Sea Cucumber Fishery in Tanzania: Identifying the Gaps in Resource Inventory and Management
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Date
2005
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Abstract
The story of over-exploitation of sea cucumbers in Tanzania has been repeated in many locations throughout the
Indian Ocean. Collection methods include (i) hand-picking, (ii) collection by free diving using homemade goggles
and (iii) SCUBA diving in a few locations. Neither fishery regulations, nor mariculture or resource inventories have
been conducted as steps towards management and conservation of sea cucumber in Tanzania. Data was compiled from
various works carried out on the sea cucumber resource in Tanzania and from questionnaires that were given to sea
cucumber dealers and fishery officials. This approach revealed several factors underlying the lack of management of
sea cucumber resources, notably (a) the extent to which the stock size of this resource is known to fishers of Tanzania,
(b) the lack of a proper management framework and stock assessment on sea cucumbers, and (c) scientific orientation
of funding agencies and research findings contrary to dealers’ level of education and technological capacity. The
appropriate actions to achieve successful management of sea cucumbers should be taken in phases. That is, to raise
the fishers awareness, carry out resource assessment, implementation of regulations and establishment of a pilot
small-scale mariculture activity of the most known species in Tanzania, Holothuria scabra
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Keywords
Holothurians, Exploitation, Mariculture, Western Indian Ocean
Citation
Mmbaga, T.K. and Mgaya, Y.D., 2005. Sea cucumber fishery in Tanzania: identifying the gaps in resource inventory and management. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper, pp.193-204.