Vieques Island: Potentially Exposed Resources

Potentially Exposed Resources

Many marine fish live in the coral reef structures, sea grass beds, and mangrove wetlands surrounding Vieques Island (Table 1). Fish that spend their juvenile life stage in sheltered areas such as sea grass beds or mangrove wetlands and then spend the majority of their adult lives in shallow coral reef structures include spotted and yellow goatfish; nassau grouper; bluestriped, French, and white grunt; gray, mutton, and yellowtail snapper; redband and stoplight parrotfish; schoolmaster; and sergeant major (Lieske and Myers 1996; NOAA 2004). Some fish species spend all their life stages in water over coral reefs or rocky areas, including bicolor damselfish, lane snapper, queen triggerfish, red hind, and smooth trunkfish. Blackear wrasse spend most of their life stages in sea grass beds. Peacock flounder spend all their life stages on the bottom of a variety of habitats, including sandy-bottomed lagoons and coral reefs (Lieske and Myers 1996). As adults, great barracuda are present in a range of habitats, including coral reefs, sea grass beds, and mangrove wetlands. Once they reach maturity, great barracuda spawn in offshore waters, and larval and juvenile great barracuda reside in mangrove wetlands and sea grass beds (NOAA 2004). Most other fish associated with coral reefs spawn in the water column near their adult habitat, often in areas with currents that are strong enough to disperse their eggs (Lieske and Myers 1996).

Commercial fisheries exist for blackear wrasse, gray snapper, great barracuda, mutton snapper, peacock flounder, red hind, sergeant major, spotted goatfish, and yellowtail snapper. Some of these species are fished for human consumption and others for use as aquarium fish. Invertebrates such as Caribbean spiny lobster and queen conch are also important commercial fisheries (ATSDR 2003; NOAA 2004). Fish commonly caught for recreational and subsistence purposes include bluestriped grunt, French grunt, gray snapper, great barracuda, lane snapper, mutton snapper, red hind, redbanded parrotfish, schoolmaster, spotted goatfish, stoplight parrotfish, white grunt, yellow goatfish, and yellowtail snapper. Land crabs, Caribbean spiny lobster, and queen conch are harvested for subsistence (ATSDR 2003; NOAA 2004). No fish consumption advisories are in effect for Vieques Island or the surrounding waters (Lopez 2005).

The island also provides important habitat for several NOAA trust resources protected under the Endangered Species Act, including West Indian manatee; green, hawksbill, leatherback, and loggerhead sea turtles; and sperm and humpback whales (Table 1). Green, hawksbill, and leatherback sea turtles nest on many of the island’s beaches, and the sea grass beds provide refuge and feeding grounds for manatees and sea turtles (USFWS 2005). The West Indian manatee is most commonly sighted off the northwest and southeast shores of the island (Geo-Marine, Inc. 2003). Sperm and humpback whales were detected in the waters surrounding Vieques Island during a visual and acoustic survey conducted by NOAA Fisheries in 2001 (Swartz et al. 2002).

Table 1. Characteristic NOAA trust species present in marine waters surrounding Vieques Island
COMMON NAME	SCIENTIFIC NAME	HABITAT USE			FISHERIES
COMMON NAME	SCIENTIFIC NAME	SPAWNING	NURSERY GROUND	ADULT FORAGE	COMM.	REC./ SUB.

MARINE FISH
Bicolor damselfish	Stegastes partitus	•	•	•
Blackear wrasse	Halichoeres poeyi	•	•	•	•
Bluestriped grunt	Haemulon sciurus	•	•	•		•
French grunt	Haemulon flavolineatum	•	•	•		•
Gray snapper	Lutjanus griseus	•	•	•	•	•
Great barracuda	Sphyraena barracuda		•	•	•	•
Lane snapper	Lutjanus synagris	•	•	•		•
Mutton snapper	Lutjanus analis	•	•	•	•	•
Nassau grouper	Epinephelus striatus	•	•	•
Peacock flounder	Bothus lunatus	•	•	•	•
Queen triggerfish	Balistes vetula	•	•	•
Red hind grouper	Epinephelus guttatus	•	•	•	•	•
Redband parrotfish	Sparisoma aurofrenatum	•	•	•		•
Schoolmaster	Lutjanus apodus	•	•	•		•
Sergeant major	Abudefduf saxatilis	•	•	•	•
Smooth trunkfish	Lactophrys triqueter	•	•	•
Spotted goatfish	Pseudupeneus maculatus	•	•	•	•	•
Stoplight parrotfish	Sparisoma viride	•	•	•		•
White grunt	Haemulon plumierii	•	•	•		•
Yellow goatfish	Mulloidichthys martinicus	•	•	•		•
Yellowtail snapper	Ocyurus chrysurus	•	•	•	•	•

MARINE MAMMALS
Humpback whale ¹	Megaptera novaeangliae			•
Sperm whale ¹	Physeter catodon			•
West Indian manatee ¹	Trichechus manatus	•	•	•

INVERTEBRATES
Caribbean spiny lobster	Panulirus argus	•	•	•	•	•
Elkhorn coral ²	Acropora palmata	•	•	•
Fiddler crab	Uca spp.	•	•	•
Land crab	Cardisoma guanhumi	•	•	•		•
Staghorn coral ²	Acropora cervicornis	•	•	•
Queen conch	Strombus gigas	•	•	•	•	•

SEA TURTLES
Green turtle ²	Chelonia mydas	•	•	•
Hawksbill turtle ¹	Eretmochelys imbricata	•	•	•
Leatherback turtle ¹	Dermochelys coriacea	•	•	•
Loggerhead turtle ²	Caretta caretta			•
¹ Federally listed endangered species. ² Federally listed threatened species.