Fisheries Newsletter No 157 (September–December 2018)

Editorial

Very large sea cucumbers, as those proudly displayed in the picture below, have been named ‘Pacific black gold’, probably because they fetch very high prices, but most certainly because they are fast becoming as rare as gold in the region.

In 2012, fisheries authorities in French Polynesia decided to close a rapidly expanding sea cucumber fishery until a management plan was in place. Arsène Stein describes in detail (link) the approach taken by the Department of Marine Resources to develop this management plan, which involved communities in the monitoring and control of the fishery. Interestingly, overall beche-de-mer production sharply declined when regulations – including seasonal closures, quotas set per atoll, and minimum sizes imposed for each species – were put in place at the end of 2012, and quotas have not been fully utilised since then. At the same time, however, the declared export value per kilo almost tripled, proving that limiting the catch to large individuals by imposing minimum size limits could have a spectacular effect on the value of the catch. If size limits, used primarily to protect animals until they have had time to reach sexual maturity, have such a positive effect on the value of the catch, they should be used (and firmly enforced) for all sea cucumber fisheries in the Pacific Islands region, particularly where quotas are almost impossible to evenly share between localities and communities, and prove to be extremely difficult to monitor efficiently.

Be reassured, sea cucumbers are not the only topic discussed in this issue. Authors also relate surprising findings about tuna diets, describe promising initiatives in the aquaculture sector, and summarise lessons learned during 40 years of small-scale tuna fishery development .

This is a large issue, but then there is so much to say.

Aymeric Desurmont
Fisheries Information Specialist