In a far less dramatic locale than the nation’s capital, where they spoke last week before a U.S. Congressional committee, St. Thomas fishermen this week expressed many of the same frustrations voiced earlier over proposed federal regulations designed to prevent overfishing.
The sparsely attended meeting at the Frenchtown Community Center was called by the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, Fish and Wildlife Division, on a proposed program to develop an improved data collection system for the territory.
The proposal—presented by Robert Trumble of Marine Resources Assessment Group, an independent consulting business currently under contract with DPNR to promoting sustainable fisheries—would require fishermen to turn in more specific data concerning the area a fish was caught, the fish’s type, and the gear used in catching it.
The fishermen listened during Trumble’s presentation. Then Julian Magras, chairman of the St. Thomas Fishermen’s Association, spoke up with the same concerns he and other local fishermen have with the federal restrictions on fishery limits and allowable catch.
The sticking point, Magras pointed out, is that the catch restrictions stem from inaccurate data.
Since 1974, V.I. fishermen have been submitting annual landing reports, in the belief that the data was being used to manage the fishery resources and was approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service Southeast Fisheries Science Center and the Caribbean Fishery Management Council.
The science center maintains that the data collected by local fishermen cannot be used for setting annual catch limits, and that reductions between 25 to 75 percent will have to be made to account for "data uncertainty."
"This is data they have been approving for the past 35 years," Magras emphasized yet again.
In a series of meetings over the past year before the council, the fishermen’s association has defended its members in the face of catch restrictions it calls "draconian."
"They should listen to the fishermen," said STFA scientist David Olsen, an opinion loudly applauded by the small group of fishermen. Olsen pointed out that the Virgin Islands isn’t the only jurisdiction having problems with the proposed regulations. "Fishermen from the northeast held a big rally last week to protest the new regulations. The rally in Gloucester, Mass., was expected to draw hundreds."
After noting that 89 percent of the shelf area under the Caribbean lies in the V.I. fishery area, Magras went on to say that any measure proposed by the Council will impact the V.I. fishing areas by a factor of almost 9-1," which, he contended, "is clearly discriminatory."
Trumble, speaking later, said, "Two things are going on right now. We don’t have the data for the Virgin Islands we need to collect. What we need is to develop a system that will work. My pitch to the fisheries," he said, "is that we have the opportunity now to develop a system that will work, and to encourage them to participate."
The deadline for the rules to go into effect is 2010. "We want to develop a grid system," Trumble said, "but the fishermen are very reluctant to work with us on that."
He said the St. Thomas fishermen won’t participate until the issue with the annual catch limits is resolved.
"As a consultant," Trumble said, "I have no say—that’s between the fishermen and the council."
Magras said a smaller grid system is unacceptable. "We don’t have the resources to do that," he said, adding, "They [the Fisheries Service] don’t understand the waters. The fish migrate. They come in closer to shore in the winter months because the water is warmer. It changes all the time."
Speaking from his Florida office Thursday, Trumble said, "I think the meetings were a valuable process. I understand the St. Thomas fishermen. I have a very clear idea of their position, and I’ve discussed that with [the fisheries service]. I hope the fishermen will send representatives to the meetings on St. Croix and in Puerto Rico."
The off-island meetings are another sticking point with the fishermen, who largely finance their own transportation. "We were supposed to get some funding from DFW (Division of Fish and Wildlife)," Magras said, "but we haven’t seen it yet."
Magras said he wished Beulah Dalmida-Smith, the newly appointed DFW commissioner, had been at the meeting so they could have addressed their concerns directly. "We haven’t met with her once since she took that post in August," he said.
Speaking from off-island this week, DPNR Commissioner Robert Mathes acknowledged that transportation funds are a problem. "The money normally available is exhausted," Mathes said. "Obviously, we have to spend the money for our staff. They are private citizens, and we’ve supported them all along. But the funding’s gone until we get a replenishment; our primary responsibility is to regulate the resource."
Speaking of DPNR funds, Magras said he has been trying for the past six weeks to get his samples inspected by a port sampler, but they don’t work on weekends. Ruth Gomez, DFW environmental specialist, said, "We just can’t get to them. No one will approve the overtime."
Magras said he and other STFA fishermen will be at the council meeting in Fajardo, Puerto Rico on Dec. 15 and 16.
"And we will be heard," Magras added.
