A review of recent developments in the world sea cucumber fisheries

Marine Fisheries Review, Fall, 1993 by Chantal Conand, Maria Byrne

(1)Tonnage.

(2)Value in 1,000 HK$.

(3)Price/kg in HK$.

(4)Value in 1,000 S$.

(5)Price/kg in S$.

Other Markets

Taiwan, like other major importers (The People's Republic of China, Malaysia, Thailand), was once considered to depend on re-exports from Singapore and Hong Kong (Sachithananthan, 1972). This paper is the first detailed analysis of Taiwanese imports. It gives precise information, since 1983, on tonnages, values, and countries of origin (Table 8). From the 8 years analyzed, it appears that in 1987 and 1988, imports doubled compared with the mean for this period. The decrease in imports in 1989 and 1990 is compensated for by the increase in mean value per kilogram. Up to 1985, the origin of the product was essentially Indonesia. Imports are now more diverse with supplies coming from Singapore and Japan. Very high quality products are supplied by Japan. The Pacific Islands (New Caledonia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea) and Indian Ocean countries (Mozambique, Sri Lanka) show variable contributions. Unlike Hong Kong and singapore, there are no re-exports from Taiwan, because all imports of beche-de-mer are consumed locally.

[TABULAR DATA OMITTED]

Discussion

General Trends

Although the statistics are incomplete, a tentative evaluation of the beche-de-mer production in the Indo-Pacific and of the temperate fisheries landing is presented in Table 9. When data from different sources were discordant, national statistics were given preference. Between FAO statistics on catches, imports, and exports, and the main market statistics, the most representative data were chosen based on personal knowledge of the fishery.

[TABULAR DATA OMITTED]

Recently, beche-de-mer fisheries have increased markedly in tropical countries. This increase was marked by two phases: In 1985--86, production increased threefold over previous activity, and during 1987--89 it doubled again. A slight decline in 1989 was recorded by many national fisheries. This decline would have been more dramatic if the Indonesian landings were not overestimated, as evident from the market data.

Indonesia and The Philippines continue to dominate the world market in terms of tonnage produced. The recent increase in production by the Eastern Indian Ocean fishery is due to the Maldives fishery which as yet is poorly documented with regard to the species harvested, the processing methods, and the trade. The increase in world production since 1985 was stimulated by an increase in demand from the People's Republic of China for a less expensive, lower grade product. This resulted in a rapid change in the holothurian species being exploited, from first-category species (i.e. H. nobilis and H. fuscogilva), to a second-category species, A. miliaris. Temperate fisheries have been more consistent, with landings of around 12,000 t/year. The slight recent decrease in the Western Pacific fishery was compensated for by the development of the Eastern Pacific fishery.

Statistics

Access to the statistics at the various levels shown in Figure 3 and their reliability is considered in order to present some conclusions and recommendations for further assessment and management of holothurian resources. Stock assessment is relatively easy for these sedentary animals, and it needs to be carried out by a combination of methods such as direct underwater counts, counts from photographs of quadrats, and remote sensing of shallow-water reefs. As described for New Caledonia, these methods are useful in assessing the biomass of the main commercial species in reef environments (Conand, 1979).