Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-qsmjn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T21:38:17.779Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Resource degradation of the sea cucumber fishery in Zanzibar, Tanzania: a need for management reform

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 February 2011

B. Hampus Eriksson ,
Maricela de la Torre-Castro ,
Johan Eklöf  and
Narriman Jiddawi
B. Hampus Eriksson*
Affiliation:
Department of Systems Ecology, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
Maricela de la Torre-Castro
Affiliation:
Department of Systems Ecology, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden Institute of Marine Science, University of Dar es Salaam, Mizingani Rd., PO Box 668, Zanzibar
Johan Eklöf
Affiliation:
Department of Systems Ecology, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
Narriman Jiddawi
Affiliation:
Stockholm Resilience Centre Stockholm University, Kräftriket 2B, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
*
a Corresponding auteur: hampus@ecology.su.se

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

This study assessed the Zanzibar sea cucumber fishery using a multidisciplinary approach. Data was collected by (i) interviewing various groups of actors in the fishery and reviewing management documentation and legislation, (ii) by monitoring catches and (iii) through a visual census of coastal sea cucumber populations in areas open and closed to fishing. The fishery showed clear signs of being unsustainable with high fishing effort, and weak formal and informal management institutions. The fishery operation was characterised by an intricate cross-scale structure with both fishers and sea cucumber products being transported across national borders. The visual census of commercial sea cucumber stocks at three sites open to fishing around Zanzibar showed low densities across the range of sea cucumber value groups including low value species. Furthermore, the diversity of commercial sea cucumber species was lower in fished reefs than on a protected reef. The poor status of the sea cucumber populations was confirmed by the perception of an overfished resource by the interviewed actors active in the fishery. This was also depicted by the paucity of high value species, and high representation of low value and newly commercialised species in fishers catch. We conclude that the current state of Zanzibar’s sea cucumber populations is compromising the fisheries self-replenishment and existence and that the fishery is in urgent need of a complete management reform.

Keywords

Bêche-de-merFisheriesOverfishingHolothuriansEchinodermsTrepangWestern Indian Ocean
Type
Research Article
Information
Aquatic Living Resources , Volume 23 , Issue 4 , October 2010 , pp. 387 - 398
Copyright
© EDP Sciences, IFREMER, IRD 2011

References

Références

Andersson, J., Ngazi, Z., 1998, Coastal communities production choices, risk diversification and subsistence behaviour, responses in periods of transition. Ambio 27, 686–693. Google Scholar
Bell, J.D., Purcell, S.W., Nash, W.J., 2008, Restoring small-scale fisheries for tropical sea-cucumbers. Ocean Coast. Manage. 51, 589–593. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berkes, F., Hughes, T.P., Steneck, R.S., Wilson, J.A., Bellwood, D.R., Crona, B., Folke, C., Gundersson, L.H., Leslie, H.M., Norberg, J., Nyström, M., Olsson, P., Österblom, H., Sheffer, M., Worm, B., 2006, Globalization, roving bandits, and marine resources. Science 311, 1557–1558. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bruckner, A.W., Johnson, K.A., Field, J.D., 2003, Conservation strategies for sea cucumbers: Can a CITES Appendix II listing promote sustainable international trade? SPC BDM Inf. Bull. 18, 24–33. Google Scholar
Brycesson, I., 2002, Coastal aquaculture developments in Tanzania: sustainable and non-sustainable experiences. Western Indian Ocean J. Mar. Sci. 1, 1–10. Google Scholar
Byrne, M., Rowe, F., Uthicke, S., 2010, Molecular taxonomy, phylogeny and evolution in the family Stichopodidae (Aspidochirotida: Holothuroidea) based on COI and 16S mitochondrial DNA. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 56, 1068–1081. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cash D.W., Adger W.N., Berkes F., Garden P., Lebel L., Olsson P., Pritchard L., Young O., 2006, Scale and cross-scale dynamics: Governance and information in a multilevel world. Ecol. Soc. 11, 8. http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol11/iss2/art8/
Choo P.S., 2008, Population status, fisheries and trade of sea cucumbers in Asia. In Toral-Granda V., Lovatelli A.,. Vasconcellos M. (eds.). Sea cucumbers. A global review of fisheries and trade. FAO Fish. Aquac. Techn. Pap. No. 516, 81–118.
Cochrane, K.L., 1999, Complexity in fisheries and limitations in the increasing complexity of fisheries management. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 56, 917–926. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coleson J., Jiddawi N.S., 1996, The sea cucumbers of Zanzibar. IMS Reports (draft).
Conand C., 1990, the fishery resources of Pacific Island Countries, Part Two: Holothurians. fisheries Techn. Pap. No. 272.2.
Conand, C., 1993, Reproductive biology of the holothurians from the major communities of the New Caledonian lagoon. Mar. Biol. 116, 439–450. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conand C., 1997, Are holothurian fisheries sustainable? In: Lessios H., MacIntyre I.G., 8th Internat. Coral Reef Symp. Panama: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Vol. 2, pp. 2021–2026.
Conand, C., 2008, Population status, fisheries and trade of sea cucumbers in Africa and the Indian Ocean. In: Toral-Granda V., Lovatelli A., Vasconcellos M. (eds.). Sea cucumbers. A global review of fisheries and trade. FAO Fish. Aquac. Techn. Pap. No. 516, 143–193.
Conand, C., Byrne, M., 1994, Recent evolution of the world fisheries for sea cucumbers. Mar. Fish. Rev. 55, 1–13. Google Scholar
Conand C., Muthiga N. (eds.) 2007, Commercial sea cucumbers in the Western Indian Ocean. WIOMSA Book Series No 5.
Crona, B., Nyström, M., Folke, C., Jiddawi, N., 2010, Middlemen, a critical social-ecological link in coastal communities of Kenya and Zanzibar. Mar. Policy 34, 761–771. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
de la Torre-Castro, M., Rönnbäck, P., 2004, Links between humans and seagrasses – and example from tropical East Africa. Ocean Coast. Manage. 47, 361–387. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
de la Torre-Castro M., 2006, Beyond regulations in fisheries management: the dilemmas of the “beach recorders” Bwana Dikos in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Ecol. Soc. 11, 35.
de la Torre-Castro, M., Ochiewo, J., Mbaga, T.K., Pinault, M., 2007, A framework for addressing socioeconomic and management aspects of sea cucumber resources in the Western Indian Ocean. SPC BDM Inf. Bull. 25, 22–28. Google Scholar
de la Torre-Castro, M., Lindström, L., 2010, Fishing institutions: addressing regulative, normative and cultural-cognitive elements to enhance fisheries management. Mar. Policy 34, 77–84. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Denscombe M., 1998, The good research guide for small-scale social research projects, 3rd edition, Mc Graw Hill. Open University Press.
English S., Wilkinson C., Baker V., (eds.) 2003, Survey Manual for Tropical Marine Resources. 2nd edition. AIMS Townsville. ASEAN-Australian Marine Science Project; Living Coastal Resources.
Folke C., Pritchard L., Berkes F., Colding J., Svedin U., 2007, The problem of fit between ecosystems and institutions: ten years later. Ecol. Soc.12, 30.
Friedman K., Chapman L., 2008, A regional approach to invertebrate export fisheries. Secretariat of the Pacific Community Policy Brief 2/2008.
Friedman K., Purcell S., Bell J., Hair C., 2008, Sea cucumber fisheries: a manager’s toolbox. ACIAR Monograph No. 135.
Friedman K., Eriksson H., Tardy E., Pakoa K., 2010, Management of sea cucumber stocks: patterns of vulnerability and recovery of sea cucumber stocks impacted by fishing. Fish Fish.
Gilbert E., 2004, Dhows and the colonial economy of Zanzibar: 1860–1970. Oxford, England: James Currey Ltd.
Holling, C.S., 2001, Understanding the complexity of economic, ecological, and social systems. Ecosystems 4, 390–405. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jentoft S., Chuenpagdee R., 2009, Fisheries and coastal governance as a wicked problem. Mar. Policy 33: 553–560.
Jiddawi, N.S., Öhman, M.C., 2002, Marine fisheries in Tanzania. Ambio 31, 518–527. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kinch J., 2004, A review of he Beche-de-mer fishery and its management in Papua New Guinea. National Fisheries Authority - Motopure Island Research Centre, University of PNG.
Kinch J., Purcell S., Uthicke S., Friedman F., 2008a, Papua New Guinea: a hotspot for sea cucumber fisheries in the Western Central Pacific. In: Toral-Granda, V., Lovatelli, A., Vasconcellos M. (eds.). 2008. Sea cucumbers. A global review of fisheries and trade. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Techn. Pap. No. 516.
Kinch J., Purcell S., Uthicke, S. and Friedman, K., 2008b, Population status, fisheries and trade of sea cucumbers in the Western Pacific. In: Toral-Granda, V.; Lovatelli, A., Vasconcellos, M. (eds.). Sea cucumbers: a global review of fisheries and trade. FAO Fisheries Techn. Pap. No. 516, pp. 7–55.
Kvale S., 1996, Interviews. An Introduction to Qualitative Research Interviewing. SAGE Publications. London.
Lee, K.N., 1993, Greed, scale mismatch and learning. Ecol. Appl. 3, 560–564. Google ScholarPubMed
Levitan, D.R., Petersen, C., 1995, Sperm limitation in the sea. Trends. Ecol. Evol. 19, 228–231. Google Scholar
Ludwig, D.E, Hilborn, R, Walters, C., 1993, Uncertainty, resource exploitation and conservation lessons from history. Science 260, 17–36. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
MacKnight C., 1976, The voyage to Maregé: Macassan trepangers in northern Australia. Melbourne, Melbourne University Press.
Massin, C.,Uthicke, S.,Purcell, S.W.,Rowe, F.W.E.,Samyn, Y., 2009, Taxonomy of the heavily exploited Indo-Pacific sandfish complex (Echinodermata: Holothuriidae). Zool. J. Linn. Soc-Lond. 155, 40–59. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McClanahan, T.R.,Muthiga, N.A.,Kamukuru, A.T.,Machano, H.,Klambo, R.W., 1999, The effects of marine parks and fishing on coral reefs of northern Tanzania. Biol. Conserv. 89, 161–182. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McClanahan, T.R.,Arthur, R., 2001, The effect of marine reserves and habitat on populations of east African coral reef fishes. Ecol. Appl. 11, 559–569. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mgaya Y., Mbaga T., 2007, Sea cucumbers in Tanzania. In: Conand C., Muthiga N. (Eds) Commercial sea cucumbers in the Western Indian Ocean. WIOMSA Book series No 5.
Ngaga, Y.M., Sharif, M.H., Makoloweka, S., 1999, Support for community-based conservation and sustainable use of natural resources in Menai Bay, Zanzibar. Mid-term evaluation final report prepared for WWF and the Commission for Natural Resources.
Ochiewo, J., De La Torre Castro, M., Muthama, C., Munyi, F., Nthuta, J.M., 2010, Socio-economic Features of the Sea Cucumber Fishery in Southern Coast of Kenya. Ocean Coast. Manage. 53, 192–202. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pauly D., Christensen V., Dalsgaard J., Froese R., Torres Jr F., 1998, Fishing down marine food webs. Science 279 (5352), 860–863.
Pauly, D., Christensen, V., Guénette, S., Pitcher, T.j., Sumaila, U.R., Walters, C.J., Watson, R., Zeller, D., 2002, Towards sustainability in worlds fisheries. Nature 418, 689–695. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peet, R.K., 1974, The measurement of species diversity. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 5, 285–307. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perry, I.R., Walters, C.J., Boutillier, J.A., 1999, A framework for providing scientific advice for the management of new and developing invertebrate fisheries. Rev. Fish Biol. Fish. 9, 125–150. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Purcell S.W., Gossuin, H., Agudo, N.N., 2009, Status and management of the sea cucumber fishery of la Grande Terre, New Caledonia. Programme ZoNéCo. WorldFish Center Studies and Reviews No.1901. The WorldFish Center, Penang, Malaysia.
Purcell S.W., 2010a, Managing sea cucumber fisheries with an ecosystem approach. In: Lovatelli A., Vasconcellos M., Yimin Y. FAO Fish.Aquac. Techn. Pap. No. 520.
Purcell, S.W., 2010b, Diel burying by the tropical sea cucumber Holothuria scabra: effects of environmental stimuli, handling and ontogeny. Mar. Biol. 157, 663–667. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ram, R., Friedman, K., Sobey, M.N., 2010, Impacts of harvesting and post-harvesting processing methods on the quality and value of beche-de-mer in Fiji Islands. SPC BDM Inf. Bull. 30, 21–24. Google Scholar
Rasolofonirina, R., Mara, E., Jangoux, M., 2004, Sea cucumber ?shery and mariculture in Madagascar: a case study of Toliara, south-west of Madagascar In: Lovatelli C., Conand S., Purcell S., Uthicke S., Hamel J.F., Mercier A. (eds.) Advances in sea cucumber aquaculture and management. FAO Fish. Techn. Pap. No. 463, 133–149. Google Scholar
Riedmiller S., 1998, The Chumbe Island Coral Park Project: management experiences of a private marine conservation project. ICRI – International Tropical Marine Ecosystems Management Symp. Proc. Townsville, Australia Nov. 1998.
Rowe, F.W.E., Massin, C., 2006, On a new species of Actinopyga Bronn, 1860 (Echinodermata, Holothuroidea) from the Indo-West Pacific. Zoosystema 28, 955–961. Google Scholar
Ruitenbeek J., Hewawasam I., Ngoile M. (eds.). 2005, Blueprint 2050: sustaining the marine environment in mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, The World Bank, Washington DC.
Schwerdtner Máñes K., Ferse S.C.A., 2010, The history of Makassan trepang fishing and trade. PLoS ONE 5(6): e11346. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0011346
Sheriff A., 1987, Slaves, spices and ivory in Zanzibar. James Curry Oxford.
Shiell, G.R., Knott, B., 2008, Diurnal observations of sheltering behaviour in the coral reef sea cucumber Holothuria whitmaei. Fish. Res. 91, 112–117. Google Scholar
Stephenson, R.L, Lane, D.E., 1995, Fisheries management science: a plea for conceptual change. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 152, 2051–2056. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
The Environmental Management for Sustainable Development Act, 1996, Legal Supplement (Part I) to the Zanzibar Government Gazette Vol. CVI No. 5743 of 31st of May, 1997.
The Fisheries Act No. 8 of 1998, Legal Supplement (Part II) to the Zanzibar Government Gazette Vol. CXIV No. 6111 of 23rd September, 1998.
The Fisheries Act, 2005, Proposed New Fisheries Act Enacted By the House of Representatives of Zanzibar.
The United Republic of Tanzania National Environmental Policy, 1997, Vice Presidents Office, Dar es Salaam December 1997.
The Zanzibar Constitution, 1984, Order, Legal Supplement (Part II) to the Zanzibar Government Gazette Vol. CX No. 5913 of 17th of August, 2001
Toral-Granda V., Lovatelli A., Vasconcellos M., 2008, Sea cucumbers. A global review of fisheries and trade. FAO Fish. Aquac. Techn. Pap. No. 516.
Uthicke, S., 1999, Sediment bioturbation and impact of feeding activity of Holothuria (Halodeima) atra and Stichopus chloronotus, two sediment feeding holothurians, at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef. B. Mar. Sci. 64, 129–141. Google Scholar
Uthicke, S.,Klumpp, D.W., 1998, Microphytobenthos community production at a near-shore coral reef: seasonal variation and response to ammonium recycled by holothurians. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 169, 1–11. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Uthicke, S., Benzie, J.A.H., 2000, The effect of beche-de-mer fishing on densities and size structure of Holothuria nobilis (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea) populations on the Great Barrier Reef. Coral Reefs 19, 271–276. Google Scholar
Uthicke, S., Welch, D., Benzie, J.A.H., 2004a, Slow growth and recovery in overfished holothurians on the Great Barrier Reef: evidence from DNA fingerprints and repeated large-scale surveys. Conserv. Biol. 18, 1395–1404. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Uthicke, S., O’Hara, T.D.,Byrne, M., 2004b, Species composition and molecular phylogeny of the Indo-Pacific teatfish (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea beche-de-mer fishery. Mar. Freshw. Res. 55, 837–848. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Uthicke, S., Schaffelke, B., Byrne, M., 2009, A boom-bust phylum? Ecological and evolutionary consequences of density variations in echinoderms. Ecol. Monogr. 79, 3–24. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walmsley, S., Purvis, J., Ninnes, C., 2006, The role of small-scale fisheries management in the poverty reduction strategies in the Western Indian Ocean. Ocean Coast Manage. 49, 812–833. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolkenhauer S.M., Uthicke S., Burridge C., Skewes T., Pitcher R., 2010, The ecological role of Holothuria scabra (Echinodermata: Holothuoroidea) within subtropical seagrass beds. J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. UK, 1–9.