Test Traduction - World Ocean Network

Holothuriculture

Description of the action / project

Context

Sea cucumbers are important resources for coastal livelihoods and ecosystems. At least 60 species are fished from more than 40 countries and most of the harvests are processed then exported to Asian markets. With retail prices of up to USD300–500 per kg (dried), exploitation has often been indiscriminant and excessive.

Overfishing in recent years has led to local extinction of high-value species in some localities.
High prices and the increasing consumer demand have seen the expansion of the range covered by marine products agents, the development of capacity in these fisheries and an ongoing search for new species.
In many regions, the socio-economic dependency on beche-de-mer is so vast that fishers continue collecting sea cucumbers despite scant catches, further affecting the stocks capacity to reproduce and repopulate the fishing grounds.
Many additional threats have been identified for sea cucumber populations worldwide, including global warming, habitat destruction, unsustainable fishing practices (e.g. blasting), the development of fisheries with little or no information on the species, and lack of natural recovery after overexploitation. Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fisheries are widespread in all regions, representing an indirect threat as it fuels unsustainable practices and socio-economic demand.

Aquaculture, sea ranching and restocking have been evaluated as possible solutions to wild sea cucumber overexploitation, and some countries have started such ventures (e.g. Australia, China, Kiribati, Philippines, Viet Nam and Madagascar).
In the Asia Pacific region aquaculture is still in the early development stages, with one species of sea cucumber (Holothuria scabra) in trials to ascertain the commercial viability of culture and farming options.

In 12 out of the 30 countries in the Indian and tropical Pacific region the resource appears to be overexploited or fully exploited. Sea cucumbers are harvested and processed in different ways throughout the region, varying from small-scale, artisanal to semi-industrial activities. Globally, and according to FAO statistics, the region produces at least 1/3 of the world dried sea cucumber products.

Concerning the historical records, the first exports recorded from Madagascar were in 1920 with about 40 tonnes of trepang from three species (Petit, 1930). Then exports varied annually from 50 to 140 tonnes. Since 1990, the harvesting of sea cucumbers greatly increased. Exports of trepang reached nearly 600 tonnes in 1991 and 1994 (or about 6 000 tonnes in fresh weight) and about 980 tonnes in 2002. After 2002 official data showed a significant decline in exports. Since 1990 signs of overexploitation have been observed and included: (i) the declining quality of the product; (ii) the decrease in product size; (iii) the use of illegal fishing equipment; (iv) strong competition between collectors (Conand et al., 1998); (v) fishing outside territorial waters; and (vi) the collection of juveniles (Conand, 1999).

In Madagascar sea cucumber harvesting is a traditional and permanent activity in coastal regions, especially near coral reefs (Conand et al., 1997; Rasolofonirina, Mara and Jangoux, 2004; Rasolofonirina in Conand and Muthiga, 2007a). This activity steadily expanded from the early 1990s and it is currently rather intense on the west coast of Madagascar (Petit, 1930; Rasolofonirina and Conand, 1998). Fishers collect various resources on the reef flat, during the low tide, such as shellfish, urchins, octopus and sea cucumbers (Rosa, 1997; Rakotonirina, 2000). Presently, more than thirty species are exploited. The harvested species, however, vary according to the market price, the international demand and their availability. Holothuria scabra, H. fuscogilva,
H. nobilis, Stichopus horrens and Thelenota ananas are the main collected species.

In Madagascar, a programm was set up with the help of the Belgian Cooperation resulted in the construction of a sea cucumber hatchery and farm in Toliara region. The work was funded by the Belgian University Corporation for Development (CUD) and involved the Universities of Brussels and Mons (both from Belgium) and the Malgachian University of Toliara. It first consisted in building a sea cucumber hatchery on the setting of the Toliara Marine Sciences Institution (IH.SM).

Methodology

Constraints

Ensure this sector’s ownership and integration in the social and economical environment of the producing villages
Define the marine areas responding to growing’s optimal conditions
Latent conflicts between aquaculturists and fishermen

Project implementation

The method for growing sea cucumber includes three successive phases, each requiring specialized infrastructures (internal aquaria, external tanks and sea fences) related to the animal sizes.

La reproduction et la fixation larvaire réalisées en cuves avec la nécessaire maîtrise des paramètres physico-chimiques (écloserie) ;
Le pré-grossissement des juvéniles effectué dans des bassins extérieurs sur substrat sablo-vaseux reconstitué jusqu’à une taille de 15g (ferme de pré-grossissement);
Le grossissement dans des enclos en mer (fermes de grossissement)

Les deux premières étapes nécessitent la maîtrise d’un haut degré de technicité et doivent être gérées par un opérateur, public ou privé, détenant les ressources humaines, financières et techniques adaptées. La troisième phase, le grossissement en enclos, peut en revanche être pris en charge par des ruraux utilisant une technologie simple et facilement accessible. L’élevage villageois d’holothuries nécessitera donc la mise en place préalable d’un partenariat entre une écloserie et des fermiers.

The growth cycle of the Holothuria scabra being estimated to 12 months, the pens’ filling and the individuals’ collecting are spread out over the year at three-month intervals.

Duration of the project

Two years (4 semesters)

Partners

Trans-Mad Développement

Downloadable projects documents

Managing sea cucumber fisheries with an ecosystem approach, FAO 2010, n°520
Sea cucumbers. A global review of fisheries and trade.FAO 2008, n° 516
Manuel_d’holothuriculture
La bêche-de-mer, bulletin d’information n°29, Septembre 2009. Secrétariat général de la Communauté du Pacifique

THE PROJECT

Objectives

Proposer une activité complémentaire aux communautés pour leur apporter une nouvelle source de revenus et réduire le prélèvement sur les stocks existants d’holothuries.
Ralentir la surexploitation des stocks sauvages à l’échelon local.
Promotion de filière de valorisation de la gestion de la ressource naturelle renouvelable des zones côtières du sud ouest de Madagascar
Maîtrise du process de grossissement des holothuries en milieu naturel
Formation et professionnalisation d’une filière de petits et moyens aquaculteurs villageois
Sécurisation de l’écosystème lagunaire par le ré équilibrage écologique