U.S. Virgin Islands

U.S. Virgin Islands The U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) is a group of 3 islands: St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix, in the Eastern Caribbean. St. Croix lies about 60 km to the south on a submerged ridge, separated from the northern Virgin Islands by the Virgin Islands Basin. St. Croix is the largest at 207 sq km with a relatively high western mountainous tip. This island has coral growth along much of the insular shelf with a well-developed barrier reef on the eastern end, and deep coral walls on the north shore. St. Thomas is the second largest at 83 sq km, and St. John is the smallest at 52 sq km. [1] Almost 600 sq km of coral reefs are found around the U.S. Virgin Islands, predominantly shallow fringing reefs that run parallel to the coastlines. [2] The Reefs at Risk analysis identifies overfishing as the main predicted threat to these reefs, with over 85 percent under high threat. Fishing is an important recreational and commercial aspect of the USVI economy, [3] and effects of intensive fishing are evident. Fisheries are close to collapse; even those inside marine protected areas are deteriorating. [4] Commercial fishing is occurring in the waters of Virgin Islands National Park and Buck Island Reef National Monument. [5] Marine-based pollution is also a significant threat, because of the many millions of visitors to the parks who arrive each year aboard cruise ships or smaller vessels. [6] Growing tourism contributes to coastal development, and wastewater disposal poses a particular problem. Intensive visitation of some reefs has also caused damage. Wastewater disposal is a chronic problem, and sewage plants on St. Thomas do not always meet secondary treatment discharge requirements. Sewer mains frequently and repeatedly fail on St. Croix, dumping raw sewage into the waters. Poor land management practices on St. John pose an increasing threat. Runoff from many unpaved roads contributes to the large amounts of sediment deposited in the coastal waters. [7] Frequent natural disturbances also take their toll on the area’s reefs-eight hurricanes have swept across the subregion since 1979. Hurricanes David (1979) and Hugo (1989) were the most destructive. Hugo caused a significant decline in total live coral cover and cover by the dominant species, and as of year 2001 there was no sign of significant recovery. [8] Diseases have ravaged corals over the last three decades, [9] and periodic bleaching episodes, particularly in 1998, have all contributed to the overall stress and degradation of reefs here. The hard coral cover is declining, and algal abundance has increased. At the Buck Island National Monument, for example, the cover dropped from 85 percent in 1976 to 5 percent in 1988 because of hurricanes and disease. [10] Buck Island Reef National Monument was established in 1961 and expanded in 1975 and 2001, and it now covers 1 sq km of land and 78 sq km of submerged lands. The Virgin Islands National Park occupies 56 percent of the 48 sq km island of St. John and 23 sq km of the surrounding waters. Although traditional fishing with traps is allowed in the park, illegal commercial fishing is occurring. [11] In 2001, the National Park Service established the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument on St. John with most of the 52 sq km MPA being a no-take and no-anchor zone, but as of 2003 the lack of published federal regulations made this MPA unenforceable. [12] St. Thomas’ Hind Bank Marine Conservation District was started in 1990 as a seasonal federal closure that protected the Red Hind spawning site. In November 1999 the closed area (41 sq km) was designated a marine reserve with all fishing and anchoring prohibited. [13] All the agencies involved in coral reef monitoring suffer from a shortage of staff, and enforcement of the regulations has been limited. [14] With respect to natural resource protection, national parks are a mixed blessing. Virgin Islands National Park attracts close to 1 million visitors a year, most of them arriving aboard cruise ships or smaller craft. A single anchor drop from a cruise ship in 1988 led to the destruction of almost 300 sq m of reef.[15] [1]D.D. Turgeon et al., The State of Coral Reef Ecosystems of the United States and Pacific Freely Associated States: 2002 (Silver Spring, MD: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2002), p. 131 [2] B. Causey et al., “Status of Coral Reefs in the US Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico,” in Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2002. C. Wilkinson, ed. (Townsville: Australian Institute of Marine Science, 2002), p. 276 [3] D.D. Turgeon et al., The State of Coral Reef Ecosystems of the United States and Pacific Freely Associated States: 2002 (Silver Spring, MD: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2002), p. 137 [4] C.S. Rogers and J. Beets. 2001. “Degradation of Marine Ecosystems and Decline of Fishery Resources in Marine Protected Areas in the US Virgin Islands.” Environmental Conservation 28(4): 312-322 [5] B. Causey et al., “Status of Coral Reefs in the US Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico,” in Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2002. C. Wilkinson, ed. (Townsville: Australian Institute of Marine Science, 2002), p. 267 [6] A.F. Smith, C.S. Rogers, and C. Bouchon. 1999. “Status of Western Atlantic Coral Reefs in the Lesser Antilles.” Proceedings of the 8th International Coral Reef Symposium, pp 351-356 [7] D.D. Turgeon et al., The State of Coral Reef Ecosystems of the United States and Pacific Freely Associated States: 2002 (Silver Spring, MD: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2002), p. 136 [8] C.S. Rogers and J. Beets. 2001. “Degradation of Marine Ecosystems and Decline of Fishery Resources in Marine Protected Areas in the US Virgin Islands.” Environmental Conservation 28(4): 312-322 [9] C.S. Rogers and J. Beets. 2001. “Degradation of Marine Ecosystems and Decline of Fishery Resources in Marine Protected Areas in the US Virgin Islands.” Environmental Conservation 28(4): 312-322 [10] B. Causey et al., “Status of Coral Reefs in the US Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico,” in Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2002. C. Wilkinson, ed. (Townsville: Australian Institute of Marine Science, 2002), p. 256 [11] B. Causey et al., “Status of Coral Reefs in the US Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico,” in Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2002. C. Wilkinson, ed. (Townsville: Australian Institute of Marine Science, 2002), p. 267 [12] B. Causey et al., “Status of Coral Reefs in the US Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico,” in Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2002. C. Wilkinson, ed. (Townsville: Australian Institute of Marine Science, 2002), p. 267 [13] B. Causey et al., “Status of Coral Reefs in the US Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico,” in Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2002. C. Wilkinson, ed. (Townsville: Australian Institute of Marine Science, 2002), p. 269 [14] B. Causey et al., “Status of Coral Reefs in the US Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico,” in Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2002. C. Wilkinson, ed. (Townsville: Australian Institute of Marine Science, 2002), p. 272 [15] A. Smith et al.. 1999. Status of western Atlantic coral reefs in the Lesser Antilles. Proc 8th International Coral Reef Symposium pp 351-356