Fishery council cuts parrotfish catch

The Caribbean Fishery Management Council last week approved reducing the amount of parrotfish that fishermen will be allowed to take from federal Caribbean waters, after a preliminary biological opinion indicated the species was vital to maintaining the health of threatened coral reef systems.

The proposal, amending a measure the council initially passed in September, would curtail the catch limit for parrotfish by 20 percent on St. Croix, where parrotfish is a favorite dish, and by 15 percent on St. Thomas and in Puerto Rico.

The quota reductions for parrotfish were necessary to address concerns about threatened coral species, according to a statement the V.I. Department of Planning and Natural Resources released.

Parrotfish, also called blue fish, is a popular dish on St. Croix, and the island's fishermen are the only ones in the area covered by the Caribbean Fishery Management Council who specifically target parrotfish.

On St. Thomas and in Puerto Rico, parrotfish generally is considered by-catch - marine life caught unintentionally when fishing for something else.

"This is the number that we recommended - that we could live with," Edward Schuster, president of the St. Croix Commercial Fishermen's Association, said of the reduction. "I would rather take something than have nothing at all."

Last September, the council took a final vote on proposed new commercial fishing regulations setting catch limits on certain species - snappers, groupers, parrotfish and queen conch - that are considered overfished in federal Caribbean waters.

The September proposal set the parrotfish annual catch limit for St. Croix at 300,000 pounds and for St. Thomas at 50,000 pounds.

Once the council passed the measure, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration biologists began a process required under the Endangered Species Act, which ultimately leads to a biological opinion that considers the impact the measure could potentially have on listed species.

David Bernhart, assistant regional administrator for protected resources at NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office, said he presented preliminary information from that process, which is ongoing, at last week's council meeting.

"We talked about the fact that these parrotfish graze the algae off the reef and either create or maintain open space for coral to recruit," Bernhart said. Both elkhorn and staghorn coral are listed as threatened species on the federal Endangered Species list.

The council considered that information last week when it revisited the proposed parrotfish annual catch limits it passed in September.

V.I. Department of Planning and Natural Resources Commissioner Alicia Barnes, a voting member of the council, joined in support with local fishermen and negotiated the 15 percent reduction in the parrotfish catch limit, with an additional 5 percent reduction for St. Croix, according to a statement DPNR released.

There had been proposals to reduce the parrotfish catch limit much more, according to the statement.

"It's just a staple of many of our local dishes. For the local fishermen on St. Croix, it represents a significant portion of their annual income," Barnes said. "Because of that, it was very much on the radar of the local fishermen on St. Croix."

The proposed annual parrotfish catch limits that the council approved last week are 240,000 pounds for St. Croix and 42,500 pounds for St. Thomas.

"That is a recommendation or management proposal presented by the fishermen. We're hoping that it will be enough," said Carlos Farchette, a member of the council from St. Croix. "It still has to be sent to the Secretary of Commerce."

Miguel Rolon, executive director of the council, said he anticipates that the reduction recommended by fishermen and adopted by the council will accomplish what will be required by the biological opinion, once it is finalized.

The proposed regulations, which are federally mandated by the Magnuson-Stevens Act, will go to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke for final action. They are meant to protect fish stocks in federal waters, so that they are not fished faster than they can reproduce.

The council is also in the process this year of setting annual catch limits on species that are not considered overfished.

As part of those deliberations, the council at last week's meeting agreed to a 25 percent reduction in the surgeonfish quota for federal Caribbean waters, also to alleviate concerns over the impact that removing too many herbivorous fish would have on the health of elkhorn and staghorn coral, according to the DPNR release.

- Contact Joy Blackburn at 774-8772 ext. 455 or email jblackburn@dailynews.vi.

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