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The Status of Sea Cucumber Resources at Aitutaki, Mangaia, Palmerston and Rarotonga, Cook Islands

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The Status of Sea Cucumber Resources at Aitutaki, Mangaia, Palmerston and Rarotonga, Cook Islands The status of sea cucumber resources at Aitutaki, Mangaia, Palmerston and Rarotonga, Cook Islands June 2013 SciCOFish SCIENTIFIC SUPPORT FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF COASTAL AND OCEANIC FISHERIES IN THE PACIFIC ISLANDS REGION The status of sea cucumber resources at Aitutaki, Mangaia, Palmerston and Rarotonga, Cook Islands June 2013 by Koroa Raumea1, Ngereteina George1, Kalo Pakoa2, Ian Bertram2 and Michael Sharp2 1 Cook Islands Ministry of Marine Resources 2 Secretariat of the Pacific Community Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), Noumea, New Caledonia, 2013 This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of SPC and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union. Copyright Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), 2013 All rights for commercial / for profit reproduction or translation, in any form, reserved. SPC authorises the partial reproduction or translation of this material for scientific, educational or research purposes, provided that SPC and the source document are properly acknowledged. Permission to reproduce the document and/or translate in whole, in any form, whether for commercial / for profit or non-profit purposes, must be requested in writing. Original SPC artwork may not be altered or separately published without permission. Original text: English ————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Secretariat of the Pacific Community Cataloguing-in-publication data Raumea, Koroa The status of sea cucumber resources at Aitutaki, Mangaia, Palmerston and Rarotonga, Cook Islands: June 2013 / by Koroa Raumea, Ngereteina George, Kalo Pakoa, Ian Bertram and Michael Sharp 1. Sea cucumbers — Cook Islands. 2. Trepang fisheries — Cook Islands. 3. Holothurian populations — Cook Islands. I. Raumea, Koroa II. George, Ngereteina III. Pakoa, Kalo IV. Bertram, Ian V. Sharp, Michael VI. Title VII. Cook Islands. Ministry of Marine Resources VIII. Secretariat of the Pacific Community 593.96099623 AACR2 ISBN: 978-982-00-0653-9 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Photographs and illustrations by SPC staff except where noted. Printed at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community headquarters, Noumea, New Caledonia. ii Contents Acknowledgements v Summary vii 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Sea cucumber resources of Cook Islands 1 1.2 Subsistence use of sea cucumber 1 1.3 Commercial beche-de-mer fishing 2 1.4 Past resource assessments 2 1.5 Fishery management 2 1.6 Objective of the assessment surveys 3 2. Methods 4 2.1 Survey design and planning 4 2.2 Survey methodologies 4 2.3 Data analysis and reporting 4 2.4 Stock estimation procedures 5 3. Results 6 3.1 Survey coverage 6 3.2 Species presence and total counts 6 3.3 Species densities 7 3.4 Density comparison with regional reference 8 3.5 Sea cucumber reference densities for study sites 9 3.6 Size distribution 9 3.7 Stock estimate and fishable quantity by island 12 4. Economic analysis 14 4.1 Assumptions and descriptions of the data source 14 4.2 Revenue estimates for fishers, processors and exporters 16 4.3 Economic management tools 17 5. Discussion 18 6. Recommendations 20 7. References 21 Appendices 23 iii Acknowledgements The Cook Islands Ministry of Marine Resources (MMR) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) acknowledge with gratitude the funding support provided by the European Union-funded Scientific support for the management of Coastal and Oceanic Fisheries in the Pacific Islands region (SciCOFish) project for co-funding the invertebrate assessment training in Aitutaki for MMR staff. This report is made possible through the assistance and contribution of many people and agencies. We acknowledge the collaborative support of MMR staff, in particular Ben Ponia, Secretary of the Ministry of Marine Resources, for his overall guidance; and Richard Story, Joe Katangi, Ngametua Atingakau, James Kora, Alice Mitchell, Toumiti Matangaro, Taimana Matara, Tuaine Turua, Trinilobe Kea, Ngametua Rongo, Tuteru Taripo, Bill Marsters and Jacqui Evans of Takitumu Ipukarea Society (TIS) for their assistance with the surveys in Aitutaki, Palmerston and Rarotonga. We acknowledge Dr Serge Andréfouët of the French Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD) for the use of the habitat area maps for Cook Islands. Special appreciation also goes to the Living Oceans Foundation and Dr Andrew Bruckner, Chief Scientist and coordinator of the project, for allowing MMR staff free transportation on their research vessel Golden Shadow to Palmerston. Without this gesture, MMR staff would not have been able to conduct sea cucumber field work, given the irregularity of shipping to Palmerston. We also thank the island councils and the communities for their support for the work in their respective areas. The survey team in Aitutaki, September 2012. v Summary Of the various sea cucumber species that occur in Cook Islands, some are used for subsistence food, and others have commercial value. Over the past three decades there has been sporadic small-scale exploitation of sea cucumber for the beche-de-mer trade. With stocks of sea cucumber in traditional beche-de-mer producing countries diminishing and countries responding by introducing tighter management controls such as limits to access or exports, or introducing moratoria, there have been increasing requests to the Ministry of Marine Resources for the commercial exploitation and export of these resources in Cook Islands. This report presents the results of sea cucumber stock assessments completed in Aitutaki (October 2012), Rarotonga (November 2012), Palmerston (May 2013) and Mangaia (June 2013). Densities of lollyfish (Holothuria atra) and surf redfish (Actinopyga mauritiana) in Aitutaki, Mangaia and Rarotonga were greater than regional healthy reference densities for sea cucumbers as determined by SPC for the region. However, greenfish (Stichopus chloronotus) densities were below the regional reference density. Greenfish was absent in Mangaia. Mean and maximum sizes for sea cucumbers at all sites were smaller than those reported for the region overall. This assessment and previous studies enabled the determination of reference densities for lollyfish and surf redfish at all sites and for greenfish at Aitutaki, Palmerston and Rarotonga. Stocks of lollyfish are considered to be healthy and could support low to moderate exploitation. Surf redfish densities are high; however, most of the stock inhabits a thin strip of surf zone. Greenfish stock levels are moderate at the three sites at which they are present. Sea cucumber fisheries throughout the region have experienced periods of booming production and high revenue followed by periods of low production, primarily due to less than ideal fishery management strategies. Should Cook Islands choose to harvest sea cucumber resources for the beche-de-mer trade, it will be important to develop, implement and monitor effective fishery management frameworks. Management tools and harvest strategies for consideration are outlined in the recommendations of this report. vii 1. Introduction Cook Islands’ reefs and fauna have tremendous economic, social, cultural and ecological importance and communities enjoy the nutritional and economic benefits of the marine resources. Coastal resources ex- ploited for domestic and export gain include a variety of finfish and invertebrates such as lobsters, coconut crabs, giant clams, sea cucumbers, trochus and pearl oysters, with the latter two invertebrate groups used for export revenue. Of the various sea cucumber species that occur in Cook Islands, some are used for subsistence food, and other species have potential commercial value. Several characteristics make tropical sea cucumber species vulnerable to overfishing, including the high economic value of some species, the fact that all are sedentary and slow moving – living in shallow lagoon/reef habitats, and the fact that many adults of the species are easy to find. 1.1 Sea cucumber resources of Cook Islands In total, 14 Holothuroides, or sea cucumber species, have been reported in Cook Islands (Zoutendyk 1989; Pinca et al. 2009) (Table 1), and additional species are likely to occur in areas yet to be assessed. With the exception of Synapta maculate, all species listed have some traditional use or commercial food importance. Table 1. Sea cucumber species reported from in Cook Islands. Scientific name Common/trade name Local name Actinopyga mauritiana Surf redfish Rori Puakatoro Bohadschia argus Leopardfish Rori Kuru Holothuria atra Lollyfish Rori Toto Holothuria cinerascens Flower sea cucumber Rori Pua Holothuria coluber Snakefish - Holothuria hilla Tiger tailfish Kanaenae Holothuria impatiens Impatient sea cucumber - Holothuria leucospilota White snakefish Matu Rori/Rori Ka’a/Rori tapou Holothuria pervicax - Urari Holothuria whitmaei Black teatfish Rori U Stichopus chloronotus Greenfish Rori Matie Stichopus horrens Dragonfish Ngata Synapta maculate Kingfish Veri-aria Thelenota ananas Prickly redfish - 1.2 Subsistence use of sea cucumber Sea cucumber products have been part of the diet of Cook Islanders for many years, particularly those in the islands of the Southern Group. Apart from serving as food, sea cucumbers form the ingredients to traditional medicines. Two species of sea cucumbers (Holothuria atra and Holothuria leucospilota) are harvested for their mature gonads (matu rori), which are eaten raw or cooked. The harvesting and the consumption of mature sea cucumber gonads generally occur
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