Bioeconomic modeling for a small-scale sea cucumber fishery in Yucatan, Mexico

Tropical sea cucumbers are commonly exploited by small-scale, poorly managed fisheries. A fundamental problem in managing sea cucumber fisheries is the lack of basic knowledge of important life history characteristics for most species. As a result of plastic body dimensions, biological research on this group of animals becomes exceptionally challenging. To improve our understanding of essential biological parameters, we conducted a study to investigate correlations among various body measurements. We analysed a total of 18 sea cucumber species and more than 6600 individuals collected at Scott Reef in the Timor Sea, north-west Australia. We used hierarchical Bayesian errors-in-variables models to specifically take into account measurement errors that are obviously unavoidable. The measures included three types of weights (wet weight, gutted weight and dry weight) and two body dimensions (length and width). The modelling reveals that using both body length and width as independent variables, wet weight increases approximately linearly with body length, but is a power function (~1.6) of body width, although variability exists among species. Dry weight tends to increase more slowly with body length, but has a similar power function of body width. Linear relationships are established between the three types of weights. On average, ~11% of a live specimen and ~16% of a gutted specimen is processed to the commercially traded dry body wall. Our results can be applied to sea cucumbers in other areas and can be useful for data standardisation and size-based fisheries management.

Download Full-text

Small-scale fishing income and fuel consumption: Fiji’s artisanal sea cucumber fishery

ICES Journal of Marine Science ◽

10.1093/icesjms/fsy036 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 75 (5) ◽

pp. 1758-1767 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Steven W Purcell ◽

Watisoni Lalavanua ◽

Brian R Cullis ◽

Nicole Cocks

Keyword(s):

Gender Equity ◽

Sea Cucumber ◽

Large Scale ◽

Small Scale ◽

Breath Hold ◽

Net Income ◽

Fuel Use ◽

Sea Cucumbers ◽

Deep Water Species ◽

And Gender

Abstract Understanding the income and costs of fishing is fundamental to managing fisheries and planning interventions to improve efficiency and gender equity. Few studies offer data on fisher incomes and fuel use in small-scale fisheries (SSFs), and fewer have assessed factors influencing variation among fishers and between genders. We interviewed 235 artisanal fishers among 34 island villages in an artisanal sea cucumber fishery in Fiji. Linear mixed models were used to determine the effect of geographic and socioeconomic variables on incomes and fuel use from fishing sea cucumbers. Net income of sea cucumbers to fishers, averaging FJ$8, 171 year−1 (US$4, 494 year−1) (range: FJ$0–52,008 year−1), varied among villages and was 47% lower for women than men. On an average, 60% of fishers’ gross annual income came from fishing and selling sea cucumbers, although this proportion varied greatly even within villages. Fishers who practised gleaning, fished less often, or possessing numerous livelihood income streams, were less economically dependent on sea cucumbers. Men tended to estimate higher incomes for an average day of fishing than women when compared with their recall of last sale. Fuel use varied greatly among regions in Fiji but, overall, averaged 428 L fisher−1 year−1, and represented 28% of gross income. More economical fishing strategies by women resulted in lower fuel use than men per fishing day. Breath-hold divers used less fuel (compared to fishers using scuba) and fishers targeting deep-water species used more fuel than other fishers. A best approximation of 8000 t CO2 year−1 for the carbon footprint of the whole fishery suggests that some SSFs, such as the one studied here, can be significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, even compared to many large-scale fisheries globally. Reforms to the management of SSFs should consider regulations that minimize carbon emissions and reduce economic dependency on vulnerable marine resources.

Download Full-text

Larval fixation and small scale migration of the sea cucumber Cucumaria frondosa

Echinoderms through Time ◽

10.1201/9781003077831-120 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 515-515

Author(s):

J.-F. Hamel ◽

G. Desrosiers

Keyword(s):

Sea Cucumber ◽

Small Scale ◽

Cucumaria Frondosa

Download Full-text

Sailing-Trading Livelihoods in Southeastern Indonesia: Adapting to Change

Asian Journal of Social Science ◽

10.1163/15685314-12341330 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 41 (6) ◽

pp. 543-579 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Michelle Carnegie

Keyword(s):

Asylum Seekers ◽

Sea Cucumber ◽

Local Level ◽

Integrated Approach ◽

First Century ◽

Small Scale ◽

Border Crossings ◽

Adaptive Responses ◽

Drivers Of Change ◽

International Border

Abstract Sailing-trading livelihoods in southeastern Indonesia have undergone significant change during the later half of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century. This study identifies how geopolitical, economic, legal and technological drivers of change shape sailing-trading livelihoods. Using an integrated approach, it shows how these macro-level drivers articulate with sailor-traders’ individual and group-based responses at the local level. The findings highlight that over the study period, small-scale inter-island trading within Indonesia’s borders became increasingly competitive and monopolised. In response, sailor-traders strategically adopted new opportunities that involve international border crossings, including to Australia to harvest sea cucumber, transport asylum seekers and undertake work while serving prison terms. The concluding remarks are that while aspects of contemporary sailing-trading livelihoods are temporal and unsustainable, the overall ebb and flow of livelihoods reflects a broader pattern of adaptive responses amidst ongoing change.

Download Full-text

Economic value of small-scale sea cucumber fisheries under two contrasting management regimes

Ecology and Society ◽

10.5751/es-11436-250220 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 25 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Maria Eggertsen ◽

Hampus Eriksson ◽

Matthew J. Slater ◽

Caroline Raymond ◽

Maricela de la Torre-Castro

Keyword(s):

Sea Cucumber ◽

Economic Value ◽

Small Scale ◽

Management Regimes

Download Full-text

SITE SUITABILITY ANALYSIS FOR COMMUNITY-BASED TROPICAL SEA CUCUMBER HOLOTHURIA SCABRA GROW-OUT IN NORTH SULAWESI WATERS

Marine Research in Indonesia ◽

10.14203/mri.v44i1.301 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 44 (1) ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Marenda Pandu Rizqi ◽

Supono

Keyword(s):

Sea Cucumber ◽

Community Support ◽

Ex Situ ◽

Small Scale ◽

Suitability Analysis ◽

Site Suitability ◽

Holothuria Scabra ◽

North Sulawesi ◽

Recent Developments ◽

Substrate Protection

North Sulawesi, a region that has experienced a decreasing population of commercial sea cucumbers in Indonesia, has recently been designated an aquaculture development area. Recent developments of sea cucumber Holothuria scabra hatchery technology have successfully enabled the small-scale enterprise to produce hatcheryreared sandfish for restocking purposes. However, the grow-out phase requires considerable resources including ex-situ grow-out sites, labor, and distribution. This study aims to investigate the suitability of some potential grow-out sites for juvenile H. scabra in North Sulawesi waters. Three traditional sea cucumber fishing grounds in coastal areas of North Minahasa regency in North Sulawesi, i.e., Tanjung Merah, Tasikoki and Makalisung, were examined to determine their suitability as a grow-out site. Several criteria encompassing bioecological (native sea cucumber population, seagrass bed population, competitor/predator), environmental (substrate, protection to weather, water quality, tidal cycle), and technical/support (access, safety, labor) were assessed in each site. Site suitability analysis using a multi-criteria decision-making tool, Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), shows that Tasikoki has the highest suitability score (48.94%) followed by Tanjung Merah (27.18%) and Makalisung (23.88%). Tasikoki scores higher than the two other sites in 7 out of 11 sub-criteria, including native sandfish population, seagrass species, substrate, weather protection, safety, and community support. Our finding suggests that Tasikoki is bioecologically, environmentally, and technically the best potential site to be developed for H. scabra juvenile grow-out.

Download Full-text

Comanaging small-scale sea cucumber fisheries in New Caledonia and Vanuatu using stock biomass estimates to set spatial catch quotas

Environmental Conservation ◽

10.1017/s037689291300009x ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 40 (4) ◽

pp. 367-379 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

M. LÉOPOLD ◽

N. CORNUET ◽

S. ANDRÉFOUËT ◽

Z. MOENTEAPO ◽

C. DUVAUCHELLE ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Management Strategy ◽

Sea Cucumber ◽

New Caledonia ◽

Fishing Effort ◽

Small Scale ◽

Practical Case ◽

Stock Biomass ◽

Fisheries Policy ◽

High Resolution Satellite Imagery ◽

Total Stock

SUMMARYMany sea cucumber fisheries have dramatically declined worldwide due to rapid overexploitation and ineffective management. This study designed an innovative management strategy for small-scale, data-limited sea cucumber fisheries in Pacific Island countries. Firstly, a local quota-based comanagement system was implemented in New Caledonia to manage a small-scale sandfishHolothuria scabrafishery. A habitat map derived from high-resolution satellite imagery was used to stratify survey sampling and assess the harvestable stock biomass. The latter has been monitored as the reference biomass (RB) since 2008 and repeatedly used by the local fishers’ organization and Fisheries Department officers to set adaptive total allowable catches and regulations of fishing effort. Results showed the excellent performance of this fishery between 2008 and 2012, both biologically (167% increase in total stock biomass) and economically (146% increase in annual returns from catches). Secondly, the assessment of the RB was generalized to multispecies sea cucumber fisheries in Vanuatu in 2011 before the proposed lifting of a five-year national moratorium. Building upon these practical case studies in New Caledonia and Vanuatu, this paper outlines an operational framework to inform sea cucumber fisheries policy in these two countries and discusses the upscaling of the proposed management strategy.

Download Full-text