Fishery management plan for the spiny lobster fishery of puerto rico and the u. S. Virgin islands
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San Juan Port is one of the world’s busiest cruise ship ports and is a central hub for Caribbean cruises. Port of Ponce is the second largest port and Mayaqúez Port, the third. Smaller ports and harbors include Guánica, Guayanilla, Guayana, Fajardo, Culebra, and Vieques. Puerto Rico’s coastline attracts tourists, and tourism, including eco-tourism, is a very important industry; it represents about 6 percent of the Territory’s Gross National Product (Message of the Executive Director of Puerto Rico Tourism Company, February 9-13, 2006). An estimated 5 million tourists visited Puerto Rico in 2004 (Central Intelligence Agency). It is anticipated that recent changes in passport law, which restrict the places where one may travel without a passport, may cause an increase in the number of U.S. citizens who visit the Territory because no U.S. passport is required to travel there.29 The eastern coast of Puerto Rico, from Fajardo to Humacao and the offshore nature islands of Vieques and Culebra, have been popular destinations for tourists who snorkel and dive. Another popular snorkeling and diving location is off La Parguera on the southwestern coast, where one can find elkhorn and staghorn corals. Rincón, a municipality on the west coast, is a popular site for coastal tourism, where tourists engage in surfing, tanning, fishing, snorkeling, and SCUBA diving (Pendleton, 2002). Fishing is another sector that is important to the Puerto Rican economy, and coral reefs are important habitat for species targeted by commercial, recreational and subsistence fishermen. During the period from 1995 through 2002, commercial fishermen caught an average of 1.6 million tons of fish annually, with 87 percent of the fishermen targeting reef fish and invertebrates, including conch and lobster (NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Research Plan). In 2005, domestic landings of shallow water reef fish totaled 771,656 pounds (350,022 kilograms) with a value of $1,766,337. These landings represent approximately 66 percent of total pounds of fish landed in Puerto Rico that year. In 2005, 173,445 pounds of spiny lobster were landed with a dockside value of $997,005 and 195,701 pounds of conch were landed with a dockside value of $498,094 (Fisheries of the United States 2005). 5.3.10 U.S. Virgin IslandsThe U.S. Virgin Islands consists of the main islands of St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas, and 54 smaller islands and keys. Combined it has a land mass of about 134 square miles (346 square kilometers) and territorial waters that encompass approximately 972 square miles (1,564 square kilometers). The U.S. Virgin Islands’ waters extend 3 nautical miles (3.45 statute miles) off its shore. See Figure 5.3.15. 
Figure 5.3.15. U.S. Virgin Islands. Image Source: Central Intelligence Agency. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population of the U.S. Virgin Islands increased from 101,809 in 1990 to 108,612 in 2000, about a seven percent increase. From 1990 to 2000, the population of St. Croix increased from 50,139 to 53,234, the population of St. John increased from 3,504 to 4,197 and the population of St. Thomas expanded from 48,166 to 51,181. The population increase was accompanied by an increase in the number of housing units, which rose from 39,290 in 1990 to 50,202 in 2000, an increase of over 27 percent in ten years. Median household income of the U.S. Virgin Islands as a whole was $24,704 in 2000, compared to the U.S. medium of $41,994 at that time. The World Factbook estimates the July 2007 population to be 108,448 (www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/rq.html). Tourism is the largest contributor to the U.S. Virgin Islands’ economy; it accounts for 80 percent of the Territory’s Gross Domestic Product and employment (Central Intelligence Agency). In 1994, the total number of visitor arrivals was approximately 1.9 million and that number increased to over 2.6 million by 2004. It is anticipated that recent changes in U.S. passport laws, which restrict the places a U.S. citizen can travel to without a passport, may cause an increase in the number of U.S. citizens who visit the Territory because no U.S. passport is required to travel there. A survey conducted for the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources found that 100 percent of hotel industry participants answered that there would be a significant impact on tourist visits to the U.S. Virgin Islands if the coast/beaches were degraded or fisheries and/or coral reefs declined (U.S. Virgin Islands 2003). Retail Trade is the largest sector by number of establishments, number of employees, annual payroll, and value of sales, receipts or shipments. See Table 5.3.26. Accommodation & Food Services is the second largest sector, followed by Construction. In 2002, the value of construction work was about $286 million, an increase of about 55 percent from 1997, and an increase of about 70 percent from 1992 (U.S. Census Bureau, Economic Census). Among this construction are new, remodeled, and expanded hotels and resorts. Important industries within manufacturing include petroleum refining, watch assembly, rum distilling, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and electronics. Table 5.3.26. 2002 Economic Census Summary Statistics, U.S. Virgin Islands. Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
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