“It is unlikely that the 33.1% percent of global fisheries currently being fished at unsustainable levels will recover anytime soon”
– FAO, United Nations 2018
Troubled Waters for Sea Cucumbers
Sea cucumbers as bioturbators, play a vital role in the marine environment by recycling nutrients through their feeding and burrowing activity. They enhance the productivity and function of the ecosystem for other marine life, mitigating the accumulation of organic matter in marine sediments and provide the building blocks for coral, shell and habitat development as well as being shown to buffer the impact of ocean acidification locally. In East Asia, sea cucumbers have for a long time been considered a valuable seafood product with various health benefits including
anti-inflammatory and cancer-fighting properties.
Over the last decade, high demand has resulted in the exploitation and poor fisheries management of 70+ valuable sea cucumber species for many developing countries and their coastal communities. Many species including the sandfish (Holothuria scabra) are considered endangered by IUCN and are on the brink of collapse as overfishing through-out the Indo-Pacific region continues to threaten these species as well as the livelihoods of small-scale fishing communities reliant on the fishery.
Attainable Sustainable Aquaculture (“ASA”) works with communities to provide the opportunity to sustainably farm sandfish, through training, market access and support from collaborative partners.
By producing juveniles with industry-leading hatcheries, communities have the opportunity to farm sea cucumbers in extensive ocean-based
grow-out pens. These farms are low-cost, require little technical expertise and allow for gender mainstreaming, being an ideal livelihood for women and men equally. Farmers are then able to sell their stock to be processed into ‘beche-de-mer’ and exported to international markets, resulting in community economic empowerment and financial security.
By providing a lucrative, alternative livelihood that is sustainable and
climate-resilient for fishing communities, ASA works with partners to reduce the fishing pressure on wild sea cucumber populations and aid sustainable resource management strategies through community-based aquaculture.
“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it”
– Robert Swan