The lawyer representing accused cop killer Richardson Dangleben, Jr. says expert witnesses are needed to ensure a fair trial. (Photo courtesy VIPD)
The lawyer representing accused gunman Richardson Dangleben Jr. is asking the court for more time to submit expert disclosures ahead of trial. Expert disclosures were supposed to be turned in by Aug. 5.
Dangleben is accused of fatally shooting Police Detective Delberth Phipps Jr. in Hospital Ground on July 4, 2023. A request to extend the deadline for expert disclosures was filed Monday by Federal Public Defender Matthew Campbell. Campbell told the court that five expert witnesses have been retained to help with pre-trial preparations.
Three of the five have completed their disclosures; two have requested additional reports or evidence before completing their tasks, Campbell said. “Completion of that consultation is necessary in order to formulate an effective defense to the serious charges Mr. Dangleben faces,” his lawyer said.
Areas where the defense deems expert review necessary include DNA evidence, firearms evidence, and chain of custody evidence; photographic evidence is also being given extra scrutiny, as is the evidence produced by the medical examiner.
Campbell is asking for a 90-day extension. Meanwhile, Superior Court Judge Denise Francois has set Aug. 20 as the final pre-trial conference in a second 2023 murder case where Dangelben is also the defendant.
Phipps’ accused killer is also charged with the fatal shooting of 68-year-old Keith Alfonso on Feb. 24, 2023. The Aug. 20 hearing before Francois was rescheduled from June 13.
There has been no indication about which of the murder trials will be first to proceed. If convicted of either or both offenses, the defendant faces life imprisonment.
Government department officials conduct a walkthrough of classrooms at Juanita Gardine Elementary School. (Screenshot from VIDE YouTube video)
The Virgin Islands Education Department (VIDE) is committed to transparency and keeping the community informed about the condition and readiness of all school campuses. To fulfill this commitment, VIDE has posted videos of the annual opening walk-throughs of each school campus on St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix. These videos are accessible for viewing on the department’s official YouTube page.
These walk-throughs, held in preparation for the 2024-2025 school year, involved key inspection agencies, including the Health Department, Department of Planning and Natural Resources, Public Works Department, and Fire and Emergency Medical Services. Their participation was crucial to ensuring comprehensive inspections. Additionally, members of the Virgin Islands Board of Education, St. Croix Coalition, and various school PTA representatives were in attendance to observe and provide feedback, according to the press release.
Each walk-through was led by the district maintenance directors, who provided critical updates on action plans and next steps for each school site. The inspection process is thorough, requiring each school to be evaluated to ensure compliance with safety and operational standards. The VIDE is currently awaiting detailed reports from each agency, which will include findings, recommendations, and necessary approvals for each school’s opening, the press release stated.
The VIDE remains committed to completing all school repairs, ranging from minor fixes to significant campus projects. Ongoing maintenance efforts are in place to guarantee that all campuses offer safe and conducive environments for faculty, staff, and students. The department acknowledges that while some maintenance work remains at various school sites, it continues to be a priority. Parents, students, faculty, and staff can rest assured that maintenance teams are fully aware of each school’s needs and are diligently progressing on all projects and necessary work, it said.
VIDE is pleased to confirm that all school sites will be ready to welcome back students, faculty, and staff on Monday, Aug. 5.
For more information and to view the walk-through videos, please click here.
Cyclists who participated in the Buddhoe & Beyond Road Race on St. Croix in July. (Photo courtesy U.S. Virgin Islands Cycling Federation Facebook page)
For the first time, the Virgin Islands Cycling Federation will be hosting their “Rock City Road Race,” where cyclists will have the opportunity to earn cash prizes for completing a minimum six-mile course.
The VI Cycling Federation has existed for about 28 years, operating out of St. Croix. They have hosted many races on the big island, with participants from all over the territory and the British Virgin Islands competing. This coming Sunday, the Rock City Road Race competition will have a similar turnout.
“In the past, there’ve been discussions about doing a race over there, and once I became president, we stopped the talking, just got it done, we put it on the schedule and just made it happen,” said the federation’s current president, Mervin Mills. “We have cyclists over there and we just wanted to do something different. St Thomas comes over and supports us so we need to go over there and get it done over there, not always they coming over to take part in our race, which is still the Virgin Islands race, but we like different terrains, different features, a different venue.”
This year, the VI Cycling Federation will give out $2,500 worth of prizes. The races will begin at 6 a.m. and will occur between Yacht Haven Grande and Crown Bay. The shortest race is for the junior cyclists. It is a 12-mile race beginning at Yacht Haven Grande, goes to Crown Bay, and returns to Yacht Haven to complete the six miles. The Women’s and Master’s races will be 18 miles, the Sport race will be 24 miles, the Expert race will be 32 miles, and the Elite race will be 48 miles.
“We were trying to do two races over there but we ran into a couple little snags, but this one is happening, that’s the good thing,” said Mills.
With the work of his team, Mills said that they were able to provide the opportunity for cyclists to compete on St. Thomas. He anticipates between 25 to 30 cyclists competing for this tournament.
“St. Thomas can be a little bit challenging with some of the logistics, and I know the amount of cars on the road, and getting a good time to do it,” said Mills. “Hopefully future wise, for next year, we definitely going have two races on St. Thomas. That is the goal and that is what we will make happen.”
Mills added that once the organization can “recon the route” they can look for other areas on St. Thomas to host races.
The VI Cycling Federation has a schedule of races in which cyclists can compete in the territory. For more information about the organization or to get more information about the Rock City Road Race, contact 340-643-5050.
Race day registration will take place between 5:15 a.m. to 5:45 a.m. on race day Sunday. The registration fee is $5 for VI Cycling Federation members and $10 for non-members. Helmets must be worn for all races.
ISV Brielle Nestor spikes the ball in her match against Curacao at the CAZOVA 19U Volleyball Championships. (Photo by Sean Morrison)
The United States Virgin Islands girls dominated Curacao Monday, securing their spot in the semi-finals at the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association’s (CAZOVA) 19U Volleyball Championships in Spanish Town, Jamaica.
The first set was nip and tuck, with ISV nursing a slim 8-7 lead. Then Vernecia Caines totally took over the game, starting with a powerful kill from her outside position. She then stepped into the serving box and served the next 13 points, including four aces, three digs, and a kill from the back row. ISV won that set 25-12. Things did not get much better in the final two games as Curacao surrendered 15 aces in the match. ISV won those final frames 25-10 and 25-12. Jayden Gorman led ISV in scoring with eight kills and six aces. Mya Brown missed the first match due to illness, but she made her present felt in this win hamming out six kills for the winners.
The U.S. Virgin Islands boys fought hard but dropped a five-set marathon match 25-23, 22-25, 26-24, 25-20, 11-15 to the host Jamaica. As the close scores indicate, this match had the entire gym on pins and needles until the end. The match started great for ISV, with Team Captain Gabriel Rosa serving the first four points of the set. Jamaica came back and kept the game close, tying the score at 22-22. Jared Brown came through with one of his 14 kills and Rosa served the final two points of the set. Jamaica won the second set and was on the verge of winning the third, holding a 24-21 lead. ISV skywalker Logan Rogers jump served the next five points, including two aces, winning that pivotal set for USVI. However, the boys from America’s paradise could not hold on and lost the match in five sets.
ISV Logan Rogers spikes the ball in his match against Jamaica at the CAZOVA 19U Volleyball Championships (Photo by Sean Morrison)
The girls have a three-day break before they play their semifinal match on Friday. The boys will play in the quarter-finals on Wednesday. Both teams’ opponents have yet to be determined.
Nicholas D’Amour of St. Thomas practices at the archery venue at the Esplanade des Invalides in Paris, France. (Photo by Kevin D’Amour)
Archer Nicholas D’Amour of St. Thomas faced off against Fumiya Saito of Japan in the men’s individual foil 1/32 elimination round Tuesday at the 2024 Paris Games.
In a close match, Saito prevailed over D’Amour 6-4 to advance to the 1/16 elimination round. D’Amour, who also competed in the 2020 Tokyo Games, qualified for his second Olympic berth at the Americas Continental Qualifiers in Medellin, Colombia, in April.
D’Amour, 22, is joined at the Olympics by fellow Virgin Islands athletes Eduardo Garcia in the marathon; Kruz Schembri in fencing; and Max Wilson and Natalia Kuipers in swimming.
Garcia, 31, whose father hails from St. Croix, will be the last Virgin Islands athlete to compete when he laces up for the men’s marathon on Aug. 10, which will start at 2 a.m. Atlantic time. He qualified for the Games at the half marathon in Istanbul, Turkey, in April, with a time of 1:03.53 — a Virgin Islands record — that earned him a “universality place.”
Schembri, 17, of St. Croix became the first fencer from the territory to compete in the Olympics in 40 years when he faced off against Blake Broszus of Canada on Monday in the men’s individual foil. The final score was 15-8 for Broszus.
Kuipers, 22, finished fourth in her heat and 20th overall at the women’s 400m freestyle swim on Saturday with a time of 4:33.46. While she didn’t make it to the finals, Kuipers bested her time from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she finished in 4:39.42.
Meanwhile, Wilson finished first in his heat in the men’s 100m backstroke on Sunday with a time of 54.49. While it wasn’t enough to advance to the semifinals, with Wilson ultimately ranking 27th out of a field of 46, the 20-year-old bested his qualifying time of 56.65 at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
Viewers here at home can follow the athletes on NBC, and at the official site of the Paris Games. The closing ceremony will take place starting at 3 p.m. Atlantic time on Aug. 11, when the torch will be passed to Los Angeles, host of the 2028 Olympics.
Acting police Commissioner Mario M. Brooks said new software could reduce wild overtime payouts. (Photos by Alvin Burke JR., Mario Fonseca, Jamal Potter and Barry Leerdam, Legislature of the Virgin Islands)
A St. Croix bicycle cop is the U.S. Virgin Islands’ second-best-paid public employee, according to government records.
Sgt. Ricky Hernandez, the Christiansted Bike Patrol commander, had a base salary of $76,055.24 in 2023. But by working overtime at a rate of up to twice his normal pay, Hernandez peddled his way into $242,107.83 in overtime for a total take-home pay of at least $318,163 before taxes — more than 4.1 times his base pay.
When employer-paid benefits and a miscellaneous “other pay” category are added, VIPD paid the veteran officer more than $387,433 in 2023, according to government records.
It was not a one-time occurrence, and he is not alone.
Nine of the 15 best paid U.S. Virgin Islands government employees are police officers, another is a corrections officer with a base pay of $51,755.58 who did more than $137,249 worth of overtime in 2023, according to the government’s Open Finance website.
Scheduling practices at the understaffed police department allow some officers to triple their salaries in overtime alone. While a glut of money goes to a few police employees, the department has 62 vacant positions, some funded at only 50 percent, according to a report from the Virgin Islands Legislature.
Acting Commissioner Mario M. Brooks acknowledged the problem at the Senate’s Committee on Budget, Finance, and Appropriations Monday and said VIPD was working to onboard new scheduling software that would minimize overtime by advising which officers had met their work quota and which had not.
“We know this is where we are failing,” Brooks said. “We do have some senior personnel in the department that have six figures in their salary and they’re doing overtime. Let’s call it what it is. These are things that we need to address. We do recognize.”
Vast overtime allotments for an officer making $45,000 a year are potentially justifiable, Brooks said. But that should change for a lieutenant or a captain who’s making $105,000 or $110,000 who works the same amount of overtime.
“The difference is, that captain or that lieutenant, that salary could pay for maybe two or three additional officers,” he said.
Despite Brook’s sentiment, almost all of the 18 police officers on the list of the territory’s 30 best-paid public employees have a base salary of less than $60,000.
Government contracts with the union Law Enforcement Supervisors’ Union, which represents senior police officials as well as the Bureau of Corrections, allow for time-and-a-half overtime past eight hours a day and double-pay for more than 48 hours a week.
If an officer worked a 40-hour week of three 12-hour shifts and one four-hour shift, they would receive 12 hours of overtime — four hours for each day they worked more than eight hours. Each hour after 48 hours would be double pay.
In response to a question from Sen. Marvin Blyden, Brooks said VIPD expended $23 million in overtime payments and so far the department had paid out $17 million in 2024 for overtime. Brooks said VIPD uses federal grants to pay overtime, which seemed to rankle Sen. Kenneth Gittens, who said how the overtime was paid was not the root of the problem.
Committee chairperson Sen. Donna Frett-Gregory said the police department needed to figure out its scheduling or submit suggested legislation to remove the eight-hour overtime rule for regularly scheduled shifts.
“We can’t expect folks to work 12-hour shifts every day,” Frett-Gregory said.
Union negotiations with the Police Benevolent Association, which represents so-called rank-and-file officers, are scheduled for the third week of November. Negotiations for the Supervisors’ Union are scheduled for the second week of December.
Representatives of the Law Enforcement Supervisors’ Union and the Virgin Islands Police Department did not respond to multiple requests to clarify what was meant by “other pay” in payroll files.
Lt. Kim Steele, for example, had a base pay of $87,711 in 2023 but collected $120,670 in overtime and $21,127 in other pay. So far in 2024, the veteran VIPD officer has been paid $62,825 in salary, $77,340 in overtime, and collected $96,397 in other pay. This puts Steele third on the list of best-paid V.I. government employees so far in 2024.
The territory’s best-paid public employee draws almost all his earnings from the other pay category. How or why Carlos Ayolo has drawn nearly $293,994 in other pay as well as $60,573 in employer-paid benefits so far in 2024 remains a mystery. But the USVI had spent $354,568 on the St. Croix environmental enforcement officer for the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, Health Department, and Licensing and Consumer Affairs Department as of July 29, according to government records. Personnel Department records online list him making nothing.
Ayolo was charged with rape, assault, and other crimes in 2019. According to an article in the Daily News, Ayolo allegedly used his service weapon to silence his victim. Charges were quietly dropped in June 2020.
Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. asked the Legislature to appropriate $74,360,767 to the Virgin Islands Police Department for fiscal year 2025. The budget breakdown is as follows: $40,662,452 for personnel, $15,151,536 for fringe benefits, $4,486,641 for supplies, $11,941,822 for other services, $2,111,316 for utilities, and $7,000 for capital outlays. VIPD would also receive $405,355 from the Peace Officers Standards and Training Fund, $3,000,000 from the Tourism Advertising Revolving Fund, and $6,716,242 from federal funds.
VIPD has long struggled with its overtime accrual. In August 2017, the department hoped to cap overtime at $4 million in fiscal year 2018, but by then in fiscal year 2017 had already expended $10.4 million in overtime. s
Daryl Jaschen, VITEMA director, talks about sandbags available to residents this week. (Photo courtesy V.I. Government Facebook live stream)
Two tropical waves are trying to form in the Caribbean and dry air, Saharan dust or an upper low system could prevent a storm or delay the development, government officials alerted Virgin Islanders at Monday’s Government House press briefing.
“Right now there’s a tropical wave, a normal tropical wave moving across the Atlantic towards the Leeward Islands and the Greater Antilles. It’s called an area of disturbance over the central tropic Atlantic Ocean. It’s expected to interact with an approaching tropical wave in the next couple of days. We anticipate it coming to our neck of the woods, so to speak, probably Wednesday night, Thursday. According to the National Weather Service in Puerto Rico, it will be primarily a rain and wind event. We’re expecting two to four inches of rain,” Daryl Jaschen, executive director of the V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency, said. “It won’t be anything other than a rain event.
Jaschen said the Emergency Operations Center, comprising government agencies, is paying attention. Businesses are being informed of upcoming bad weather and information has been dispersed on the radio and through the National Weather Services and FEMA.
In anticipation of the peak of hurricane season, St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John residents were able to pick up sandbags last weekend through the Emergency Center’s Blue Skies program. Water Island residents will receive sandbags on Saturday at the Community Fire Station. Jaschen said more than 3,000 sandbags have been distributed and should be placed in front of a door to stop wind-driven rain.
Jaschen said the EOC is planning another distribution of sandbags, delivering six each to the elderly and those with disabilities on St. Croix and St. Thomas/St. John this week. Residents seeking delivery must call Monday or Tuesday to request drop-off service. Residents on St. Thomas/St. John can call 340-715-6935 and 340-715-6825 on St. Croix. They hope to begin distribution Friday and Saturday between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. The Americans with Disabilities Act office also will take reservations at 340-998-3571. Those who have already received sandbags are not eligible for more, he added.
“Any future events that may come up, we’re going to have sandbag distribution based on a known cyclone threat to the territory, with notices going out through VITEMA’s alert messaging,” he said.
The current weather map shows this week’s weather forecast from the National Hurricane Center. (Photo courtesy V.I. Government Facebook live stream)
Both Jaschen and Richard Motta, Government House Communications director, stressed the importance for residents to sign up for the VITEMA alerts on the website.
Motta announced that Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. has appointed Kevin Williams as the new chief of staff, replacing Karl Knight, who was named chief executive officer last week of the V.I. Water and Power Authority. Williams has had a long career with the V.I. government, including as a policy advisor for Bryan. He earned several degrees at the University of the Virgin Islands, Motta added. Finance Commissioner Kevin McCurdy will assume the role of Incident Commander for the Energy State of Emergency.
The director also said Bryan plans to have $5 million in tax refunds mailed this week for 1,745 taxpayers who filed by May 19, 2022.
“This action reflects our ongoing dedication to ensuring that the people of the Virgin Islands receive what is rightfully theirs in a timely manner,” Motta said. “We understand the importance of these funds to you and your families, and we are working diligently to process refunds as efficiently as possible.”
The Virgin Islands has been awarded a $69 million grant, Motta announced, on behalf of the governor and Commissioner Jean-Pierre Oriol of the Department of Planning and Natural Resources from the U.S. Climate Resilience Regional Challenge.
The grant includes pursuing nature-based solutions guided by the community in areas including Watershed and Coastal Improvement Plans, climate-resilient land conservation and park development and education and workforce.
“This funding will start in October and will help make the territory more resilient to climate change and coastal hazards. It comes from the Biden-Harris Administration Climate Resilience Regional Challenge, which is a $575 million program,” Motta said.
With the grant, five new positions will be created at DPNR, 24 full-time positions with five community partner organizations, and paid training opportunities and internships for at least 100 Virgin Islanders, according to Oriol.
Outgoing University of the Virgin Islands President David Hall said goodbye Monday with a plea to adequately fund the university. (Photos by Alvin Burke JR., Mario Fonseca, Jamal Potter and Barry Leerdam, Legislature of the Virgin Islands)
University of the Virgin Islands alumni gave to the school at a rate of 12 percent last year, surpassing the national average of less than 8 percent for U.S. higher education institutions, university President David Hall said Monday.
Hall hailed the giving spirit of former students.
“This achievement underscores the profound impact of our alumni’s generosity and we are committed to building on this momentum and strengthening alumni engagement,” he told the Senate’s Committee on Budget, Finance, and Appropriations.
The institution may need much more.
Gov. Albert Bryan’s proposed budget for UVI in fiscal year 2025 calls for a $2 million reduction that would translate into hiring freezes and all-around budget reductions, school officials said Monday.
Hall, at the helm of UVI for 15 years, said Wednesday was his last day as president. He recalled many times when the university rose to meet requests from the Legislature, as well as times the Legislature helped fund the university beyond governors’ budget requests. He asked the Senate to fund planned pay increases and continue the level of instruction that had poured much-needed nurses and other skilled workers into the territory’s shallow labor pool.
The university itself had 59 vacant positions, said Nereida Washington, the university’s vice president for administration and finance.
Reducing the budget now would unfairly burden incoming President Safiya George, Hall said.
“Without your support, she will be saddled with commencing her presidency during a major budget reduction that units will have to absorb and not being able to fulfill a salary increase expectation that our faculty and others expect,” Hall said. “She doesn’t need a $2 million reduction in our operating budget tying her hands as she begins her illustrious career.”
Hall said many senior employees feel their areas of the university were understaffed. Faculty deserve promised pay increases, as do staff. Underpaying employees would lead to more vacancies.
“We have gone through this many many times and it always hurts in terms of our ability to deliver,” Hall said.
The university planned a much-needed seven percent increase in tuition, Hall said. But that new revenue would be offset by likely reductions from the university’s foundation and increases in costs from property insurance and GERS contributions.
“If you have a half million or $400,000 increase but a $2.2 million budget decrease, that doesn’t work,” Hall said. In fiscal year 2024 — which is Oct. 1, 2023, through Sept. 30, 2024 — the university estimated $11,965,699 of its $51,166,352 budget would come from tuition and associated fees.
The university planned to unveil its new Medical School Classroom Building and Biomedical Research Laboratory Tuesday, Hall said, calling it an “ambitious and transformative project.”
With the physical structure in place, Hall said the next step was finding long-term funding in order to gain accreditation for the medical school.
Hall said he planned to take some time off and then come back to teach a Ph.D. program in leadership.
Kevin A. Williams Sr. has been appointed chief of staff to Gov. Albert Bryan Jr., Government House announced Monday.
Williams joined the Bryan-Roach Administration in October 2023 as chief policy advisor. As chief policy advisor, Williams oversaw all policy clusters and the administration’s response to the water and energy crises. He succeeds Karl Knight, who previously served as Bryan’s chief of staff, according to the press release.
Williams is a proud product of the Virgin Islands public schools. He attended Alexander Henderson Elementary School, Arthur A. Richards Jr. High and graduated from St. Croix Central High School in 1991, the press release stated.
Williams graduated magna cum laude from Alabama State University in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems and, in 2000, obtained a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of the Virgin Islands, the release stated.
Upon returning to the Virgin Islands after receiving his bachelor’s degree, Williams entered the workforce as a computer support technician at the then Territorial Court of the Virgin Islands. In six short years, he rose to the level of director of Information Technology at the age of 26. During his tenure, Williams was instrumental in transitioning the court system from a manual process to being on the leading edge of technology in the Virgin Islands, it said.
His success at what is now the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands led Williams to be tapped as deputy administrative director of Technology Services at the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands. In this position, Williams’ project management experience was instrumental in implementing public access to court cases, e-filing, online payments, live streaming of court cases, and the first high-tech courtroom in the Virgin Islands, according to the release.
In September 2018, Williams served as assistant administrator of Courts for the entire Virgin Islands judicial branch, with management responsibilities for human resources, facility management, and information technology, it said.
As a former member of Generation Now, Inc. and former president and team manager of the Elmo Plaskett West Little League, Williams strives to remain part of the St. Croix community. He is an avid cycler as a member of the Mango Tree Riders and the Virgin Islands Cycling Federation, it said.
Lionfish Derby, which proved beneficial on St. Croix, will be brought to St. Thomas and St. John. (Shutterstock image)
The Caribbean Oceanic Restoration and Education Foundation (CORE) presents the first-ever Lionfish Derby to occur in the St. Thomas-St. John district beginning on Aug. 16 – 18, with fishing taking place on Saturday, Aug. 17, from 6 a.m. – 4 p.m.
CORE, a nonprofit organization established in the Virgin Islands in 2010, works to protect and preserve the marine and coral ecosystems across the Virgin Islands through various initiatives, including beach clean-ups, coral treatments, and coral growing operations. They also worked in partnership with other organizations to advocate for the exclusive use of mineral-based sunscreens in the territory after seeing how the oxybenzone sunscreens were degrading coral health. Additionally, CORE also works to reduce the populations of invasive species, like the lionfish with regularly scheduled hunts throughout the year.
Matthew Sims, the Education and Outreach director for CORE, believes that the growing lionfish population is creating hazardous effects on the health of our coral reefs and vulnerable fish species.
“Lionfish are native to Indo-Pacific waters where their natural predators such as groupers, eels, and sharks have evolved over time to recognize their patterns as prey. Their reproductive rate is very very high. Every year each female reproduces about 2 million eggs. They have a voracious appetite and eat anything indiscriminately. When introduced into a particular region that doesn’t have predators that recognize them, they run wild,” Sims said.
“The lionfish are eating up a lot of our juvenile fish, such as the parrot fish or our reef cleaners. This is creating an imbalance in the natural ecosystems of our oceans and harming the health of our coral reefs that depend on certain species to clean them of their algae build up and parasites,” continued Sims.
The Lionfish Derby was first brought to the island of St. Croix and proved beneficial in keeping the lionfish population under control. In an effort to bring this initiative territory-wide, CORE is now working to establish the derby on St. Thomas and St. John while also working to ensure that an educational component is met. Along with facilitating the derby, CORE is also providing various educational opportunities to teach local divers about lionfish and how to avoid stinging yourself with their venomous quills when culling the species.
“The headquarters for the upcoming Lionfish Derby will be at Red Hook Dive Center, who have been instrumental in the planning and execution of this event. They have not only offered us a location, but they have also been working diligently to get other local businesses on board. Some other key organizations who have been collaborating on this event are the Virgin Islands Game Fishing Club and [DPNR] Fish and Wildlife”, says Sims.
If anyone is interested in participating or has questions about the upcoming Lionfish Derby, Matthew Sims can be contacted at outreach@corevi.org.
Registration and additional details can be found at www.corevi.org.
