Abstract

A census of the commercial fishers was conducted from July 2003 and again from July 2010. They were conducted to better understand an important island livelihood and assist with effective fisheries management to ensure livelihoods for current and future generations while sustaining a rich, diverse and productive tropical marine environment. About 22.5% fewer fishers fished for shorter periods than in 2003 and the mean age of fishers had increased to about 53 years. They were more experienced in 2010 having fished over 24 years. The relatively low percentage of new entrants to the fishery was in part because of a moratorium on issuance of new licenses that had been in effect since 2001. Another regulation banning the use of trammel nets and limiting the use of gill nets was implemented in 2008 because of concern expressed by STX fishers of the impact of net fishing in conjunction with scuba on parrotfish populations. In spite of the extensive management efforts undertaken by federal and territorial agencies in the past decade, <10% of the fishers believed that fishing has improved. Fishers who considered fishing to be worse now than a decade ago, overwhelming gave overfishing fish as the prime reason. On STX, fishers ranked "too many fishers" as the second reason for fishing being worse. Fishers on STX supported some management actions, but didn't support others. For example, they largely supported the net ban but some believed that the decline in fishing was too many regulations and area and seasonal closures.