Territorial Coral Reef Monitoring Program

Since 2000, CZM has been collaborating with the University of the Virgin Islands Center for Marine and Environmental Studies and DPNR’s Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) to document long-term trends in benthic and fishery resources for the USVI.  A secondary goal of this program is to document baseline conditions prior to establishing marine reserves.  This program utilizes a video methodology that was developed by the US Geological Survey on St. John, and is currently being used in the Virgin Islands National Park, Buck Island Reef National Monument (BIRNM) and the territorial program, thereby providing standardized data throughout the territory.  Two of the long-term monitoring sites are within the STXEEMP, and we are planning on establishing several new sites in the near future.

Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystem Monitoring Program

In association with NOAA’s Biogeography Program and the National Park Service (NPS), STXEEMP staff and local coral reef monitoring partners are working to implement NOAA’s protocol within the park. The Biogeography Team and NPS have been using this protocol to monitor marine resources within the BIRNM since 1999. As part of that project, the northern waters of the STXEEMP were also studied, providing important data prior to the establishment of the park. This protocol will be used to complete a comprehensive baseline survey of marine resources within the STXEEMP.

Spiny Lobster (Panulirus Argus) Monitoring

STXEEMP staff are collaborating with several agencies including the NPS, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, DFW and members of the St. Croix Fisheries Advisory Committee to establish a program to monitor populations of this important commercial species within the park.  Preliminary data has been gathered as part of a monitoring program initiated by the NPS in both BIRNM and STXEEMP waters in 2004.  We are working with the aforementioned agencies to continue the current efforts and expand the scope of the monitoring to investigate larval dispersion and settlement within the park and other areas around St. Croix.