Caribbean Sea
Marine biota in the region have representatives of both the Indian and Pacific oceans which were caught in the Caribbean before the emergence of the Isthmus of Panama four million years ago. In the Caribbean Sea there are around 1,000 documented species of fish, including sharks (bull shark, tiger shark, silky shark and Caribbean reef shark), flying fish, giant oceanic manta ray, angel fish, spotfin butterflyfish, parrotfish, Atlantic Goliath grouper, tarpon and moray eels. Throughout the Caribbean there is industrial catching of lobster and sardines (off the coast of Yucatán Peninsula).
Fauna of the United States Virgin Islands
Shark species include the Caribbean reef shark, lemon shark, bull shark, tiger shark, hammerhead shark, silky shark, nurse shark, blacktip shark, and the great white shark. There are many areas of large tropical fish populations, including by Waterlemon Cay in Leinster Bay, which provides habitat for sergeant major, blue chromis, parrotfish, queen triggerfish and queen angelfish. Another island visited for its tropical fish- and bird life is Buck Island, a 19015-acre marine protected district, which offers great diversity of coral.