Marine protected areas (MPAs) are important tools for management of marine ecosystems. While desired, ecological and biological criteria are not always feasible to consider when establishing protected areas. In 2001, the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument (VICR) in St. John, US Virgin Islands was established by Executive Order. VICR boundaries were based on administrative determination of Territorial Sea boundaries and land ownership at the time of the Territorial Submerged Lands Act of 1974. VICR prohibits almost all fishing and other extractive uses. Surveys of habitat and fishes inside and outside of VICR were conducted in 2002-07. Based on these surveys, areas outside VICR had significantly more hard corals; greater habitat complexity; and greater richness, abundance and biomass of reef fishes than areas within VICR, further supporting results from 2002-2004 (Monaco et al., 2007). The administrative (political) process used to establish VICR did not allow a robust ecological characterization of the area to determine the boundaries of the MPA. Efforts are underway to increase amounts of complex reef habitat within VICR by swapping a part of VICR that has little coral reef habitat for a Territorially-owned area within VICR that contains a coral reef with higher coral cover

Beets, J.

Boulon, R. H.

Caldow, C.

Christensen, J.

Friedlander, A. M.

Hile, S. D.

Miller, J.

Monaco, M. E.

Rogers, C.

Aquatic Commons

 
 
 
  
   
  
   
 
 
 
   
 
 
  
 
 
  
  
  
 
 
 
    
  
   
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
 
  
  
  
 
 
Proceedings of the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, 7-11 July 2008 
Session number 23
An Ecological Correction to Marine Reserve Boundaries in 
the US Virgin Islands 
R.H. Boulon1, M.E. Monaco2, A.M. Friedlander2,3, C. Caldow2, J. Christensen2, C. Rogers4, 
J. Beets5, J. Miller1, S.D. Hile2 
1) Virgin Islands National Park, National Park Service, St. John, USVI 

2) NOAA/NOS/NCCOS/CCMA Biogeography Branch, Silver Spring, MD
 
3) Oceanic Institute, Waimanalo, HI 

4) US Geological Survey, Caribbean Field Station, St. John, USVI

5) University of Hawaii at Hilo, Hilo, HI 

Abstract. Marine protected areas (MPAs) are important tools for management of marine ecosystems. While
desired, ecological and biological criteria are not always feasible to consider when establishing protected areas. 
In 2001, the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument (VICR) in St. John, US Virgin Islands was 
established by Executive Order. VICR boundaries were based on administrative determination of Territorial Sea
boundaries and land ownership at the time of the Territorial Submerged Lands Act of 1974. VICR prohibits
almost all fishing and other extractive uses. Surveys of habitat and fishes inside and outside of VICR were 
conducted in 2002-07. Based on these surveys, areas outside VICR had significantly more hard corals; greater
habitat complexity; and greater richness, abundance and biomass of reef fishes than areas within VICR, further
supporting results from 2002-2004 (Monaco et al., 2007). The administrative (political) process used to establish 
VICR did not allow a robust ecological characterization of the area to determine the boundaries of the MPA. 
Efforts are underway to increase amounts of complex reef habitat within VICR by swapping a part of VICR that
has little coral reef habitat for a Territorially-owned area within VICR that contains a coral reef with higher coral
cover.
Key words: Marine Protected Area, Coral Reef, Fishes, Overfishing 
Introduction
Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument (VICR) 
is an MPA established by US President Clinton on
January 17, 2001 under the Antiquities Act of 1906 
(34 Stat. 225, 16 U.S.C. 431). These submerged lands
consist of about 51 km2 of marine habitat in five areas
off the island of St. John, US Virgin Islands and are 
managed by the Secretary of the Department of the
Interior through the National Park Service. VICR is 
comprised of many tropical marine habitats, including 
fringing mangroves, seagrass beds, nearshore coral
reefs, a mid-shelf reef structure and deep water algal
plains. Marine resources around St. John have 
declined dramatically over the past few decades
(Rogers and Beets 2001, Beets and Rogers 2002).
VICR was intended to enhance resources in the Virgin
Islands and specifically in the Virgin Islands National
Park (VINP), which was established by Congress in
1956 and expanded to include submerged lands in
1962. This new Monument roughly doubles the area 
in and around St. John now under the jurisdiction of 
the National Park Service (NPS). Provisions within
the Presidential Proclamation prohibit all extractive 
uses with the exception of fishing for a coastal pelagic 
species, blue runner (Caranx crysos) south of St. John
and bait fishing in a small area within the Coral Bay 
component of VICR (Fig. 1). In addition, boat
anchoring is prohibited in VICR, except for 
emergency or authorized administrative purposes. The
NPS, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), and the US Geological
Survey (USGS) initiated a joint project in 2002 to 
develop a baseline characterization of species and 
their associated habitats within and outside VICR to 
assess changes within the ecosystem. The project 
objectives have evolved to monitor the efficacy of the
marine reserve and adjacent areas. 
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Figure 1. Boundaries of Virgin Islands National Park (VINP) and Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument (VICR). Symbols represent
survey locations and major habitat types defined at each location. 
Material and Methods  
The mid-shelf reef is unique for St. John, owing to its 
relatively deep (17-35m) coral reef ecosystem and 
relatively high percent live coral cover and
topographic complexity. Not all of the mid-shelf reef 
area is contained within VICR because the MPA was 
delineated based on legal parameters of the 
Submerged Lands Act that define federal waters. As a 
result, VICR is bisected by a wedge of submerged 
land that extends out from shore from privately owned
lands that are not included in the VINP. Additionally, 
the mid-shelf reef extends to the west of St. John and 
south of St. Thomas. 
Sampling sites were randomly selected inside and
outside of VICR within the coral reef habitat of the 
mid-shelf reef. Modeled bathymetry derived from
NOAA depth soundings was used as a surrogate to
identify areas of potential coral reef habitat. 
Additional bathymetry data for water depths ranging 
from 20-100m for the area south of St. John (Fig. 1) 
were provided from multibeam surveys (2004-05) off 
the NOAA ship R/V Nancy Foster. Visual reef fish
surveys were conducted annually in July from 2002 to
2007 and associated fine-scale habitat data were also 
obtained during the surveys. Fish abundance and size 
at each location were obtained on SCUBA via visual
belt transect surveys (25x4m). A second diver
assessed habitat quality (coral cover) and complexity
(rugosity) within a 15-m diameter circular sampling 
area nested within the belt area. Both of these 
parameters are based on a visual estimation as defined 
by the rapid habitat assessment protocol with rugosity
scaled from 1 to 3 (low to high).
Results
Habitat Comparisons 
Although there was no significant difference in depth 
between management strata (P>0.05), there were 
differences between the benthic habitats inside vs.
outside VICR (Table 1). Rugosity and live coral cover
were greater outside VICR compared to inside VICR
(P<0.05). The extent of hard bottom habitats outside
VICR was greater than inside VICR. No sites within
VICR were classified as having live scleractinian 
coral as a dominant biotic component (Fig. 1).
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However, gorgonian cover was significantly higher 
inside VICR than outside (Table 1).
Table 1. Mean (±SD) benthic habitat characteristics inside and 
outside VICR along the mid-shelf reef south of St. John (2003-07).
P is the probability of a significant difference between inside and 
outside VICR.  Asterisk (*) indicates significant difference 
(P<0.05). 
Outside Inside % 
Habitat VICR mean VICR mean Differ- P 
characteristic (+ SD) (+ SD) ence value 
Abiotic
Depth (ft) 87.76 (8.76) 87.03 (8.86) -0.8 0.555
Rugosity 2.21 (0.66) 1.92 (0.81) -15.1 0.007*
Hard bottom (%) 85.76 (9.654) 81.21 (23.89) -5.6 0.07
Sand (%) 10.53 (7.97) 13.07 (16.59) 19.4 0.161
Rubble (%) 3.7 (4.09) 4.88 (11.49) 24.2 0.322
Biotic
Live scleractinian 18.41 (19.37) 4.46 (6.4) -312.8 <0.001* coral cover (%)
 
Gorgonian cover (%) 11.46 (7.87) 19.72 (14.8) 41.9 <0.001*
 
Macroalgal cover (%) 46.28 (18.83) 42.45 (21.84) -9.0 0.18
 
Fish Assemblage Comparisons 
Fish assemblage characteristics (species richness, 
numerical density, and biomass) differed significantly
between management strata (Table 2), with all
significantly greater outside VICR. Among the three
habitat types represented both inside and outside 
VICR (gorgonian, macroalgae, and mixed coral), fish
assemblage characteristics were not significantly 
different (Two-way ANOVA, P>0.05) for all. 
Table 2. Comparison of mean (±SD) fish assemblage characteristics
inside and outside VICR along the mid-shelf reef south of St. John
(2002-07). P is the probability of a significant difference between
inside and outside VICR. Density and biomass ln(x+1) transformed
for statistical analyses. Asterisk (*) indicates significant difference 
(P<0.05). 
Fish assemblage 
characteristic
Outside 
VICR mean 
(+ SD)
Inside
VICR mean 
(+ SD)
% 
Differ 
-ence 
P 
value 
Species richness 27.05 (5.87) 23.0 (0.44)
Density (indiv/100m2) 307.92 (23.52) 215.79 (13.71) 
Biomass (kg/100m2) 10.49 (8.78) 8.21 (6.7)
-0.18 <0.001* 
-0.43 0.003* 
-0.28 0.01*
Comparisons Among Major Fish Families (2002-
2007) 
• 	Total parrotfish biomass was 42% higher outside 
than inside VICR (Z=4.33, P<0.001). These species
are important grazers on the reef 
• 	Economically important groupers had 44% higher
biomass outside VICR relative to inside (Z=2.33,
P=0.02; Fig. 2)  
• 	Fish biomass has increased inside VICR since 2005 
primarily due to an increase in piscivores; however 
piscivores have declined outside over this same time
period (Fig. 3)
Figure 2. Mean biomass of an economically important fish family, 
groupers (Serranidae), inside and outside VICR (2002-07). Error 
bars represent standard error of the mean. 
Figure 3. Biomass of trophic guilds outside (top) and inside
(bottom) VICR.
Conclusions and Next Steps
The establishment of VICR was a politically driven 
process based on an exception in the Submerged
Lands Act of 1974. As a result, much of the optimal
coral reef and fish habitat on the mid-shelf reef is 
located both in the wedge and to the west of VICR. 
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Nevertheless, establishment of this MPA does provide 
for protection of the resources and may lead to
resource enhancement over time, especially if an 
ecological correction can be applied.
While reef sites outside of VICR cannot be 
considered for inclusion an ecological correction can 
be made by exchanging the eastern, less biologically
rich portion of VICR for the wedge of Territorial Sea
that currently bisects VICR on the south side of St.
John (Fig. 4a).  
Figure 4. a) Existing VICR boundary and b) potential modification 
of VICR boundary along the south shore of St. John, USVI. 
This process requires agreement from both 
Territorial and Federal governments in order to occur.
The process was initiated before the election of a new 
VI Governor which delayed progress. The new
Governor and the local Department of Planning and
Natural Resources, along with many fishermen, have
expressed support for the exchange. A recent meeting 
with the VI Delegate to Congress has resulted in a 
letter from the Governor to the Secretary of the
Department of Interior requesting that negotiations
begin for the exchange. As the wedge is already 
within the authorized boundaries of VICR, this should
facilitate the boundary adjustment (Fig. 4b). The 
major issue will be an appraisal of the submerged 
lands to be exchanged, since no precedent exists for 
appraising deep water coral reefs and algal plain.
Inclusion of the mid-shelf reef currently located 
within the wedge will increase the amount of coral
reef and fish habitat in the VICR and provide greater
opportunity for resources in this MPA to recover 
from past harvest of resources and other stressors.
This will also eliminate the concern of fishermen that 
they may be violating VICR regulations and will
enhance enforcement of those regulations by NPS
law enforcement rangers.
Acknowledgements 
This study was made possible by the dedicated efforts of NOAA’s
CCMA and NPS staff and funded by CCMA, NPS, USGS, and
NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program.
References:
Beets J, Rogers C (2002) Decline of fishery resources in marine 
protected areas in the US Virgin Islands: the need for marine
reserves. Proc 9th International Coral Reef Symposium: 449-454
Monaco M, Friedlander AM, Caldow C, Christensen JD, Rogers C, 
Beets J, Miller J, Boulon R (2007) Characterizing reef fish 
populations and habitats within and outside of the US Virgin
Islands Coral Reef National Monument: a lesson in marine
protected area design. Fish Manag Ecol 14:33-40
Rogers C, Beets J (2001) Degradation of marine ecosystems and 
decline of fishery resources in marine protected areas in the US
Virgin Islands. Environ Conserv 28 (4): 312-322
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An ecological correction to marine reserves boundaries in the US Virgin Islands

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An ecological correction to marine reserves boundaries in the US Virgin Islands

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