The submerged land areas off St. John and St. Croix recently designated as national monuments by the U.S. Interior Department represent only one percent of all V.I. territorial waters and four percent of shelf areas, according to John King, superintendent of the V.I. National Park.
"It's a small area, but big enough to be significant" in reviving the fish population, he said.
King said such a rebound won't take long. It has taken only two to three years to see a measurable difference in fish populations in areas where protective measures have been implemented, he said.
He said the governors of Guam and American Samoa, where 20 percent of the submerged lands have been set aside, were singing the praises of the protected areas at a recent meeting in Washington, D.C.
King, who moved to the territory and into his position three months ago — one month before former President Bill Clinton designated 47 square miles of V.I. submerged land as national monuments — made the remarks at the monthly luncheon meeting of the League of Women Voters on Monday.
King also made it clear it would take Congressional legislation to change the parameters of the designation. He said the designation means no fishing in the waters of the Buck Island National Monument, nor in St. John's Coral Reef National Monument save for bait fishing in Hurricane Hole and hard-nose fishing on the south shore of St. John, both by permit.
There will also be no anchoring allowed, but King said moorings will be installed in both Hurricane Hole for the purpose of hurricane mitigation and also in areas within the monument on St. John's south side for recreational use.
In addressing the damage done over the years to the sensitive ecosystems of the reefs, King shocked the group by saying that according to the U.S. Customs Service, 300 to 400 pounds of coral, taken illegally, is confiscated every week.
"And that's only what they (Customs) find," he said.
Other factors such as hurricanes, reef diseases, sediment runoff from improperly managed construction, carelessly dropped fish traps and anchors, and sloppy snorkelers have all contributed to reef destruction.
In his presentation, King showed a telling photo of a Virgin Islands spear fisherman with his large catch that had appeared on the cover of a 1956 National Geographic, compared to a 1994 photo of a much smaller, meager-looking catch.
The National Park is mandated to develop and implement the management plan for the National Monuments, but has no control over the stipulations of the designation.
There are 4,458 square miles of submerged land within V.I. territorial waters.
