Current status of the sea cucumber fishery in the south eastern region of Cuba
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Session I - Status of resources and utilization 151 Current status of the sea cucumber fishery in the south eastern region of Cuba Irma Alfonso, M.P. Frías, L. Aleaga and C.R. Alonso Fishery Research Center, Havana, Cuba Abstract The analysis of the sea cucumber (Isostichopus badionotus) fishery from August 1999 to June 2003 in the south eastern region of Cuba is summarized. During the first two years of the fishery (1999-2000) more than three million individuals were collected. During this period all the fishing effort was conducted by one fishing enterprise employing 12 boats. In 2001, the former enterprise was split into 3 fishing units, with 3 boats authorized for each unit. During the first two years the catch per unit effort (CPUE) was around 1 153 sea cucumber/boat/day. In subsequent years, production and the CPUE decreased to
152 Session I - Status of resources and utilization
Introduction
More than a dozen holothurian species have been indiscriminately exploited as well as being subjected to local fishing
restrictions in different parts of the world. The unique culinary characteristics of sea cucumber, much appreciated in
Asia, and the inadequate and/or the lack of management measures have been responsible for the overfishing of these
benthic organisms (Richmond et al., 1996; Conand, 1997; Ferdouse, 1999; Henkins and Mulliken, 1999; Morgan,
2000; Conand, 2001). Measures taken to protect these resources have been generally limited (Amesbury, 1996). The
potential for a sea cucumber fishery in Cuba was recognised in 1997 after an investigation carried out by the Fishery
Research Center in the shallow waters around the country. Following this, a southern Korean company negotiated a
fishing agreement with the authorities for the extraction of commercially important species. Preliminary investigations
estimated an annual harvest potential of 320 tonnes (dry weight) of the commercial species, Isostichopus badionotus
(Alfonso et al., 1998).
A research project was initiated alongside the start of the fishery in August 1999 allowing the first set of catch statistics
on Isostichopus badionotus (Figure 1) to be collected. Furthermore, the project also carried out a preliminary stock
abundance evaluation as well as estimated the production potential of the fishery. Studies on the species biology
were also conducted. Considerations on the possible impact of the fishery to the sea cucumber population led to the
formulation of a number of fishing regulations by mid 2000 (Alfonso et al., 2000). These regulations set the catch
quota for the various fishing areas, set a minimal legal size of 22 mm, and imposed a close fishing season during
the reproductive months (February-April). In addition, the regulations also restricted a minimum catch of 60 sea
cucumber specimens per standard collection bag and the maintenance of covered “onboard tanks” to protect the sea
cucumbers from the sun and heat.
The speedboats used (Figure 2) are
equipped with compressed air diving
tanks and four onboard holding tanks
fitted with a flow-through water system
to hold the sea cucumbers. The fishery
is carried out at depths of between 3-15
m and no fishing accidents have been
reported.
The fishing trips commonly last around
20 days, followed by a 10-day layoff
period. Evisceration of the sea cucumbers
is done on board and sea cucumbers are
then transported to the nearest quay for
boiling and salting. Further processing
and packaging is then carried out in
proper processing plants.
A Technical Operational Procedure
(TOP) manual (Figure 3), (Frías et al.,
Figure 1. Live specimens of sea cucumber (I. badionotus) in holding tanks. 2002), a manual of species identification
(Alfonso and Frías, 2001) and catch quota
documentation were developed during the initial stages of this newly establish fishery. The TOP manual comprises
measures for accident prevention, decompression tables, and allowable catch number of sea cucumber/bag along with
other technical information (e.g. size of the collecting bags).
Another TOP manual was developed to guarantee better yields and quality of the final product (Castelo et al., 2002).
The quality of the processed products has considerably improved over the years and the current yield is around 20 %
of the wet weight, similar to sea cucumber fisheries in other parts of the world.
Session I - Status of resources and utilization 153
Figure 3. Counting and measuring a sea
Figure 2. Speedboats used in the sea cucumber fishery. cucumber catch based on the procedures
detailed in the Technical Operational
Procedure (TOP) manual.
The principal objective of this paper is to provide information about the current status of the sea cucumber
(I. badionotus) fishery in Cuba’s south eastern region.
Materials and methods
During the first two years, fishing efforts were centred off the town of Granma. From February 2001, it expanded to
coastal areas further east to include the towns of Júcaro and Santa Cruz del Sur (Figure 4).
The catch quotas were set following an estimation of the sea cucumber biomass (Amesbury and Kerr, 1996; FAO,
1990). Catch data and CPUE (sea cucumber/boat/day) were recorded in all field monitoring trips. The monthly data
collected in each fishing area were compared with the daily catch data reported by the Operations Fishery Office of
the Ministry of the Fishing and Industry. Fifteen monitoring trips were organized to the fishing areas to verify the
actual CPUE values, the sea cucumber abundance and other biological data (length measurements, total and tegument
weights). Furthermore, the gonads were used to identify the sex and the maturation stage of each individual. Starting
in 2002, the reproductive cycle of this species has been under investigation (Aleaga et al., unpublished).
Results and discussion
Brief fishery analysis
The highest production volumes occurred during the first two fishing seasons (1999-2000) when over three million
individuals were landed (Figure 5).
During this period the sea cucumber fishery was managed by one fishing enterprise located in Granma which operated
12 boats in the south eastern region of Cuba. In mid 2001 this enterprise was split into 3 fishing units with 3 boats
each; however the production remained rather low due to a series of technical and management complications. By
2003, the sea cucumber fleet consisted only of one boat in Júcaro, two in Santa Cruz del Sur and two in Granma.
Figure 5 shows a decrease in the production (catch), CPUE and the number of fishing days from 2000 to 2001.
Around three million sea cucumbers were harvested in the first two years, but currently less than 500 000 are caught
annually. A total of 1 438 tonnes (wet weight) have been so far extracted in the south eastern region from the start
of the fishery, i.e. 920 tonnes from May 1999 to the end of 2000, 253 tonnes in 2001, 133 tonnes in 2002 and 127
tonnes in the first 6 months of 2003. To date, almost 69 tonnes (dry weight) have been processed and sold to a trading
154 Session I - Status of resources and utilization Figure 4. Map of the south eastern region of Cuba showing the sea cucumber fishing protected areas and location of the fishing enterprises. company (NENEKA CA) (41.6 tonnes up to the end of 2000, 13.5 tonnes in 2001, 7.3 tonnes in 2002 and 6.4 tonnes at the end of the first half of 2003). Despite a new system of payment being in place for the fishermen since 2002, some logistical support failures, for instance fuel, have created difficulties for the sea cucumber fleet. Thus, higher catches have not been possible. At present, efforts are being undertaken to re-establish normal fishery conditions and the trading company involved in the sector (NENEKA CA) is supporting the financing of boat motors and spare parts. The size of the fishery is not of great importance for the Cuban authorities at this stage even though the sea cucumber fishery provides an income to the enterprises involved and generates some employment.
Session I - Status of resources and utilization 155
According to the data collected by the
CPUE: No. sea cucumbers/boat/day authorities, the sea cucumber population
Production: No. sea cucumbers x 10? has not been seriously affected by the
fishery, particularly as the juvenile density
2400 Catch 1000
remains at an acceptable level. Furthermore,
CPUE
the declining CPUE is not an indication
2000
Fishing days of biomass decrease, as the values have
1600 700
fluctuated between 4 500 to 7 610 ind./ha
possibly indicating the aggregation behaviour
1200 noted by Sloan and Bodungen (1980) and
Boada and Buitrago (1996) in the waters off
800 400 Bermuda and Venezuela, respectively.
Preliminary field observations show that the
400
sea cucumbers have fully matured gonads
0 100
during February-April. This information
1999 2000-Jul 2001 2002 2003-jun
was used by the researchers to initially
recommend a close fishing season during
this period. However, further research
Figure
Figure 5. Sea 5. Seaproduction,
cucumber cucumber production, CPUE days
CPUE and fishing and fishing days
in Cuba’s south showed that a large number of sea cucumbers
in Cuba’s
eastern region south
from late 1999eastern
to Juneregion
2003. from late 1999 to June 2003.
juveniles (22 cm in length – minimal legal
size) appeared in the fishing grounds from
July to September while the adult population remained scarce. For this reason the initial closed fishing season
(February-April) was moved to July-September.
Tables 1 and 2 show the production of sea cucumber against the fishing efforts during the first 6 months of 2003. Only
a total of 361 598 sea cucumber specimens and approximately 127 tonnes (wet weight) were produced resulting in a
CPUE value of around 1 270 sea cucumber/boat/day and 225 sea cucumbers/diver/day.
New sea cucumber fishing areas were also searched. A survey carried out in the south western region of Cuba in April
2002 indicated a potential fishery of an additional 231 tonnes (wet weight). However, the infrastructure in this region
still remains inadequate for establishing a fishing operation.
Table 1. Effort and catch values of the sea cucumber fishery from January to June 2003 in the south eastern region of Cuba.
Effort Catch
Harvest Seasons Fishing Days/ fishing Fishing boats/ Number Wet weight
2003 season harvest season sea cucumber kilograms
January 45 3 69 697 21 740
February 47 3 76 353 21 141
March 56 4 88 071 32 765
April 31 5 28 137 18 850
May 21 3 31 549 11 800
June 57 5 67 791 21 500
257* 4** 361 598* 127 796*
* Total sum.
** Mean value.
156 Session I - Status of resources and utilization
Table 2. Catch per unit effort values of the sea cucumber fishery from January to June 2003 in the south eastern region of Cuba.
Catch Per Unit Effort
No. sea cucumber/boat/day Wet weight Kg/boat/day No. sea cucumber/diver/day Wet weight kg/diver/day
1 549 483 258 81
1 624 449 270 75
1 573 585 262 98
907 608 151 101
1 502 561 250 94
1 189 377 188 63
1 270* 504* 225* 83*
* Mean values.
Processing
Sea cucumbers are initially sorted by size onboard the vessels (Figure 3). Upon arrival at the landing site a small
cut is made beneath the oral opening of the sea cucumber to allow complete evisceration. After boiling for 30-45
minutes (depending on the size of the specimens), the sea cucumbers are drained, chilled and salted for 24 hours.
Sun drying for several days follows and is done by evenly distributing the sea cucumbers over suspended mesh trays
(Figure 6).
The final step in the processing
involves drying the sea cucumber in an
oven at 60 °C for 3-4 days depending
on the initial moisture content of the
specimens introduced (Figure 7).
Once the desired level of desiccation
is achieved, the sea cucumbers are
packed in 20 kg capacity paper and
nylon bags. Each bag contains around
1 075 to 1 200 pieces.
The dried sea cucumbers are separated,
classified and packed in two classes.
Class A currently commands a price
of US$ 22/kg while Class B a price
of US$ 8/kg. In 2003 approximately
87 % of the sea cucumber produced
were Class A.
Biological characteristics of the Cuban
Figure 6. Sun drying and preliminary size grouping of sea cucumbers.
sea cucumber
The tegument wet weight and size of
the Cuban sea cucumber, I. badionotus, varies seasonally and reaches the optimal value from February to May
coinciding with the peak maturation of the gonad. The maximum mean weight value recorded in Cuban waters was
612.4 ± 155.8 g.
With regards to the recruit of sea cucumber juveniles around the small islands off Santa Cruz del Sur it should be
noted that the marine current in the study area flows from east to west. This current may be responsible for the
transportation of the developing larvae probably from the Buena Esperanza Bank located off the town of Granma.Session I - Status of resources and utilization 157
Large mature sea cucumbers have
been found in this latter area which
has, therefore, been declared a
protected area (Figure 4).
The sustainable extraction of the
few commercial species of sea
cucumber in Cuba may have no or
little effect on the environment as
the ecological function carried out
by these species may be sufficiently
covered by other holothurians
of no commercial value, such as
H. mexicana (up to 17 000/ha),
A. multifidus (up to 6 300/ha),
A. agassizii (up to 1 800/ha), H.
floridana (up to 2 800/ha) as well
as other less abundant species.
Figure 7. Oven used for the final drying of sea cucumbers.
Use of sea cucumber by-products
The use of sea cucumber by-products, such as gonads and
the boiled freshwater used in processing, are currently
being investigated. Ajoint project with the national Centre
on Studies of Natural Products (CEPN) of the Faculty of
Biology at the University of Havana is being considered
in order to research and extract bioactive compounds
from sea cucumbers for medicinal purposes and other
uses. A separate project with techniques for breeding,
farming and harvesting the I. badionotus species for
other possible utilization will also be necessary.
Conclusions
The sea cucumber resources in Cuba, and in particular I.
badionotus, are being exploited following a precautionary
Figure 8. Live sea cucumber specimens of A. agassizii (1), approach. A number of management measures have been
H. floridana (2 and 4) and H. grisea (3). established in order to ensure a profitable utilization of
the natural marine resource. The overall volume of the
fishery is not considered an important factor in Cuba, however the fishery does provide an alternative economic
activity and employment opportunities to the local fishing enterprises engaged in the sector.
Further biological studies on I. badionotus are required in order to ensure the sustainability of the fishery.
Research needs
The following studies are recommended:
- Thorough investigation on the reproductive cycle of the commercial sea cucumber species.
- Investigation on the natural growth and mortality cycle of the commercial sea cucumber species.158 Session I - Status of resources and utilization
- Identify the possible relationships between bottom particle composition and sea cucumber growth.
- Research on population movements of the major commercial sea cucumber species.
- Research on the extraction of bioactive compounds from sea cucumber and their by-products.
- Promote international collaboration on sea cucumber fisheries, aquaculture and trade.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Dr Chantal Conand for her exhaustive revision, comments and advice on the preparation of this paper. Our
gratitude goes also to Mr Alessandro Lovatelli for inviting us to attend the ASCAM workshop in China and for the
opportunity to establish valuable international contacts. To NENEKA CA for the logistical support provided during
the field work. We wish to thank FAO for financially supporting the participation of Cuba at the ASCAM workshop.
Many thanks to our colleague, Enrique Valdés, for his advice and comments on the present work. We also wish to
acknowledge the collaboration offered by the fishery enterprises in Cuba.
References
Alfonso, I., Adriano, R. & Barrera, R. 1998. Prospección de poblaciones y estimado potencial de pesca del
“pepino de mar” en el Golfo de Batabanó, Sur de Santa Cruz del Sur, Jardines de la Reina, Sabana-Camagüey y las
Coloradas. Fishery Research Centre. XII Science and Technology Forum, June 1998. 6pp.
Aleaga, L., Alfonso, I. & Frías, M.P. Unpublished. Ciclo de maduración del pepino de mar Isostichopus badionotus
de la plataforma suroriental de Cuba. Fishery Research Centre. XIV Science and Technology Forum, June 2002.
6pp.
Alfonso, I., Frías, M.P., Vilaragut, M., Téllez, I., Morales, J.M. & Reyes, C.A. 2000. Estado actual del recurso
Pepino de Mar en la Plataforma sur oriental de Cuba. Third Congress on Marine Sciences ‘MARCUBA 2000’.
Congress Palace, Havana City, Cuba.13pp.
Alfonso, I. & Frías, M.P. 2001. Manual Práctico para la identificación de especies de “pepinos de mar” en aguas
cubanas. Fishery Research Centre. XIV Science and Technology Forum, June 2002. 23pp.
Alfonso, I., Frías, M.P., Aleaga, L. & Castelo, R. 2002. Estrategia de manejo para la pesquería del pepino de mar
Isostichopus badionotus en el oriente de Cuba. Fishery Research Centre. XIV Science and Technology Forum, June
2002. 8pp.
Alfonso, I. & Frías, M.P. 2003. Estado de explotación del recurso “pepino de mar” en la región oriental de Cuba.
Rev. Invest. Pesq., 23(1):17-26.
Amesbury, S. 1996. Management of beche-de-mer resource in Micronesia. In: Suggestions for the Management of
Sea cucumber Resources in Micronesia. Regional workshop on Sustainable Management of Sea Cucumber Fishery
for Micronesia. Tech. Rep.101. Univ. of Guam Mar. Lab. p.26-42.
Amesbury, S. & Kerr, A. 1996. Data collection methods for beche-de-mer resource management in Micronesia.
In: Suggestions for the Management of Sea cucumber Resources in Micronesia. Regional workshop on Sustainable
Management of Sea Cucumber Fishery for Micronesia. Tech. Rep.101. Univ. of Guam Mar. Lab. p.43-47
Buitrago, J. & Boada, J.A. 1996. La pesca de la holoturia Isostichopus badionotus en el oriente de Venezuela.
Memoria. Tomo LVI. No. 146. Jul-Dec 96. Contrib. No. 242.
Castelo, R., Alfonso, I., Frías, M.P. & Aleaga, L. 2002. Procedimiento Operacional Técnico pera el procesamiento
del pepino seco. Fishery Research Centre. XIV Science and Technology Forum, June 2002. 17pp.
FAO. 1990. The fishery resources of Pacific island countries. Part. 2. Holothurians, by C. Conand. FAO Fish. Tech.
Paper 272(2). Rome. FAO. 143pp.Session I - Status of resources and utilization 159 Conand, C. 1997. Are holothurian fisheries for export sustainable? Intern. Cong. Reefs, Panama, 2:2021-2026. Conand, C. 2001. Overview of sea cucumbers fisheries over the last decade: What possibilities for a durable management?. In: Echinoderms 2000. J.M Barker (Ed). Swets & Zetlinger. p339-344. Ferdouse, F. 1999. Asian Economic Recession and the Sea Cucumber Market. Infofish International, 1/99:25-29. Frías, M.P., Alfonso, I., Castelo, R. & Aleaga, L. 2002. Procedimiento Operacional Técnico para la pesca y manipulación a bordo del pepino de mar, en su medio natural. Fishery Research Centre. XIV Science and Technology Forum, June 2002. 15pp. Jenkins, M. & Mulliken, T.A. 1999. Evolution in the Galapagos Islands: Ecuador’s Sea Cucumber Trade. TRAFFIC Bull., 17(3):107-118. Kerr, A., Stoffel, E.M. & Lyon, R. 1993. Abundance distribution of Holothuroids (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea) on a Windward and Leeward fringing coral reef Guam, Mariana Islands. Bull. Mar. Sci., 52(2):780-791. Morgan, A. 2000. Sea cucumbers in demand. Seafood New Zealand, 8(6):69-70. Richmond, R.H, Hopper, D. and Martinez, P. 1996. The biology and ecology of sea cucumbers. In: Suggestions for the Management of Sea cucumber resources in Micronesia. Results of the Workshop. A Regional Management Sustainable Sea Cucumber Fishery for Micronesia. Tech. Rep. 101. Univ. of Guam Mar. Lab. p.7-20. Sloan, N.A. & Bodungen, B. 1980. Distribution and feeding of the sea cucumber I. badionotus in relation to shelter and sediment criteria of the Bermuda platform. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., 2:257-264.
You can also read
