Purpose and Need

The St. Thomas/St. John FMP is one of three island-based FMPs developed by the Council to update management of federal fishery resources in the U.S. Caribbean.  The St. Thomas/St. John FMP would incorporate and replace those components of the U.S. Caribbean-wide Reef Fish, Spiny Lobster, Queen Conch, and Coral FMPs that pertain to the EEZ surrounding the islands of St. Thomas/St. John.  

The purpose of developing the St. Thomas/St. John FMP/EA is to ensure the continued health of fishery resources occurring in the EEZ surrounding St. Thomas/St. John within the context of the unique biological, ecological, economic, and cultural characteristics of those resources and the communities’ dependent upon them by managing on an island basis.  The St. Thomas/St. John FMP is intended to ensure productive and sustainable fisheries for the long-term livelihood, enjoyment, economy, and environment of St. Thomas/St. John and the U.S.; conserve and manage the fisheries of St. Thomas/St. John within an island-based approach; and, enhance  St. Thomas/St. John FMP/EA  Chapter 1.  Introduction  5 stewardship among fishermen, residents, and others who value the fishery resources and the marine and coastal environments of St. Thomas/St. John and the U.S. 

St. Thomas/St. John FMP Goals and Objectives

The overarching goal of the St. Thomas/St. John FMP is to ensure the continued health of fishery resources occurring in the EEZ surrounding St. Thomas and St. John, within the context of the unique biological, ecological, economic, and cultural characteristics of those resources and the communities that are dependent upon them. 

Specific fishery management goals for the St. Thomas/St. John EEZ are: 

Goal 1: Prevent overfishing while achieving, on a continuing basis, the optimum yield (OY) from each federally managed fishery in St. Thomas/St. John waters, taking into account and allowing for variations among, and contingencies in, fisheries, fishery resources, and catches. 

Goal 2: Maintain long-term sustainable use of coral reef fishery resources while preventing adverse impacts to stocks, habitats, protected species, or the reef ecosystem as a whole. 

Goal 3: Ensure the continued health of fishery resources occurring in St. Thomas/St. John EEZ waters, which would provide for the sustained participation of the islands’ fishing communities as a major endeavor and minimize adverse economic impacts on such communities.

Goal 4: Manage the fisheries within the limits of local ecosystem production so as not to jeopardize a wide range of goods and services provided by a healthy ecosystem, including food, revenue, and recreation for humans. 

Goal 5: Account for biological, social, and economic differences among the islands, communities, and fisheries of St. Thomas and St. John. 

Goal 6: Foster collaboration among territorial and federal authorities to achieve compatible management of fisheries throughout the waters surrounding St. Thomas and St. John.

To achieve the goals described above, the following objectives are defined:

Objective 1: Achieve OY in the utilization of federal fishery resources to include the benefits of food production, recreational opportunities, and protection of marine ecosystems, minimizing impacts to non-target species. 

Objective 2: Reduce bycatch and waste in the fishery through the use of measures such as gear restrictions, seasonal closures or marine protected areas that reduce or minimize  regulatory and/or economic discards, including measures to minimize the mortality of discarded bycatch that cannot be avoided. 

Objective 3: Ensure the metrics upon which OY is based are derived from the best available scientific information and are updated to respond to changing ecological, biological, economic, and social conditions.

Objective 4: Promote international cooperation in the management of pan-Caribbean stocks. 

Objective 5: Collaborate with domestic and international regional fishery management bodies in the management of coral reefs and reef-associated resources. 

Objective 6: Promote fair and equitable use of fishery resources that recognizes the importance of fishing communities as well as differences in local environment, culture, markets, user groups, gear types, and seafood preferences. 

Objective 7: Promote awareness of laws and regulations governing marine resource management and science, and to ensure informed public input into the management process. 

Objective 8: Ensure, through the best data collection practices, the socio-economic health of the fishing communities dependent on federal fishery resources. 

Objective 9: Ensure adequate evidence is established to demonstrate spawning aggregations and the habitats supporting those aggregations in order to protect and ensure the future health of the resource with the least restrictive measures. 

Objective 10: Describe and identify EFH, adverse impacts on EFH, and other actions to conserve and enhance EFH.  Adopt management measures that minimize adverse impacts on EFH and promote habitat conservation, including designation of specific habitat areas of particular concern (HAPC) within EFH for more focused management action. 

Objective 11: Ensure continued provision of ecosystem services derived from living marine resources, including adequate abundance of forage resources to ensure a healthy and diverse trophic web. 

Objective 12: To guide the development of new fisheries, requires essential scientific data is gathered and analyzed to ensure sustainability, excluding invasive species. 

While most of these goals and objectives are being addressed throughout this plan, some may be addressed through future amendments to the St. Thomas/St. John FMP, as requested by the Council to NMFS.