Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T07:28:21.617Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Abundance and distribution of commercial sea cucumber speciesin the coastal waters of Sri Lanka

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 December 2010

D. C.T. Dissanayake  and
Gunnar Stefansson
D. C.T. Dissanayake*
Affiliation:
Marine Biological Resources Division, National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA), Crow Island, Colombo 15, Sri Lanka Science Institute, Taeknigardur, University of Iceland, Dunhaga 5,107 Reykjavik, Iceland
Gunnar Stefansson
Affiliation:
Science Institute, Taeknigardur, University of Iceland, Dunhaga 5,107 Reykjavik, Iceland
*
a Corresponding author:[email protected]
Get access

Abstract

The sea cucumber stocks off the east and northwest coasts of Sri Lanka were estimated bysurveying 1307 km2 and 1779 km2 by an underwater visual census (UVC)in June and October 2008 respectively. The presence of twenty-five sea cucumber speciesbelonging to seven genera; Actinopyga, Bohadschia, Holothuria, Pearsonothuria,Stichopus, Thelenota and Acaudina was identified in fivehundred sampling sites randomly selected in each area. The overall average density (± SD) of sea cucumbers was higher in the northwest (350 ± 648 ind ha-1) than inthe east (90 ± 130 ind ha-1) and low-value species were predominant in bothsurvey areas (79 ± 125 ind ha-1 in the east, 244 ± 488 in the northwest) whencompared with medium (10 ± 34 ind ha-1, 105 ± 175 ind ha-1,respectively) and high-value category (<2 ind ha-1).The estimated total biomass in the northwest (13 024 t) was roughly four times greaterthan the east (3027 t). Holothuria edulis was the most abundant speciesin numbers while Holothuria atra had the highest stock biomass in bothareas. Sea cucumber densities were significantly different among the habitat(p < 0.001) and depth categories. The highestdensity was reported in rocky habitat associated with seagrass and / or macroalgae. Thedensity of low-value species was significantly high in 1–10 m depth category(p < 0.001) in the northwest while othercommercial groups were dominant in 20–30 m depth range in both areas. Temporal banning ofthe fishery for high and medium-value species would be a better management option to avoidfurther stock depletion.

Keywords

Holothuria edulisHolothuria atraEchinodermDensityunderwater visual census (UVC)Sri LankaIndian Ocean
Type
Research Article
Information
Aquatic Living Resources , Volume 23 , Issue 3 , July 2010 , pp. 303 - 313
Copyright
© EDP Sciences, IFREMER, IRD 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Références

Aumeeruddy R., Skewes T., Dorizo J., Carocci F., Coeur de Lion F., Harris A., Henriette C., Cedras M., 2005, Resource assessment and management of the Seychelles sea cucumber fishery. FAO Project Number: TCP/Seychelles/2902(A), pp. 1- 49.
Buckius, C., Albert, S., Tibbetts, I., Udy, J., 2010, Effect of diel activity patterns and harvesting pressure on the diversity and biomass of sea cucumbers in Marovo Lagoon, Solomon Islands. Environ. Manage. 45, 963–973. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
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 Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper. 516, 81-118. Google Scholar
Clark A.M., Rowe F.W.E., 1971, Monograph of shallow-water Indo-West Pacific Echinoderms. Trustees of the British Museum, London, pp. 171–210.
Conand C., 1989, Les holothuries aspidochirotes du lagon de Nouvelle-Calédonie. Ph.D Thesis, ORSTOM.
Conand, C., 1990, The fishery resources of Pacific Island countries. Part 2 Holothurians. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 272, 2-143. Google Scholar
Conand, C., 1997, Are holothurian fisheries for export sustainable? In: Lesios H.A., MacIntyre I.G. (eds.) Proc. 8th Internat. Coral Reefs Symp. Panama 2, 2021–2026. Google Scholar
Conand C., 2001, Overview of sea cucumbers fisheries over the last decade – What possibilities for a durable management? Echinoderms, Barker (ed.), pp. 339-344.
Conand, C., Mangion, P., 2002, Sea cucumbers on La Reunion Island fringing reefs diversity, distribution, abundance and structure of the populations. SPC Beche-de-mer Inf. Bull. 17, 27–33. Google Scholar
Conand, C., Muthiga, N., Aumeeruddy, R., Torre, C., Frouin, P., Mgaya, Y., Mirault, E. ,Ochiewo, J., Rasolofonirina, R., 2006, A three years regional project on sea cucumbers in the south-western Indian Ocean: national and regional analyses to improve management. SPC Beche-de-mer Inf. Bull. 23, 11–15. Google Scholar
Conand C., Muthiga N., 2007, Commercial sea cucumbers, a review for the Western Indian Ocean. WIOMSA Book Series, 5, pp. 123–129.
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 Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper. 516, 143–193. Google Scholar
Curtis J., Moreau M.A., Marsden D., Bell E., MartinSmith K., Samoilys M., Vincent A., 2004, Underwater visual census for seahorse population assessments. Univ. British Columbia, Seahorse Technical Report, www.projectseahorse.org
Dissanayake, D.C.T., Wijayarathne, M.J.S., 2007, Studies on the sea cucumber fishery in the North Western coastal region of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka J. Aquat. Sci. 12, 19–37. Google Scholar
Dissanayake, D.C.T., Athukorala, S., Amarasiri, C., 2010, Present status of the sea cucumber fishery in Sri Lanka. SPC Beche-de-mer Inf. Bull. 30, 14-20. Google Scholar
Garcia, S., Sparre, P., Csirke, J., 1989, Estimating surplus production and maximum sustainable yield from biomass data when catch and effort time series are not available. Fish. Res. 8, 13–23. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gulland, J.A., 1971, Science and fishery management. J. Cons. Int. Explor. Mer 33, 471–477. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hammond, L.S., 1983, Nutrition of deposit-feeding holothuroids and echinoids (Echinodermata) from a shallow reef lagoon, Discovery Bay, Jamaica. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 10, 277–305. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hornell, J., 1917, Indian beche-de-mer industry: its history and recent revival. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 11, 119–150. Google Scholar
James, D.B., James, P.S.B.R., 1994, A hand book on Indian sea-cucumbers. Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute Spec. Publ. 59, 1-48. Google Scholar
Kinch J., 2002, The beche-de-mer fishery in the Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. A report to the National Fisheries Authority.
Kinch, J., Purcell, S., Uthicke, S., Friedman, K., 2008, Population status, fisheries and trade of sea cucumbers in the Western Central Pacific. In: Toral-Granda V., Lovatelli A., Vasconcellos M. (eds.). Sea cucumbers. A global review of fisheries and trade. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper 516, 7–55. Google Scholar
Klinger T.S., Johnson C.R., 1994, Spatial and temporal distribution of feeding of Aspirochirotida (Holothuroidea) on Heron Island, Great Barrier Reef. In: David B., Guille A., Feral J.P., Roux M. (eds.) Proc. 8th Internat. Echinoderm Conference, Dijon.
Long B.G., Skewes T.D., Dennis D.M., Poiner I.R., Pitcher C.R., Taranto T., Manson F., Polon F., Karre B., Evans C., Milton D., 1996, Distribution and abundance of beche-de-mer on Torres Strait reefs. CSIRO Division of Fisheries Final Report.
Lovatelli A., Conand C., Purcell S., Uthicke S., Hamel J.F., Mercier A., 2004, Advances in sea cucumber aquaculture and management. FAO, Rome, Fisheries Technical Paper No. 463.
Massin C., 1982 Food and feeding mechanisms: Holothuroidea. In: Jangoux M., Lawrence J.M. (eds.) Echinoderm nutrition. Balkema, Rotterdam, pp. 43–55.
Massin, C., Doumen, C., 1986, Distribution of some holothurians on the reef flat of Laing Island (Papua New Guinea). Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 31, 185-195. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mercier, A., Battaglene, S.C., Hamel, J.F., 2000, Periodic movement, recruitment and size-related distribution of the sea cucumber Holothuria scabra in Solomon Islands. Hydrobiologia 440, 81–100. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moriarty, D.J.W., 1982, Feeding of Holothuria atra and Stichopus chloronotus on Bacteria, organic carbon and organic nitrogen in sediments of the Great Barrier Reef. Aust. J. Mar. Freshw. Res. 33, 255–263. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perry, R.I., 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
Pitcher, C.R., Skewes, T.D., Dennis, D.M., Prescott, J.H., 1992, Estimation of the abundance of the tropical lobster Panulirus ornatus in Torres Strait, using visual transect-survey methods. Mar. Biol. 113, 57–64. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pouget, A., 2005, Abundance and distribution of holothurians on the fringing reef flats of Grande Terre, Mayotte, Indian Ocean. SPC Beche-de-mer Inf. Bull. 21, 22–26. Google Scholar
Preston G.L., 1993, Beche-de-mer. Nearshore marine resources of the Southern Pacific: Information for fisheries development and management. Institute of Pacific Studies, Fiji; Forum Fisheries Agency, Solomon Islands; International Centre for Ocean Development, Canada, pp. 371–407.
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., 2010, Diel burying by the tropical sea cucumber Holothuria scabra: effects of environmental stimuli, handling and ontogeny. Mar. Biol. 157, 663–671. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Purcell S.W., 2010, Managing sea cucumber fisheries with an ecosystem approach. In: Lovatelli A., Vasconcellos M., Yimin Y. (eds.) FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper No. 520.
Development R. Core Team 2009, R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. URL http://www.R-project.org
Sale, P.F., Sharp, B.J., 1983, Correction for bias in visual transect censuses of coral reef fishes. Coral Reefs 2, 37–42. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Skewes T.D., Dennis D.M., Jacobs D.R., Gordon S.R., Taranto T.J., Haywood M., Pitcher C.R., Smith G.P., Milton D., Pioneer, I.R., 1999, Survey and stock size estimates of the shallow reef (0-15 m deep) and shoal area (15-50 m deep) marine resources and habitat mapping within the MOU74 box. Volume 1: Stock estimates and stock status. CSIRO Final Report to the FRRF.
Skewes T., Kinch J., Polon P., Dennis D., Seeto P., Taranto. T., Lokani. P., Wassenberg. T., Koutsoukos A., Sarke J., 2002, Research for sustainable use of beche-de-mer resources in Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea. CSIRO Division of Marine Research Final Report.
Skewes T, Dennis D, Donovan A., 2004, Research for the sustainable use of Holothuria scabra (sandfish) in Moreton Bay relative abundance survey. CSIRO Division of Marine Research Final Report.
Skewes T., Taylor S., Dennis D., Haywood M., Donovan A., 2006, Sustainability assessment of the Torres Strait sea cucumber fishery. CSIRO Final Project Report.
Toral-Granda, M.V., 2007, Facts on sea cucumber fisheries worldwide. SPC Beche-de-mer Inf. Bull. 25, 39-41. Google Scholar
Uthicke, S., Karez, R., 1999, Sediment patch selectivity in tropical sea cucumbers (Holothurioidea: Aspidochirotida) analyzed with multiple choice experiments. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 236, 69–87. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Uthicke, S., Welch, D., Benzie, J.A.H., 2004a, Slow Growth and lack of 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., 2004b, Over fishing of holothurians: lessons from the Great Barrier Reef. In: Lovatelli A, Conand C., Purcell S., Uthicke S, Hamel J.F., Mercier A. (eds.) Advances in Sea Cucumber Aquaculture and Management, FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 463, 163–171.
Uthicke, S., Conand, C., 2005, Local examples of beche-de-mer overfishing: an initial summary and request for information. SPC Beche-de-mer Inf. Bull. 21, 9-14. Google Scholar
Woodby D.A., Kruse G.H., Larson R.C., 1993, A conservative application of a surplus production model to the sea cucumber fishery in Southeast Alaska. In: Kruse G., Eggers D.M., Marasco R.J., Pautzke C., Quinn T. (eds.) Proc. Internat. Symp. Management Strategies for Exploited Fish Populations. Alaska Sea Grant College Program Report 93-02. University of Alaska, Fairbanks, pp. 191–202.
Yingst, Y.J., 1976, Factors influencing rates of sediment ingestion by Parastichopus parvimensis, an epibenthic deposit -feeding holothurian. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 14, 119–134. CrossRefGoogle Scholar