Abstract

Photo quadrants were undertaken on various benthic habitats within the St. Croix, US Virgin Islands Mutton Snapper Conservation Area (MSCA). The distribution and abundance of fish are known to been associated with benthic habitats and water quality. The deep reef slope was reported to have high coral cover experienced a sharp die off in the past several years and now is dominated with relic coral structures and low percent live coral cover. An underwater temperature logger was used to monitor subsurface sea water temperatures on dives from April to July 2009. It is uncertain how long mutton snapper aggregations will continue to exist in the face of an altered habitat. In 1993, the Caribbean Fishery Management Council and Virgin Islands Government declared a seasonally closed area from March 1 – June 30th to protect spawning aggregation of mutton snapper (Lutjanus analis) south of St. Croix. The management of the area was directed almost exclusively towards the extractors of the fish resource and ignored sources which have most likely contributed to the change in the habitat. Considering the association of fish communities with habitat and the decline of healthy coral reef invertebrate populations management practices that work to preserve coral habitat should be included in the MSCA management plans. As a start, we suggest that the US government cooperate with the international community this December in Copenhagen and participate in the international agreement on Global Climate Change.