and 1994, 95 traps). Missing data are represented as “-99” in the provided dataset.

Garrison and others (1998, 2004) provide results, analyses, and interpretation of the dataset included in this report.

References Cited

Bohnsack, J.A., and Harper, D.E., 1988, Length-weight relationships of selected marine reef fishes from the southeastern United States and the Caribbean: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Technical Memorandum, NMFS-SEFC-215 Miami, 31 p., accessed September 2011 at http://www.sefsc.noaa.gov/docs/NOAA_TechMemo_NMFS-SEFC-215.pdf.

Code of Federal Regulations Title 36, Section 7.74., U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington D.C.

Dammann, A.E., 1969, Special Report, the Study of the Fisheries potential of the Virgin Islands: Virgin Islands Ecological Research Station Contribution 1, 197 p.

Garrison, V.H., Rogers, C.S., and Beets, J., 1998, Of reef fishes, overfishing and in situ observations of fish traps in St. John, USVI: Revista Biologia Tropical, v. 46, Supplement 5, p. 41-59.

Garrison, V.H., Rogers, C.S., Beets, J., and Friedlander, A.M., 2004, The habitats exploited and the species trapped in a Caribbean island fishery: Environmental Biology of Fishes, v. 71, p. 247-260.

Olsen, D.A., Dammann, A.E., LaPlace, J.A., 1978, Mesh selectivity of West Indian fish traps: Marine Fishery Review, v. 40, p. 15-16.

Olsen, D.A., and LaPlace, J.A., 1978, A study of a Virgin Islands grouper fishery based on a breeding aggregation: Proceedings of the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute, v. 31, p. 130-144.

Randall, J.E., 1961, Tagging reef fishes in the Virgin Islands: Proceedings of the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute, v. 14, p. 201-241.

Randall, J.E., 1963, An analysis of the fish populations of artificial and natural reefs in the Virgin Islands: Caribbean Journal of Science, v. 3, p. 31-47.

Randall, J.E., 1967, Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies: Studies in Tropical Oceanography, v. 5, p. 665-847.

Randall, J.E., 1968, Caribbean reef fishes: Hong Kong, T.F.H. Publications, 319 p.

Wolff, N.M., Grober-Dunsmore, R., Rogers, C.S., and Beets, J., 1999, A comparison of fish trap catch rates in coral reef and octocoral habitats: Environmental Biology of Fishes, v. 55, p. 81-90.

Acknowledgments

This study was funded by a cooperative agreement between the U.S. Geological Survey and National Park Service. Special thanks to Caroline Rogers for securing funding for the project and for many hours of discussion, to Giglia Beretta and Caroline Koenings who assisted in the pioneer dives on traps, spending many hours on and in the water, and to John Garrison, Rikki Grober-Dunsmore, Joe Kimmel, Ellen Link and Nick Wolff, for assisting with censusing traps. Special thanks to Ruth Gomez for generously sharing her wealth of knowledge regarding the USVI fishery.

Suggested citation:

Garrison, V.H., Beets, J., Friedlander, A.M., and Canty, S., 2011, Data from in situ Observations of Fish Traps Set by Fishermen in St. John Waters, U.S. Virgin Islands, 1992-94: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 642, [https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/642]

Acronyms and Abbreviations

Metadata File

St_John_1992_94_fish_trap_metadata.txt

Data File

St_John_1992_94_fish_trap_data.xlsx

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