The more than 60 fishermen, public officials and other residents at the Frenchtown Community Center spoke as one voice Thursday night: The U.S. Department of Interior's plan to designate thousands of undersea acres a national monument is a bad and possibly illegal move that threatens livelihoods and the very way of life in the Virgin Islands.
Or nearly one voice.
Sandra Romano, an assistant professor of marine biology at the University of the Virgin Islands, sought to leaven the otherwise negative tenor of the meeting by suggesting there may be benefits to the designation, which is intended to protect coral reefs. "In the long run, this is really protecting your resources for future generations," she said.
Romano pointed out that marine-protected areas provide nurseries for fish to develop from eggs to larvae to juveniles and have been shown to increase the catch in other nearby areas. She cited National Research Council studies that asserted that 20 percent of all marine habitats should be protected, "as a minimum, to protect fish stocks from crashing."
That, she said, is what has happened in some parts of the Northeast: "no fish, no jobs and nothing for future generations."
The hearing was the second called by V.I. Delegate to Congress Donna Christian-Christensen to get public input on the impending designations for submerged lands near St. Croix's Buck Island and around the V.I. National Park on St. John.
Christensen said in a statement that she had written to President Clinton in December "to again voice my concern about the impact the designation will have on the livelihoods of traditional fishermen.
"I told the president that while I support the preservation of our coral reefs and other sensitive marine-ecosystem resources, I believe that the livelihoods of traditional fishermen should be protected," she said.
The fishermen's small operations, she said, should have a minimal impact on the undersea environment compared to such problems as non-point source pollution.
Local fishermen were vehement in their opposition to the national monument plan, which would affect nearly 50 square miles off St. John and St. Croix. Calling it "unconscionable" and an "ill-advised if not illegal action," several questioned whether the undersea land in question actually belonged to the federal government, a precondition for the designation.
Christensen tried to solicit ideas for mitigating or modifying the plan. Resident Monica Lester spoke of how many fishermen felt betrayed by the proposed designation but suggested that the area be considered "a unique fishery that calls for special allowances" regarding fishing.
Earlier in the evening, Sen. Donald "Ducks" Cole set the intransigent tone by calling the national monument plan "a serious intrusion that infringes on the rights of Virgin Islanders."
He said the federal government was "controlling the lives of residents of the Virgin Islands."
