An Analysis of the St. Thomas Fishery with Special Reference to the South West Roads Area

Olsen, David; McCrain, Gerald

The following report is a summary of the St. Thomas-St. John fishery with special reference to the area of Southwest Roads where a proposed project to dredge sand for construction may take place. The fishery in this area relies primarily on the use of West Indian fish traps although there is an increasing amount of lobster traps and diving for lobster. Secondary fishing methods include handline fishing for both pelagic and benthic species and some use of haul seines. Current landings of finfish from St. Thomas are in the vicinity of 1.6 million pounds while lobster landings are around 120,000 lbs. This catch appears to have been relatively stable since 1974 when the Virgin Islands government began to keep catch records. Lobster landings, on the other hand have been increasing. The catch reporting area which includes the Southwest Roads accounts for nearly 50% of the finfish landings and over 36% of the lobster landings. A survey of the fishermen who fish in Southwest Roads indicated that approximately 27.6% of the fin fish which are landed in this reporting area come from the Southwest Roads. The fishermen in the survey reported landing nearly 200% of the reported lobster landings for the entire reporting area from the Southwest Roads. Species composition of the commercial catch is very similar to the Virgin Islands ichthyofauna since Virgin Islands consumers purchase most species. This is particularly true for the trap catch. The species diversity of the trap catch is equivalent to the general figures for the area which appear in the literature. There is no apparent depression of species diversity effected by trap fishing. Other fishing methods are more selective. Seasonal trends are not pronounced within the landings. This is particularly true for the trap fishery although the hook and line and net fisheries exhibit some seasonality. The reasons may lie in the fact that, because of the many species involved, shifts in abundance and catchability may cancel and create relatively even overall catch throughout the year. The recreational fishery within Southwest Roads is relatively small and totals less than 33,000 lbs. An estimated 30 boats use the area and may spend up to 8900 person days (throughout the entire catch reporting area) .