This report describes fishing-oriented communities on St. Thomas and St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI).  It also describes social and economic implications of the Hind Bank Marine Conservation District south of St. Thomas.  Notably, the social context of this project was one in which commercial fishery participants were then expressing both dissatisfaction with fishing regulations and fatigue from repeated involvement in externally implemented fisheries research.  IAI field staff were able to successfully complete research in this setting by: (a) using existing data and analyses wherever possible, (b) documenting fishing infrastructure and residence patterns in an unobtrusive manner, (c) working closely with local public officials who were in a position to facilitate interaction with local fishery participants and discuss their own knowledge of fishing and community life in the study area, (d) interacting with fishermen in a informal manner in their home communities, harbors, and places of commerce, and (f) observing and documenting local fisheries-related public meetings.  The research led to identification of five areas in which fishing and related social and economic activity was particularly extensive: the Northside, East End, and Southside districts of St. Thomas; and the East and West End districts of St. John.  Area closures, including the Hind Bank MCD were found to have displaced certain established harvesters, some of whom had moved their operations to adjacent areas.  Although this shift in fishing effort initially caused gear conflicts and crowding, the problems were worked out by the fishermen over the course of time.  The most enduring effects of the closures involve heightened tension between fishermen and external resource management agencies active in the region.

This report summarizes key findings from two PFRP projects that were designed to
examine change in Hawai‘i’s small-boat commercial handline fisheries. The first study
examined historical aspects of handline fishing in the islands, and diminishing
participation and production in the ika-shibi fishery, a long-standing and once-lucrative
yellowfin and bigeye tuna fishery specific to Hawai‘i Island. The second study examined
the history and contemporary status pelagic handline operations at Cross Seamount and at
private fish-aggregating devices (PFADs) around the islands. Data sources included
catch and effort data, seafood dealer data, direct observation of handline operations,
review of pertinent literature, analysis of regional employment information and other
relevant data, and numerous in-depth interviews with participants in the harvest and
distribution sectors. Research findings counter the working hypothesis of a widespread
shift from ika-shibi fishing to fishing at PFADs. Convergence between a variety of
social, demographic, and economic factors amidst a period of diminishing availability of
tuna better explains the current status of the ika-shibi fishery and ongoing challenges in
the PFAD fishery. While the availability of tuna is obviously pivotal to the status of the
fisheries in question, tuna populations are subject to a complex array of biological,
oceanographic, and human interactions. This report furthers understanding of the human
context of small-scale pelagic fisheries in the Hawaiian Islands, with implications for the
management of pelagic fisheries elsewhere in the Pacific Basin.