Fish Census

Fish surveys have been historically conducted at 14 sites around St. Croix and 10 sites around St. Thomas and, starting in 2012, are conducted at 32 of the 33 monitoring site. Ten replicate belt transects and three replicate roving dive surveys are conducted at each site. Belt transects are 25 x 4 m and are conducted in 15 minutes per replicate. Roving replicates are also 15 minutes. All fish encountered are recorded except blennies and most gobies. Divers also assess the abundance of Diadema antillarum sea urchins along the 25 x 2 m belt transects. The mean number of sea urchins per 50 m2 is calculated for each site.

The TCRMP fish census data set is available for download here. The Diadema antillarum data set may be downloaded here.