News Articles

Bright Lights Cause Death to Baby Sea Turtles

M.A. Dworkin St. Croix - Hatchling Sea Turtle disorientations cause their early death every year around this time on St. Croix. This tragedy is due to problematic landward lights that lead the babies away from the water instead of towards it. After hatchlings emerge from their nest, they go towards the brightest horizon, which in a natural environment is the ocean. With increasing coastal development, bright inland lights are often visible from the beach and can cause

Green Turtles No Longer on Endangered List

M.A. Dworkin Caribbean Sea - Green Turtle populations have recovered so successfully that their official status has been downgraded from ‘Endangered’ to ‘Least Concern’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas) have declined in numbers by between 48 to 67 per cent over the last 200 years, largely due to human influences such as fisheries bycatch, loss and degradation of nesting sites and

VIEDA Buys Padilla Bldg for Agro & Food Ctr in F’sted

St. Croix Times Staff Frederiksted - The Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority’s (VIEDA) Enterprise Zone Commission (EZC) has purchased the Padilla Building at 53 A&B King Street in Frederiksted, St. Croix. The historic building will become the future site of the Agro and Food Innovation Center, the anchor project of the Frederiksted Enterprise Zone. Supported by an appropriation provided by the 33rd Legislature of the Virgin Islands, the center will serve as a

VI Farmers Receive 2 -100K Gal Cisterns; $500K in Grants

M.A. Dworkin USVI - Governor Albert Bryan Jr. joined Agriculture Commissioner Louis Petersen, members of the 36th Legislature, community leaders and students, this week to break ground on the first of two planned 100,000-gallon cisterns that will provide vital water resources to farmers in Bordeaux, St. Thomas. The groundbreaking represents more than the start of construction. It is a long-awaited response to the calls of farmers who have struggled for decades with ina

The Future of Coral Reefs in the Caribbean: A Call to Action

Understanding Coral Reefs and Their Importance Coral reefs are vital ecosystems that play a crucial role in marine biodiversity. They are made up of colonies of tiny individual corals, known as polyps. These marine invertebrates have hard exoskeletons composed of calcium carbonate. Polyps are sessile, meaning they are permanently fixed in one location. They grow slowly, forming various shapes and sizes depending on their species. Alongside other animals with calcium carbonate

Virgin Islands Good Food Remains Steadfast in Mission After Critical Federal Funding for Farmers is Cancelled

M.A. Dworkin U.S. Virgin Islands – Virgin Islands Good Food Coalition, Inc. (dba Virgin Islands Good Food), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit...

Drones Being Used for Mosquito Control

M.A. Dworkin The Planet - Drones are being utilized in countries around the world to manage mosquito populations, to reduce the risk of...

“Threatened” Green Sea Turtle Shot with Spear Gun

St. Croix Times Staff St. Croix - A Green Sea Turtle which is considered “Threatened” due to human and natural impacts was apparently shot recently with a spear gun in a malicious manner by some brutal or careless individual. The Sea Turtle Assistance and Rescue (STAR) team was contacted about a Sea Turtle in distress near the Frederiksted Pier in St. Croix. Divers sent photos to STAR’s Sea Turtle stranding hotline of a Green Turtle with a fishing spear through i