Feb. 8, 2002 – The Ocean Conservancy plans to publish a handbook on the status of the territory's reefs, Nick Drayton, manager of the organization's Virgin Islands office, said Friday at a Rotary Club of St. John meeting.
All groups working with marine issues will be asked to be contribute, Drayton told about three dozen members, guests and visitors at the weekly Rotary meeting at the Westin Resort. The objective is to "give a sense of what's happening with the reefs," he said.
He promised that the book will be user friendly so non-scientific people will find its information helpful. The project will run about $30,000, he said, and he is seeking funding assistance.
The Ocean Conservancy, a national organization that until last July was known as the Center for Marine Conservation, opened its VI. field office at Mongoose Junction on St. John last April. Although it's a one-man operation, Drayton said the office has made several strides since opening.
On the front burner is work with the V.I. government to develop a marine park system. While the territory has tried several times to accomplish this task, Drayton said he feels it will actually happen this go-round. The first priority, he said, is a marine park on St. Croix's East End. "We've been active in the management plan," he said.
He said another project is a joint effort with the Conservation Data Center at the University of the Virgin Islands and the U.S. Geological Survey to monitor elkhorn coral. Although this species of coral was on the decline, he said, "We're noticing some signs of recovery." In the works, he said, is development of a monitoring sheet so dive operators can help keep tabs on the elkhorn coral's status.
Working with UVI, the Ocean Conservancy held a coral identification workshop, he said. And it is exploring issues related to spawning aggregation. When fish spawn — lay their eggs in the water — they do so in a group, and in so doing "they become easy targets for fishermen," Drayton said.
To protect fish stocks, he said, the Ocean Conservancy plans to advocate closing the fishing grounds while the fish are spawning, something that happens once a month.
Locally, the Ocean Conservancy is best known for its International Coastal Cleanup, commonly called Coastweeks. Drayton said that around the world, 850,000 people from 73 countries have participated in this annual event. Last year, they picked up 30.5 million pounds of garbage from beaches, shorelines and the water. From year to year, "The figure is not getting any smaller," he said.