The St. Croix East End Marine Park (STXEEMP) was established to "protect territorially significant marine resources, and promote sustainability of marine ecosystems, including coral reefs, sea grass beds, wildlife habitats and other resources, and to conserve and preserve significant natural areas for the use and benefit of future generations".Legislature of the Virgin Islands of the United States. 2002. Act No. 6572 Bill no. 24-0308. Twenty-fourth Legislature: Regular Session. http://www.dloc.com/CA01300651/00001/3x It is the U.S. Virgin Islands’ first territorially designated and managed marine protected area (MPA).Quinn, N. 2008. St. Croix East End Marine Park: The U.S. Virgin Islands' first territorial marine park. In Proceedings of the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, 7–11 July 2008. Session 23: 139-1144. http://nsuworks.nova.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?filename=235&article=1000&context=occ_icrs&type=additional

The designation of STXEEMP unified and extended the previously identified territorially designated Areas of Particular Concern (APCs) at Great Pond Bay, East End, Chenay Bay, and the northern St. Croix Coral Reef System.Island Resources Foundation. 2002. Resource Description Report. University of the Virgin Islands and Department of Planning and Natural Resources, USVI. 14 August 2002. STXEEMP encompasses nearshore habitats which are likely to interact with Buck Island Reef National Monument, and Lang Bank, a significant offshore fishing ground on the eastern edge of St. Croix’s subsea platform shelf. STXEEMP includes one of the most extensive, contiguous coral reef systems on the Puerto Rican/Virgin Islands shelf.Pittman, S.J., D.S. Dorfman, S.D. Hile, C.F.G. Jeffrey, M.A. Edwards, and C. Caldow. 2013. Land-Sea Characterization of the St. Croix East End Marine Park, U.S. Virgin Islands. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 170. Silver Spring, MD. 119 pp. http://coastalscience.noaa.gov/projects/detail?key=164 The St Croix East End Marine Park encompasses an area of approximately 60 square miles (155 sq. km) along a shoreline of approximately 17 miles (27 km), from Green Cay on the north shore to Great Pond Bay on the south. The landward boundary of STXEEMP is the high-tide line; the STXEEMP is divided into management zones (see Rules and Regulations, below) that regulate activities.Legislature of the Virgin Islands of the United States. 2002. Act No. 6572 Bill no. 24-0308. Twenty-fourth Legislature: Regular Session. http://www.dloc.com/CA01300651/00001/3x STXEEMP is entirely within territorial waters, and extends seaward to the 3 nautical mile limit for the Territory.Legislature of the Virgin Islands of the United States. 2002. Act No. 6572 Bill no. 24-0308. Twenty-fourth Legislature: Regular Session. http://www.dloc.com/CA01300651/00001/3x

History and Mission

The St. Croix East End Marine Park was established by ACT NO. 6572 Bill NO. 24-0308 which passed the Virgin Islands’ legislature on December 23, 2002, and was adopted January 9, 2003. STXEEMP is St. Croix’s first and only territorially-designated and managed marine protected area. The mission of the STXEEMP is to promote the responsible use and management of significant coastal and marine resources through research and monitoring, education, restoration, and community engagement to protect, and preserve the ecological and cultural value for residents and visitors.The Nature Conservancy 2002. St. Croix East End Marine Park Management Plan. University of the Virgin Islands and Department of Planning and Natural Resources. U.S.V.I., July 18, 2002. http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/noaa_documents/CoRIS/STX_East_End-Management_Plan_2002.pdf

Habitats and Species

The STXEEMP encompasses seagrass meadows, shallow-water linear coral reefs (<10m), mid water (>10 m) patch coral reefs and deep mesophotic coral reefs (>30m). The shoreline boundaries of STXEEMP include numerous beaches, salt ponds and mangrove habitats. Great Pond, located at the southwestern shoreline boundary, is one of the largest remaining mangrove tracts on the island. The seagrass meadows (principally composed of the seagrass species Thalassia testudinum and Syringodium filiforme) provide nursery and foraging areas for a variety of species of reef fish, stingrays, conch and other invertebrates.Pittman, S.J., D.S. Dorfman, S.D. Hile, C.F.G. Jeffrey, M.A. Edwards, and C. Caldow. 2013. Land-Sea Characterization of the St. Croix East End Marine Park, U.S. Virgin Islands. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 170. Silver Spring, MD. 119 pp. http://coastalscience.noaa.gov/projects/detail?key=164Nagelkerken, I., Van der Velde, G., Gorissen, M. W., Meijer, G. J., Van't Hof, T., & Den Hartog, C. (2000). Importance of mangroves, seagrass beds and the shallow coral reef as a nursery for important coral reef fishes, using a visual census technique. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 51(1): 31–44. Seagrass beds also serve to anchor sand, and retain nutrients and sediment that wash down from the land.Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Importance of Seagrass. http://myfwc.com/research/habitat/seagrasses/information/importance/ Reefs provide shelter and foraging habitat for reef species, many of which are commercially important, either as a tourist attraction, a fishery or both.Coral Reef Alliance. Why care about reefs? http://coral.org/coral-reefs-101/why-care-about-reefs/ Mangroves serve as nurseries and shelter for juvenile fish, a catchment and filter for runoff and sediments, and provide critical shoreline protection from strong weather events.WWF. Mangrove importance. http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/blue_planet/coasts/mangroves/mangrove_importance/Nagelkerken, I., Van der Velde, G., Gorissen, M. W., Meijer, G. J., Van't Hof, T., & Den Hartog, C. (2000). Importance of mangroves, seagrass beds and the shallow coral reef as a nursery for important coral reef fishes, using a visual census technique. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf science, 51(1): 31–44. The mangrove habitat of Great Pond in particular also supports a large diversity of wintering shorebirds, and nesting habitat for resident species such as Least Tern Sterna antillarum, White-crowned Pigeons Patagioenas leucocephala (IUCN Near Threatened), Green-throated Carib Eulampis holosericeus, and a diversity of heron, egret and shorebird species.ebird.org Several commercially harvested species such as Queen Conch Strombus gigas, lobster Panulirus argus, whelk Cittarium pica, snapper Lutjanidae, grouper Serranidae and parrotfish Scaridae occur in STXEEMP. These species, and many others, are managed for sustainability and protected from harvest in certain areas (see below: No Take Zones).Pittman, S.J., D.S. Dorfman, S.D. Hile, C.F.G. Jeffrey, M.A. Edwards, and C. Caldow. 2013. Land-Sea Characterization of the St. Croix East End Marine Park, U.S. Virgin Islands. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 170. Silver Spring, MD. 119 pp. http://coastalscience.noaa.gov/projects/detail?key=164

Corals

Worldwide, Acropora corals are important reef-building species; in the Caribbean, Elkhorn Acropora palmata and Staghorn Acropora cervicornis have historically been the dominant species.NOAA. General Fact Sheet: Atlantic Acropora Fact Sheet. http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/pdfs/species/acropora_factsheet.pdf Disease, in both corals and herbivorous sea urchins Diadema antillarum, coupled with rising seawater temperatures, have led to significant declines in coral cover and abundance throughout the Caribbean over the last half-century.Gardner, T. A., I. M Côté, J. A. Gill, A. Grant, & A. R. Watkinson. 2003. Long-term region-wide declines in Caribbean corals. Science, 301(5635), 958-960. Both of these Acropora species are currently found within STXEEMP; although their distribution is now patchy. These two species were listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2006. A wide variety of other stony corals and soft corals also constitute the reef structures within STXEEMP.Pittman, S.J., D.S. Dorfman, S.D. Hile, C.F.G. Jeffrey, M.A. Edwards, and C. Caldow. 2013. Land-Sea Characterization of the St. Croix East End Marine Park, U.S. Virgin Islands. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 170. Silver Spring, MD. 119 pp. http://coastalscience.noaa.gov/projects/detail?key=164

Selected coral species in STXEEMP and their national/international status as of 2016:Pittman, S.J., D.S. Dorfman, S.D. Hile, C.F.G. Jeffrey, M.A. Edwards, and C. Caldow. 2013. Land-Sea Characterization of the St. Croix East End Marine Park, U.S. Virgin Islands. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 170. Silver Spring, MD. 119 pp. http://coastalscience.noaa.gov/projects/detail?key=164 Scientific name Common name Species status (if any) (e.g. IUCN Red List, US Endangered Species Act) Stony Corals Acropora palmata elkhorn coral IUCN Critically Endangered, ESA Threatened Acropora cervicornis staghorn coral IUCN Critically Endangered, ESA Threatened Dendrogyra cylindrus pillar coral IUCN Vulnerable, ESA Threatened Diploria clivosa knobby brain coral Diploria strigosa symmetrical brain coral Favia fragum golfball coral Montastraea cavernosa great star coral Orbicella annularis lobed star coral IUCN Endangered, ESA Threatened Orbicella faveolata mountainous star coral ESA Threatened Orbicella franksi boulder star coral ESA Threatened Porites astreoides mustard hill coral Porites porites finger coral Siderastrea siderea massive starlet coral Soft Corals Gorgonia spp. sea fans Millepora spp. fire coral Pseudoplexaura, Plexaura spp. sea rods Turtles

St. Croix is a significant nesting ground for Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea IUCN Vulnerable), green (Chelonia mydas IUCN Endangered) and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata IUCN Critically Endangered) sea turtles; Green and Hawksbill turtles also forage in the island’s watersDow, Wendy, Karen Eckert, Michael Palmer and Philip Kramer. 2007. An Atlas of Sea Turtle Nesting Habitat for the Wider Caribbean Region. The Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network and The Nature Conservancy. WIDECAST Technical Report No. 6. Beaufort, North Carolina. 267 pages, plus electronic Appendices. http://seamap.env.duke.edu/seamap2.5/widecast/references/Dow_et_al_2007.pdf

These three species of sea turtles (leatherback, green and hawksbill) nest on beaches fringing STXEEMP. Technical partners, including The Nature Conservancy and St. Croix Environmental Association, conduct nest monitoring on several of these beaches. The easternmost beaches on the south shore (East End, Isaac, and Jack Bays) are important nesting grounds for green and hawksbill turtles from August through November.Carpenter, Murray. 2015. On a trip to St. Croix, Room for Man and Nature. October 8, 2015. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/11/travel/virgin-islands-st-croix-snorkeling.html?_r=0 In 2015, 7 green turtles nesting on these beaches were fitted with satellite tags to track their movements; follow their progress at seaturtle.org. Turtles are federally protected under the Endangered Species Act and also under Territorial provisions; harassment and/or possession of any species of sea turtle or their eggs is not permitted.Federal Register Notice. June 2, 1970. Part 17. Conservation of Endangered Species and other Fish or Wildlife. http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/federal_register/fr21.pdfFederal Register Notice. July 28, 1978. Listing and Protecting Loggerhead Sea Turtles as "Threatened Species" and Populations of Green and Olive Ridley Sea Turtles as Threatened Species or Endangered Species. Federal and Territorial fines apply.

Rules and regulations