Public meetings seeking input on developing an improved commercial fisheries data-collection program are scheduled for Tuesday on St. Thomas and Wednesday on St. Croix.

The V.I. Department of Planning and Natural Resources has partnered with the National Marine Fisheries Service to develop a data collection program, according to a prepared statement from DPNR.

The National Marine Fisheries Service has contracted with Marine Resources Assessment Group as its independent consultant, and the consultant has organized the meeting, said Todd Gedamke, a stock-assessment biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service.

"The main purpose of those two meetings is to explain the process to the fishing community and get some feedback on what they would like to see," Gedamke said.

"We'll be bouncing some ideas off them, and we'll get some ideas."

The public meetings are scheduled from 7 to 10 p.m. Tuesday at the Frenchtown Community Center on St. Thomas and from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday at the Curriculum Center on St. Croix.

In a DPNR statement, Beulah Dalmida-Smith, director of the division of Fish and Wildlife, said it is important for commercial fishermen to have input in the process and encouraged public participation in the meetings.

For more information, on St. Croix call 773-1082; in St. Thomas-St. John, call 775-6762.