Figure 37: Fredericksted Pier

is found in the western coast where major storm events produced major damage to the facility, which had to be re-built in 1985. Following Hugo (1989) and Marilyn (1995), funds from FEMA were provided for repairs. However, after hurricane Georges stuck in 1998, FEMA funds were not available to rebuild the ramp and pier to its pre-hurricane condition.31

Figure 37: Fredericksted Pier.

1.1. Fredericksted Pier

It is Saturday morning, the traditional day for selling fish. The pier shows some activity, although not what I expected. This is the first Saturday I chose to visit Fredericksted, with the objective of observing economic and social transactions involving fish.

There are a handful of women selling food, one key item in the fish market. There is one fish on a string hanging from one of the beams. There are several cars and people. I counted four pick-up trucks with trailers in the parking lot adjacent to the wharf. One pick-up truck was parked right by the market; a unique opportunity to observe people buying fish… but to no avail. The truck moved somewhere else.

Due to the lack of activity, I drove to the La Reine Fish Market. On my way, I saw the fishermen in the pick-up truck getting ice to go to get their fish to La Reine.

In 2002, there was a rebuilding plan for this facility which consisted in the removal of the remaining pier and two ramps and the construction of a new pier and a large ramp. The project also included the installation of illumination and buoys to identify the areas where swimming was not allowed (local children often swim in the area). Speakers at this event seize the opportunity to

31 Commissioner Plasket provided this information in his speech, August 13, 2002, during the groundbreaking ceremony to inaugurate the reconstruction of the pier. We also heard in many occasions that the government did not funnel FEMA funds to repair the facility after Georges, and the fishermen were not happy about this, accusing the government of embezzlement.

praise the value of fishing and fishermen in Cruzan history, and the difficulties in reconstructing the facilities in 1999 when funding was apparently available but were not used in this project (Figure 38). According to one legislator who spoke at the event, this project for the fishermen was not as high in the government priority list as others were (boardwalks and other facilities for tourists and visitors). He mentioned that the government needed to work for the "comfort of the people of the Virgin Islands, and not for the people in the Virgin Islands."32 Other speakers underscored the importance of the pier and dock to the local population, and spoke of Fredericksted (and St. Croix in general) as the food basket of the U.S.V.I. and the need to have a stronger commitment towards this sector. Finally, Governor Charles Turnbull stated that the project was going to “provide a state-of-the-art facility for the fishermen, a superior boating facility. We did not come from the middle earth, we came from the low earth " [he made the reference to "Lord of the Rings"]. He also offered the government commitment to end the project in the agreed period.33

Presently, the Fredericksted pier and Fishermen wharf sell very little fish. The surrounding area is used for recreational activities and the main road coming in from the pier leads to a handful of tourist facilities located at the southwest end. The parking lot always has two or three pick-up trucks with trailers, and we observed one or two fishermen taking their boats to the ramp, but there is no functional fish market to speak of.

32 This is a major political topic in the U.S.V.I.: is the government working for the benefit of the tourists or for the benefit of the local people? 33 A leader of the fishermen that was also present at the ceremony told me that the government did not help them at all, and that the reconstruction of the facility came only after many complaints from local fishers. He also indicated that the area needed some sort of barrier to mitigate the impact of the waves, and also to protect swimmers, especially children, from getting run-over by boats.