Some Aspects of Sea Cucumber, Holothuria Scabra (Jaeger, 1935), Along the Coast of Dar Es Salaam
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Date
2002
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Abstract
Some aspects of the biology of the sea cucumber Holothuria scabra Jaeger, 1935
were studied along the coast of Dar es Salaam. Samples of H. scabra were collected from
Kunduchi and Buyuni between January and December 1999. The abundance of Holothuria
scabra was higher in Buyuni (3951) than in Kunduchi (1176). However, the level of exploitation
per year from far reefs was higher in Kunduchi than in Buyuni. Sea cucumber harvesting by
villagers is done monthly on intertidal areas and from reef flats near to the villages. Higher
catches from Buyuni were recorded during August and November (perhaps due to light winds
such that trips could be made to far-off reefs), while the catch from Kunduchi was relatively
low throughout a year. The length-frequency distribution of H. scabra was found to be unimodal,
with most individuals ranging between 8.5 cm and 26.5 cm. The species showed continuous
breeding with peaks between May and September and December. The average size at first
maturity in H. scabra was 16.8 cm.
Description
Keywords
Sea cucumber, Holothuria scabra, Biology, Breeding, Seasonality, Tanzania
Citation
Kithakeni, T. and Ndaro, S.G.M., 2002. Some aspects of sea cucumber, Holothuria scabra (Jaeger, 1935), along the coast of Dar es Salaam.