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Survey and Impact Assessment of Derelict Fish Traps (DFTs) in St. Thomas and St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands

Survey and Impact Assessment of Derelict Fish Traps (DFTs) in St. Thomas and St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands


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Objectives

The overall project objective is to identify and quantify the issues and associated impacts from derelict (ghost/lost) fish traps (DFTs), to inform and enable management to take action, if warranted, to prevent, reduce and mitigate the identified impacts.

Specific project tasks include:

  • Developing a database of trap fishing effort and loss
  • Estimate trap loss (DFTs)
  • Determine DFT condition through time
  • Spatial analysis of trap fishery and location of DFTs
  • Impacts to biological resources
  • Impacts to economy
  • Impacts to benthic habitats
Figure 1. Study area for locating derelict fish traps
Figure 1. Study area for locating derelict fish traps

Project Summary

Fish traps are commonly used by fishing communities in both Florida and the U.S. Caribbean to catch resident reef fishes and lobsters.  Although each trap can be set on its own, they are frequently fished in lines or strings that can exceed 100 traps. Traps are placed on a wide array of habitat types including hard bottom, seagrass, sand and algal habitat.  Damage to the benthic community can occur during both setting and hauling the traps, and also when the traps are fishing.  Damage can also occur after traps are lost, becoming DFTs; wave and storm conditions can move them around within a habitat or into other habitats. In addition to storm events, traps may be lost due to broken or cut buoy lines and unregulated fishing practices, such as the use of unbuoyed traps, a common practice used to reduce theft. The lost traps then continue to “ghost fish”, affecting the benthic community and increasing the mortality of species caught and retained, until the traps break apart. 

Figure 2. Derelict fishing trap found in Coral Bay, St. John, USVI
Figure 2. Derelict fishing trap found in Coral Bay, St. John, USVI
Photo Credit: NOAA's Biogeography Branch

The study area will include waters off  St. Thomas and St. John, USVI.  Primary outcomes will be spatial estimates of fishing effort in the region with possible correlations to benthic features.  Trap loss will be correlated with: 1) fishing effort and/or benthic features and 2) estimates of the loss of natural resources (e.g., no. of species) to both the ecosystem and economy of the region. Side-scan sonar will be assessed to determine its efficiency at identifying DFTs. Experiments will be conducted to assess DFT condition through time, addressing questions such as, do they eventually break down, and do they become a part of the benthic community?

Products will include the development of databases with potential DFT locations, GIS data for fishing activity, species, habitats, and other important areas in the study area.


Products

Future

  • Databases with actual and potential DFT locations, fishing locations, species captures/rates of mortality
  • GIS data on fishing activity, actual and predicted location of DFT’s, habitats and key biological areas
  • Final report

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Relevant Links

Time Frame

May 2009 - Summer 2011

For More Information

Project Manager:
1305 East West Highway
SSMC-IV, N/SCI-1
Silver Spring, MD 20910
301-713-3028 ext 157



1305 East West Highway
SSMC-IV, N/SCI-1
Silver Spring, MD 20910
301-713-3028 ext 164



1305 East West Highway
SSMC-IV, N/SCI-1
Silver Spring, MD 20910
301-713-3028 ext 160

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