5.1.3 Fisheries Resources and Critical Species of Special Concern The numerous marine habitat types of the British Virgin Islands provide a diverse range of commercial and recreational fishery resources. These include nearshore flats with mangroves and seagrass beds and extensive nearshore fringing reef systems. Fishing banks on the broad shelf north of Tortola include the Barracouta, Kingfish, Turtle Head and Whale Banks as well as the Barracuda Bank southeast of Virgin Gorda, also known as the Sea Mount. The offshore North and South Drops are pelagic zones along the territory’s shelf edges, also considered part of the eastern most side of the Puerto Rico/Virgin Islands Platform, defined by the 183 m (100 fathoms) depth contour (Rogers and Teyaud, 1988; Rankin, 2002). The territory’s entire fishing area covers 80,336 km2 (31,018 mi2) and includes the territory’s Exclusive Fishery Zone (EFZ) (VLIZ, 2014; see Figure 31). The main types of fisheries operating in the BVI are categorised as (1) commercial (artisanal) or (2) recreational (sub-divided into pelagic sport and pleasure), but a third offshore pelagic long-line fishery also exists. The commercial fishery makes up the largest sector within the fishing industry, while the recreational fishery has potential to develop into a major economic sector of the BVI economy. In contrast, the offshore pelagic long-line (horizontal) fishery is limited to one operator out of Anegada, and since 1990 the BVI does not permit foreign long-lining vessels. However, vertical long-line fishing is becoming more popular with local fishermen on Tortola as a means to diversify commercial fisheries within the territory. Governance of all fishery resources is regulated by the Fisheries Act, 1997 and the VI Fishery Regulations, 2003 (see Section 2.2.3.1 in Chapter 2). All vessels, local and foreign, used for fishing in territorial waters require registration through the Department of Conservation and Fisheries under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Labour and, further, are subject to requirements either of the VI Shipping Registry or of the country in which the vessel is flagged. Secondly, anyone fishing in territorial waters requires a fishing license which may be granted through the Minister of Natural Resources and Labour.
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TORTOLA (BVI) ENVIRONMENTAL PROFILE
There are three types of licences: 1.
A commercial fishing licence to fish for profit.
2.
A pleasure fishing license that entitles the licensee to fish for personal consumption up to a maximum of 30 pounds per boat, per day.
3.
A sport fishing license that entitles the licensee to fish for sporting purposes either on a catch-and-release basis or for personal consumption up to a maximum of 30 pounds per boat, per day.
All licences are conditional, depending on the type of licence requested. There are seasonal closures for species of special concern, which applies for all types of licences. Under BVI regulations, it is illegal to fish for, remove from the fishery waters, give, have in possession, expose for sale, sell or purchase a species during its closed season. These species and closed seasons are:
Margate (Haemulon sp.): Closed January 1 to March 31.
Red Hind (Epinephelus guttatus): Closed January 1 to March 31.
Nassau Grouper (Epinephelus striatus): Closed March 1 to May 31.
Only a commercial fishing license holder is allowed to take sea turtle, lobster, conch or whelk. However, these species have size restrictions and are also regulated by closed seasons. These include:
Sea Turtles: Closed April 1-November 30. Shell length may not be less than 61 cm (24 in) for Green turtles (Chelonia mydas) or 38 cm (15 in) for Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata). A full moratorium exists on Leatherbacks (Dermochelys coriacea), Loggerheads (Caretta caretta), and all sea turtle eggs.