Figure 36: View of Altoona Lagoon

6.9.1. Altoona Lagoon

Altoona Lagoon is the preferred landing site for many fishers (Figure 36). During our field visits, the parking lot near the ramp always had one or two pick-up trucks with trailers. On one occasion (a Thursday), we observed up to six trailers parked near the ramp area. Carlos GarcíaQuijano, a member of the research team, spoke briefly with three fishermen returning from the sea. Around 11:00 a.m. there was a line of boats waiting to use the ramp. As reported by the interviewees, a similar scene can be witnessed after dusk. A boat comes close to the dock and drops one of the fishermen off, while the other(s) keep circling round or stalling in nearby waters. The fisherman who was dropped off goes and gets the truck with the trailer and backs down to the ramp area. The boats wait in the water for their turn with the bow facing the ramp. Once the trailer is in the ramp, the captain accelerates the boat (pretty briskly) to the ramp, and kills the motor just in time to avoid crashing into the trailer. The person in the car jumps out, hooks the boat bow up to the trailer chain, secures it with the winch, and off the water they go.

Figure 36: View of Altoona Lagoon

A group of local West Indians, mostly older ladies, were waiting at the dock to buy fish that day (Thursday, July 1, 2004). According to Garcia-Quijano’s observations, the fish was sold as “reef fish” (a miscellaneous mix of grunts, parrotfish, surgeons, old-wifes, surgeonfish, red hinds, and yellowtail snappers). These fish were sold for $5.00 a pound, whole. People would go up to the boat, already in the trailer on the road and ask for four to five pounds of “reef-fish.” The fishermen put up a makeshift weighing station beside the boat and the people formed a line. Six

people bought between $20 to $25 worth of fish. One fisherman reported that the prices at the dock were sometimes lower than those at the Fish Market, and that nearby people, especially older ones without cars, would intercept them at the dock.30 The rest of the catch would be saved, to be sold at the La Reine Fish Market later, on Saturday. According to this fisher, the Fish Market on Saturdays is a weekly event in which all the fishing vendors go to sell and all the people go to buy fish. That is the moment in which one can really appreciate the extent of the fishing business in St. Croix, and see all the actors playing their role. He told Garcia-Quijano to look for him at the Fish Market since that is where he could always be found.

Altoona Lagoon

Another of the crewmembers, a young guy, no more than 25 years old, explained to me a little about the fishermen that set from Altoona Lagoon on trailers. They are mostly Cruzan-Rican, and usually they come from far in the Island. They all know each other. Depending on fish species and/or gear preferences, they either take off to the ocean in the morning, coming back at about 11-12noon, or they set out in the early afternoon, coming back right after dusk. According to this fisherman, each group has at any given time between 6-8 boats in the water, with 2-3 people crews in each boat. So it seems safe to say, that on a conservative estimate, 30+ people (maybe 20+ households) make their living from fishing off the boat-ramps at Altoona Lagoon.

Fieldnotes from Carlos Garcia-Quijano

Altoona Lagoon is also a recreational area used by the local population. It provides an easy and pleasant access to the water. During our visits we observed recreational fishermen with lines fishing from the pier, in the channel of the lagoon, in the shoreline, and from a barge; as well as people of different ages using cast nets in the channel. The beach area was also used, although the recreational facility (a building) was closed during our visit. The area at the shore of the channel exhibited a couple of shacks with posters and messages with information on the conservation of the species. This area was very active.

6.9.2. Fredericksted Pier

The Albert Edwards Fishermen Wharf is one of the oldest and more traditional landing sites in the island (Figure 37). It has been an important ramp and pier since the 19th century. This facility

30 These observations by Garcia Quijano suggest that landing sites are a makeshift market. First class fish sell for about the same price or a bit lower than in the ‘La Reine,’ where prices tend to fluctuate according to the time of the day and the degree of haggling. However, we do not have enough information for a more conclusive statement. These observations also underscore the relatively recent importance of the market and the “return” of Saturday as the market day, following an old local tradition dating back to the eighteenth century.