Update on the 2012-2020 trends in the St. Eustatius fisheries

Abstract

Keep collecting data on reef fish species to estimate their status. This can be done best by combining more intensive port sampling with fisheries-independent studies on the distribution and abundance of these species around St. Eustatius.

Ten-year assessment of Caribbean Netherlands fisheries monitoring: data challenges and recommendations

“…Annual catches and effort are currently estimated per gear type for both Saba and St. Eustatius (see Brunel et al (2021) and Amelot et al (2021) for the latest estimations). The estimation is done at the scale of the month as summarised in figure 1 and 2.…”

“…For the fisheries from St. Eustatius, the spiny lobster is also in a data-rich situation, and the situation for the reef fish is similarly poor as for Saba, with occasional years with very low sampling, even for the main species (see Amelot et al, 2021).…”

“…Information about the distribution of the landings between these three (groups of) species is available from the logbook data, in which they are reported separately. Analysis of these data shows that there are clear patterns in the activity, with trips targeting fish and lobsters and other trips targeting conchs (Amelot et al, 2021).…”

“…the depletion of large groupers (Meesters et al 1996;Toller et al 2010) and small catch-size of snappers (Dilrosun 2000;Toller and Lundvall 2008). For St. Eustatius, the fisheries port sampling data has been previously reported in De , Brunel et al (2020) and Amelot et al (2021). St. Eustatius is located in the north-eastern Caribbean, 27 km to the south-east of Saba, and is surrounded by the 2700-ha St. Eustatius National Marine Park (SNMP).…”

“…However, better management also requires better data and current fisheries monitoring needs to improve in order to better support management for sustainable development of the full potential of the Caribbean Netherlands Fisheries. As indicated previously in various reports (Debrot and de Graaf 2017, Brunel et al 2018, Amelot et al 2021) the data on fish stocks and fisheries in the Caribbean Netherlands is largely fragmentary or incomplete which greatly restricts its utility.…”