ISSN 1025-4943 Issue 37 – March 2017 BECHE-DE-MER information bulletin Inside this issue Editorial Governance and the Papua New Guinea beche-de-mer value chain The 37th issue of the SPC Beche-de-mer Information Bulletin has 23 original K. Barclay et al. p.3 articles and reports on the biodiversity, fisheries, aquaculture and trade of Sea cucumber fisheries in Rasa Island sea cucumbers in various regions, including Papua New Guinea, Philip- Wildlife Sanctuary, Narra, Palawan, Philippines pines, China, Brazil and Nicaragua; sea cucumber symbionts; the repro- R.G. Dolorosa et al. p. 9 duction of some sea cucumber species; and the development of methods Species composition, density and to better study and rear them. New in situ observations are also included distribution of sea cucumbers in this issue, along with communications about upcoming conferences, (Holothuroidea) at Arreceffi Island, and PhD dissertations that were completed this year. Honda Bay, Palawan, Philippines J.B.S. Jontila et al. p.21 The first article is from K. Barclay et al. who summarise some of the Present status of the sea cucumber fishery in Turkey major findings of a governance analysis that was conducted to assist the M. Aydın p. 30 National Fisheries Authority of Papua New Guinea with understanding Processing techniques for white teatfish the factors influencing the effectiveness of their revised Beche-de-mer Holothuria fuscogilva and black teatfish Fishery Management Plan. H. whitmaei in Fiji R. Ram et al. p. 35 The second and third articles are from the Philippines. R. Dolorosa et al. Sea cucumber fisheries in Northeast determine the species diversity of sea cucumbers in Rasa Island Wildlife Brazil Sanctuary in addition to the catch-per-unit-effort and earnings of collec- J. Souza Junior et al. p. 43 tors. J.B.S. Jontila et al. provide an initial assessment on the status of sea From life-sustaining to life-threatening: The case of the sea cucumber fishery in cucumbers at Arreceffi Island in terms of species composition, abundance Nicaragua and distribution. A. Rogers et al. p. 48 Large-scale sandfish (Holothuria scabra) Fisheries information comes from Turkey, Brazil and Nicaragua. M. Aydın aquaculture in multitrophic polyculture reports on the present status of the sea cucumber fishery in Turkey and ponds in southern China J. de Souza Junior et al. on sea cucumber fisheries in northeastern Brazil. S.W. Purcell and M. Wu p. 51 Rogers et al. draw our attention to a fishery in Nicaragua that operates Market value of flower teatfish (“pentard”): A highly exploited Indian from nearby Honduras, where unethical conditions occur aboard fishing Ocean holothuroid vessels and where desperate poverty drives fishers to work in dangerous S.W. Purcell et al. p. 53 conditions. S.W. Purcell and M. Wu reveal that the sandfish Holothuria scabra is now Editor produced in southern China within multitrophic polyculture ponds with Igor Eeckhaut pearl oysters and groupers. S.W. Purcell et al. record the values of the sea Marine Biology and bioimitation 6, Av. Champ de Mars cucumber “pentard” in China and determine whether market price var- University of Mons ied as a function of the size of the products. 7000 Mons Belgium Email: [email protected] Production Works on sea cucumber reproductions come from R. Santos et al. and Fisheries Information Section from V. Agudelo-Martínez and A. Rodríguez-Forero. The first team char- SPC, BP D5, 98848 Noumea Cedex New Caledonia acterizes the reproductive biology of Holothuria mammata from Peniche, Fax: +687 263818 Portugal, and the second that of Isostichopus sp. aff badionotus from the Email: [email protected] www.spc.int/coastfish Carribbean coast of Colombia. Produced with financial assistance from the government of Australia, the European Union, France and the New Zealand Aid Programme. 2 SPC Beche-de-mer Information Bulletin #36 – March 2016 Reproductive biological characteristics and fatty Two original articles focus on sea cucumber symbionts. acid profile of Holothuria mammata (Grube, 1840) J.F. Hamel et al. reveal a new host for a species of the genus R. Santos et al. p. 57 Anoplodium, and report on its infestation rates and nega- Gametogenesis, spawning and larval development tive impacts on the host, supporting its classification as of Isostichopus sp. aff badionotus parasitic. K.W. Mueller present the symbionts of the giant V. Agudelo-Martínez and A. Rodríguez-Forero p. 65 red sea cucumber, Parastichopus californicus, in Washington New host for the parasitic worm Anoplodium sp. State (USA), with some implications for culturing the host. found in the sea cucumber Isostichopus fuscus J.-F. Hamel et al. p. 75 F. Ducarme provides an update on the geographical Symbionts of the giant red sea cucumber, range of the holothurian species Actinopyga capillata, first Parastichopus californicus), with some implications for culture of the host described as endemic from the Mascarene Islands, with K.W. Mueller p. 79 one ectopic record from the Philippines. D. Pratas et al. Revision of the geographical range of Actinopyga show the results of four tests that aimed at determining the capillata gender of Holothuria forskali without causing evisceration F. Ducarme p. 92 or consequential mortality. Development of techniques for gender identification in Holothuria forskali This issue also reports on the processing techniques of D. Pratas et al. p. 95 teatfish in Fiji, on field observations on the regeneration of Teripang fishing activities at Barang Lompo Synapta maculata, and on sea cucumbers from La Réunion, Island, Sulawesi, Indonesia: An update 20 years after a visit in 1996 Belize and Sulawesi. The last section of this issue includes S. Yusuf et al. p. 99 communications about workshops and conferences that Potential symbiosis between the bathyal sea were held in 2016 and some that will take place in 2017. cucumber Orphnurgus sp. and the amphipod Congratulations are expressed to Georgina Robinson crustacean Adeliella sp. in the western tropical from Newcastle University (United Kingdom), Guillaume Pacific Caulier from the University of Mons (Belgium), Marielle L. Corbari et al. p. 103 Dumestre from the University of Hong Kong (China) and Field observations on the regeneration in Synapta maculata Kennedy Wolfe from the University of Sydney (Australia) P. Bourjon p. 105 who recently completed their PhD dissertations of various Biodiversity in holothurians at Reunion Island: aspects of sea cucumbers. Two previously undescribed sea cucumbers species P. Bourjon and E. Morcel p. 107 Igor Eeckhaut Holothuroidea species found in Belizean waters J. McNab and A. Rogers p. 111 P.S: In line with a worldwide trend to limit the impact of Observation of mass recruitment of juvenile producing printed publications on the environment, SPC has dendrochirotids on coral reefs of Sulawesi, Indonesia decided to stop the production and distribution of printed S. Yusuf and A. Tuwo p. 115 copies of this and other information bulletins. The BDM An aquarium trade dendrochirotid holothurian, bulletin is now only produced in digital format and remain Pseudocolochirus sp., processed into teripang in accessible from SPC’s website at: Sulawesi, Indonesia http://www.spc.int/coastfish/en/publications/bulletins/ S. Yusuf et al. p. 116 beche-de-mer.html Report on a stranding of the dendrochirotid sea cucumber Cladolabes perspicillum and other echinoderms by a low-pressure induced storm surge on the New South Wales coast, Australia M. Byrne et al. p. 117 COMMUNICATIONS p.119 © Copyright Pacific Community (SPC), 2017 All rights for commercial / for profit reproduction or translation, in any form, reserved. SPC authorises the partial reproduction or translation of this newsletter 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. The views expressed in this Bulletin are those of the authors and are not necessarily shared by the Pacific Community. Original text: English Pacific Community, Fisheries Information Section, BP D5, 98848 Noumea Cedex, New Caledonia Telephone: +687 262000; Fax: +687 263818; [email protected]; http://www.spc.int/coastfish SPC Beche-de-mer Information Bulletin #37 – March 2017 3 Governance and the Papua New Guinea beche-de-mer value chain Kate Barclay,1* Michael Fabinyi1 and Jeff Kinch2 Abstract The sea cucumber fishery was a highly significant fishery for many years in Papua New Guinea, supplying 10% of the global trade in the mid-2000s. However, increasing prices and an influx of buyers entering the trade has led to overfishing of sea cucumber stocks, and a moratorium was subsequently introduced by the National Fisheries Authority in September 2009. This paper draws out key findings from an analysis of the governance arrangements along the beche-de-mer supply chain from village-based fishers and suppliers in Papua New Guinea through trading to end markets in the Peoples Republic of China. We give an overview of the value chain, showing that fishers were doing quite well from the sea cucumber fishery compared with exporters in the sellers’ market operating in the years before the moratorium, and the deeply opaque nature of import markets via the Hong Kong “grey trade”. The analysis of management measures shows that while ecolabels seem an unlikely measure in the short term, there may be opportunities for branding according to place of origin, quality and food safety. We find that the regulation of exports rather than the fishery per se is an excellent fit between the operational realities of the business and government capacity. This did not, however, prevent overfishing before 2009, but it nevertheless provides a model with great potential for other countries with similarly structured fisheries and trade to consider.