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Population Fluxes of Commercially Threatened Sea Population fluxes of commercially threatened sea cucumber species in Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve for sustainable harvesting strategies to regularizing sea cucumber fishery RESEARCH REPORT By Dr. V.M. Sathish Kumar MAB Young Scientists Awardee-2012 India Submitted to: Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme, UNESCO & Zoological Survey of India Ministry of Environment & Forests Government of India PREFACE Sea cucumbers are attractive group of marine animals, which are over exploited for commercial gain resulting in them being included in the protected category. The present study was carried out in the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve (GOMMBR) through July to September 2013 to assess the Population fluxes of commercially threatened sea cucumber species for sustainable harvesting strategies to regularizing sea cucumber fishery. The work presented in this report is the outcome of support in various forms from several sources and to each one of them I am grateful for enabling me to complete this study, contributing to the measures of conservation of this fast depleting species. The current status of Sea cucumbers at 84 sites of GOMMBR was established by using biological assessments spread over 30 days of in- depth field observations by systematically surveying 84 study sites selected randomly and marked with a GPS on the map of GOMMBR. The inputs derived based on fishers questionnaire also aided in the site selection method. A preliminary investigation was conducted in order to assess how and where environmental variability and fishing pressure have affected the distribution and mean abundance of Sea cucumbers at the sites. For the 84 sites average abundances and densities were estimated and plotted graphically. However, length and biomass calculations could not be measured because specimen collections were not allowed the study areas which all fall under the marine protected area. This study revealed that though the ban on fishery and trade on Sea cucumbers are still in force, fishermen continue illegal collections for their livelihood. Coastal zones are further subjected to pollution and habitat loss. Hence, environmental variability together with fishing pressure are seen to alter the population diversity of sea cucumbers in the study area. It is inferred that conservation of the species can be achieved only by assessment and close monitoring of the population status. Continuous monitoring is urgently required to limit the present depletion of most stocks. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank: S The Government of India, Zoological Survey of India and the Ministry of Environment & Forests for nominating me for the MAB Young Scientist Award (UNESCO) 2012. S UNESCO (MAB) Young Scientist Award for financing this study. S Tamil Nadu Forest department, The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Wild Life Warden GOMNP, Ramanathapuram & Conservator of Forests, Virudhunagar. S Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve Trust (GOMBRT). ^ Dr. K. Rema Devi, Sr. Scientist (Retd) & IUCN South-east Asian member for supporting me all along! S Dr. A. Gopalakrishnan, Director, Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Cochin for his great support. S Dr. P.S. Asha, Principal Scientist, Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Cochin for species confirmation. S Dr. Ram Boojh, National Programme Officer, UNESCO, India. S Ms. Elizabeth Vasu, Programme Assistant, UNESCO, India. S Aruna Basu Sarcar IFS. Chief Conservator of Forests, Trichy. S Dr. J.D. Marcus Knight, ENVIS Coordinator, Department of Environment, TN. S Entire fisherman Community in GOMMBR, whose help cannot be expressed in words, to name them all would require more pages than this report! S My family, Malini, Aadya & Aadish. S Last but not the least, Dr. K. Venkataraman, Director and Dr. K. Ilango, Officer-in-Charge (SRC), Zoological Survey of India for their persistent unstinted support and encouragement throughout the course of this project, without which it would have been impossible for me to complete this study. CHAPTER 1 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Sea Cucumbers 1 1.1.1. Sea cucumbers & ecological role 3 1.1.2. Sea cucumbers & "Beche-de-mer" industry 3 1.1.3. Background and purpose of this study 4 CHAPTER 2 2. Material and Methods 5 2.1. Study site 5 2.2. Study area 6 2.2.1. Survey area and site selection 6 2.3. The islands and study sites 7 2.3.1. Tuticorin group 7 2.3.2. Vembar group 9 2.3.4. Kilakarai group 11 2.3.5. Mandapam group 14 2.4. Survey Methodology 18 2.4.1. Data Management & Statistical analyses 22 CHAPTER 3 3.1 Checklist of Sea Cucumbers of GOMMBR 23 3.2. Main commercially exploited holothurian species in the GOMMBR 26 CHAPTER 4 4. RESULTS 27 4.1. Sites and Species 27 4.2. Species Observed 27 4.3. Abundance Estimate 38 4.5. Conclusions and Recommendations 47 REFERENCES 51 CHAPTER 1 1. INTRODUCTION Marine organisms worldwide are suffering from commercial misuse and habitat destruction, and the combination of these issues may be driving some species to extinction (Southward et al., 2005). Marine parks are national resources and are valuable for their food, protection against waves, storms and also of scientific values (Bakus 1983). The coastal and marine environment of the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park and Biosphere Reserve (GOMMBR) is one such unique ecosystems comprising of coral reefs, sea-grass beds, mangroves etc. and their associated fauna which provide several benefits to mankind. Sea cucumbers in the marine benthic communities are highly diverse, abundant and exclusively marine invertebrates that play crucial roles in the recycling of nutrients and bioturbation processes (Preston, 1993). They are of immense value as food and folk medicine and are highly exploited. It is very important to periodically assess the population fluxes of these commercially exploited beautiful creatures for its survival and management which formsthe subject of this project. 1.1. SEA CUCUMBERS Sea cucumbers (Class: Holothuroidea) are attractive group of marine animals and are one of the six extant classes of the exclusively marine phylum Echinodermata. Holothuroids (the more broadly used term - holothurian is here restricted for species belonging to the genus Holothuria; holothuriids are likewise restricted for those species that belong to the family Holothuriidae) are the second most diverse echinoderm class, with some 200 described genera containing some 1600 extant species (Smiley 1994). Unique among echinoderms, 1 holothuroids can be holopelagic (Miller & Pawson, 1990). Their diversity is highest in the tropical waters, where 20 species per hectare is common (Kerr, Stoffell & Yoon, 1993). This highly successful class has a fossil record extending back some 460-500 million years to Lower Ordovician (Gilliland 1993; Reich 1999) and has invaded every part of the marine habitat, from the intertidal to the deep ocean trenches and from the polar to the tropical regions. The earliest fossil evidence of the Holothuroidea, in the Upper Silurian, consists of calcareous deposits from the body wall (Gilliland 1992; Pawson 1966). Sea cucumber orders are distinguished on the basis of gross morphological characters such as the morphology of the tentacles, the presence or absence of tentacular retractor muscles, the presence or absence of an internal respiratory tree, and the presence and distribution of podia on the trunk. At the familial level, taxonomic distinctions are dependent on a finer level of characters such as the morphology of dermal ossicles, the form of the esophageal calcareous ring, the distribution and morphology of the tube feet, etc. At the species level, the differences in a defining morphological character can be quite subtle, obscuring taxonomic distinctions. Like their closest relatives, the echinoids, the body lacks arms, mouth and anus are almost invariantly located at opposite poles and the ambulacral and interambulacral areas are arranged meridionally around the polar axis, which is lengthened to give the typical elongated cucumber shape (Littlewood et al. 1997). The vermiform to cylindrical shape of most holothuroids gives them a bilaterally symmetrical appearance, a pattern especially visible in some members of the orders Aspidochirotida and Dendrochirotida (Psolidae) which are modified dorso-ventrally with a more or less flattened ventral side. Sea cucumbers live chiefly among corals but are also found among rocks and in muddy and sandy flats. They are distributed from the shore to the greatest depths. Most holothuroids are under 20 cm in length, although some reach lengths of 5m (Mortensen, 2 1938) or weigh over 5 kg (Lane, 1992) and they occur in all colour combinations: white, black, red, blue, green, yellow, violet etc. 1.1.1. SEA CUCUMBERS & ECOLOGICAL ROLE In tropical countries, most of the cities have limited facilities to prevent pollution, and urban waste waters are often discharged directly to waterways or to the sea (Pastorok and Bilyard, 1985; Grigg, 1994). Therefore, eutrophication of coastal waters due to the discharge of nutrients from nearby urban areas is becoming a major environmental problem in recent years (Valiela et al., 1992; Bowen and Valiela, 2001). Sea cucumbers play important ecological role as suspension feeders, detritivores and prey. They consume a combination of bacteria, diatoms and detritus (Yingst 1976; Massin 1982; Moriarty 1982). Also as suspension feeders, sea cucumbers regulate water quality by affecting carbonate content and the pH of the water (Massin 1982). As stated by Bruckner et al. (2003), the local extinction of holothurians has resulted in the hardening of the sea floor, thereby eliminating potential habitat for other benthic organisms. Also Uthicke et al (1997) noted that the ammonium excretion by holothurians enhances production and turnover of benthic diatom communities. Most commercial species of sea cucumbers are deposit feeders, and their elimination is harmful to the ecosystems in which they live (Conand and Byrne, 1993). Holothurians are also important prey in coral reef and temperate food webs (Birkeland 1989; Francour 1997) both in shallow and in deep water (Jones and Endean 1973; Massin 1982), where they are consumed particularly by fishes, sea stars and crustaceans (Francour 1997).
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