Report on the FAO Workshop on Sea Cucumber Fisheries An Ecosystem Approach to Management in the Pacific (SCEAM Pacific)
FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Report No. 1003 FIRA/R1003 (En) ISSN 2070-6987 Report of the FAO Workshop on Sea Cucumber Fisheries: An Ecosystem Approach to Management in the Pacific (SCEAM PACIFIC) Nadi, Fiji, 15–18 November 2011 Copies of FAO publications can be requested from: Sales and Marketing Group Office of Knowledge Exchange, Research and Extension Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations E-mail: publications-sales@fao.org Fax: +39 06 57053360 Web site: www.fao.org/icatalog/inter-e.htm Cover photograph: A live specimen of Bohadschia argus (Leopard fish), Ilot Maître, New Caledonia (courtesy of Dr Steven Purcell). FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Report No. 1003 FIRA/R1003 (En) Report of the FAO WORKSHOP ON SEA CUCUMBER FISHERIES: AN ECOSYSTEM APPROACH TO MANAGEMENT IN THE PACIFIC (SCEAM PACIFIC) Nadi, Fiji, 15–18 November 2011 FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome, 2012 The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of FAO. ISBN 978-92-5-107196-0 All rights reserved. FAO encourages reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product. Non-commercial uses will be authorized free of charge, upon request. Reproduction for resale or other commercial purposes, including educational purposes, may incur fees. Applications for permission to reproduce or disseminate FAO copyright materials, and all queries concerning rights and licences, should be addressed by e-mail to copyright@fao.org or to the Chief, Publishing Policy and Support Branch, Office of Knowledge Exchange, Research and Extension, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy. © FAO 2012 iii PREPARATION OF THIS DOCUMENT This report describes the activities and outputs of the workshop entitled Sea Cucumber Fisheries: An Ecosystem Approach to Management in the Pacific (SCEAM Pacific), which was held in Nadi, Fiji, 15–18 November 2011. The report was prepared by Steven Purcell, Southern Cross University, Australia, with contributions and editing from Alessandro Lovatelli, FAO Aquaculture Officer, Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Rome. FAO, 2012. Report on the FAO Workshop on Sea Cucumber Fisheries: An Ecosystem Approach to Management in the Pacific (SCEAM Pacific), Nadi, Fiji, 15–18 November 2011. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Report. No. 1003. Rome. 44 pp. ABSTRACT Widespread overfishing threatens the sustainability of sea cucumber fisheries and the important role they play in the livelihoods of coastal fishers. The SCEAM Pacific workshop was jointly funded and coordinated by the FAO, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community and Southern Cross University in November 2011. The workshop brought together fishery managers from 13 Pacific island countries to foster improved management plans for PACIFIC sea cucumber fisheries. Seminars by the workshop facilitators presented contemporary fisheries science and new paradigms for management. Pre-workshop questionnaires, workgroup sessions and plenary discussions were used to help participants decide on appropriate objectives, regulatory measures and management actions for each fishery. The workshop outputs given in this report reveal the constraints and issues facing Pacific sea cucumber fisheries, and the proposed management changes and research priorities of the fishery managers. v TABLE OF CONTENTS BACKGROUND 1 OBJECTIVES OF THE WORKSHOP 2 LINKS TO OTHER PROJECTS 2 ORGANIZATION OF THE WORKSHOP 3 Preparation 3 Scope 3 Strategies 3 PROGRAMME, VENUE AND PARTICIPANTS 4 Programme and venue 4 Participants 5 Facilitators 5 PRE-WORKSHOP FISHERY FORMS 5 Purpose 5 Results 6 TECHNICAL SEMINARS 7 WORKGROUP SESSIONS 8 Results from workgroup session 1 8 Results from workgroup session 2 9 Results from workgroup session 3 11 PLENARY SESSIONS 17 Day 1 – Indicators, ecosystem approach to fisheries, data in the Pacific 17 Day 1 – Biology, ecology and regulatory measures 18 Day 1 – Afternoon plenary on management actions 18 Day 2 – General management issues 19 Day 2 – Fishery objectives 19 Day 3 – Special session on enforcement in sea cucumber fisheries and trade 19 Day 4 – Management plans and legislation 23 Day 4 – Bringing it together into an ecosystem approach 23 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 24 WORKSHOP SATISFACTION SURVEYS 26 REFERENCES 28 ANNEXES A. Workshop agenda 31 B. Workshop prospectus 34 C. Fishery data form 38 D. List of participants 41 E. Workshop satisfaction survey form 43 F. Workshop group photo 44 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Foremost, thanks are extended to the 15 participants and their respective fishery agencies for their active participation, which furnished the outputs presented in this report. The workshop was co- facilitated by Alessandro Lovatelli (FAO), Ian Bertram and Kalo Pakoa (Secretariat of the Pacific Community), and Steven Purcell (Southern Cross University). Thanks also go to Nathaniel Cornuet, Luanah Yaman, Gerald Billings and Joyce Samuelu for accepting to give oral presentations on their sea cucumber fisheries on day 2 of the workshop. The workshop was jointly funded by FAO through the contribution of the Japanese Trust Fund Project GCP/INT/104/JPN on “CITES and commercially exploited aquatic species, including the evaluation of listing proposals (Phase II)”, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). It gained considerable in-kind support from Southern Cross University, Lismore, and its staff at the National Marine Science Centre, Coffs Harbour, Australia. The workshop gained valuable guidance from Chris Barlow, ACIAR, and Lindsay Chapman, SPC. vii ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ACIAR Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research BDM bêche-de-mer CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora COFI Committee on Fisheries EAF ecosystem approach to fisheries FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations GPS Global Positioning System HACCP Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (System) HDI Human Development Index MPA marine protected area MSY maximum sustainable yield NGO non-governmental organization OCTs Overseas countries and territories PARDI Pacific Agribusiness Research for Development Initiative PIC Pacific island country PROCFish Pacific Regional Oceanic and Coastal Fisheries Development Programme SCEAM Sea Cucumber Fisheries: an Ecosystem Approach to Management SCU Southern Cross University SMA special management area SPC Secretariat of the Pacific Community TURFs territorial use rights in fisheries UVC underwater visual census [...]... of FAO investments in facilitating and promoting better management of sea cucumber fisheries In addition to using the ACIAR manager’s toolbox, the workshop focused around the roadmap, regulatory measures and management actions of the recent FAO manuals on an ecosystem approach to managing sea cucumber fisheries (Purcell, 2010; FAO, 2010) The SPC has also put much recent effort into information and... biology and management of sea cucumber fisheries through an ecosystem approach ; assist them in interpreting and putting into practice the advice provided in the recent ACIAR and FAO manuals based on their fishery The workshop further aimed at supporting capacity building and active mentoring to the fishery managers and senior fishery officers as a means of bringing about changes to national fishery management. .. supported? There are special management areas (SMAs) already in place There is an enforcement officer in each town, in charge of enforcing regulations There are many important research and information needs in the Tonga sea cucumber fishery In particular, more research is needed on biology of the sea cucumbers in Tongan waters to adequately determine size limits Ongoing monitoring is also needed to assess... global analyses of sea cucumber fisheries The agenda and facilitators led the participants through the ACIAR sea cucumber manager’s toolbox (Friedman et al., 2008) to review indicators of stock status and apply them to their fishery The current management measures employed in each fishery and their effectiveness were examined In a similar sequence to the recent FAO manuals on an ecosystem approach to managing... Participants were required to critically examine indicators and management measures used in their fishery and join in group discussions about management problems and solutions The seminars provided participants with the most updated information on sea cucumber biology and ecology needed when applying an ecosystem approach to management The facilitators covered scientifically technical concepts and explained... manual on the ecosystem approach to managing sea cucumber fisheries (Purcell, 2010) and a simpler guidebook on putting the approach into practice (FAO, 2010) The manuals provide a “roadmap” and guidelines for developing and implementing better management of sea cucumber fisheries 1 Pacific Regional Oceanic and Coastal Fisheries Development Programme (PROCFish/C) and the Pacific Regional Coastal Fisheries. .. to help the participants to understand stocks in their countries in order to adapt their management plans ORGANIZATION OF THE WORKSHOP Preparation The project’s approach was developed through discussions between FAO, SPC and SCU on the best way forward to helping low-income countries to put into practice the advice in the manuals FAO suggested that a workshop in each major tropical region of the world... collated, and a regional summary used in different aspects of the workshop and in the postworkshop report Scope The workshop concerned only sea cucumber fisheries The focal region for the workshop was the Western-Central Pacific islands (excluding Australia and New Zealand) Participants were invited only from countries within this region Strategies The organizers intentionally kept the workshop to a small... mentoring in sustainable, and tailored strategies for sea cucumber fisheries and a forum for group-sharing of constraints and lessons learned The workshop s specific objectives were to: collate and analyse current information from Pacific sea cucumber fisheries on management practices and constraints to their acceptance by fishers; inform Pacific fisheries managers about technical aspects of the. .. legislation or management plan stipulate the powers of some committees? Another matter often not detailed in legislation is the age of offenders that can be prosecuted Consulting other legislation, or the legislative framework, is crucial to finalizing the management plan Do other laws preside over the management plan? Regulations on the purchase of sea cucumbers may be needed in the management plan to . describes the activities and outputs of the workshop entitled Sea Cucumber Fisheries: An Ecosystem Approach to Management in the Pacific (SCEAM Pacific) ,. Day 4 – Management plans and legislation 23 Day 4 – Bringing it together into an ecosystem approach 23 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 24 WORKSHOP