Abstract

The St. Croix gill and trammel net fishery selectively targets large herbivorous parrotfish species, and their removal may ultimately have a substantial impact upon the health of the coral reefs. Commercial catch records show that reef fish landings by fishers using nets in St. Croix have gradually increased since 1990 and currently exceed fish trap landings. In 2002/03, 75.9% of all parrotfish landed were caught by nets, 23.6% by traps and 0.6% by other methods. A total of 43 gill and trammel net fishers and 105 nets were identified in the fishery from a 2003 commercial fisher census survey. Based on the analysis of 35 complete biostatistical samples from commercial net fishers from 1998 to 2005, the average total number of fish per sample was 295 and the average total weight of the catch was 302 pounds. Parrotfish represented 88% of the catch by weight and 82% of the catch by number. Bycatch from the fishery can be significant and includes endangered and protected sea turtle species, federally protected reef fish, small or undesirable fish species, coastal sharks and benthic invertebrates (stony corals, fire coral, gorgonians, sponges and algae). Problems exist in the net fishery from fish spoilage and wanton waste, fish dumping, and derelict nets “ghost fishing”. Recommendations have been made to ban the use of gill and trammel nets. Methods to mitigate the impacts to net fishers are addressed.

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