Sea cucumbers

The present document reviews the population status, fishery and trade of sea cucumbers worldwide through the collation and analysis of the available information from five regions, covering known sea cucumber fishing grounds: temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere; Latin America and the Caribbean; Africa and Indian Ocean; Asia; and Western Central Pacific. In each region a case study of a "hotspot" country or fishery was conducted to highlight critical problems and opportunities for the sustainable management of sea cucumber fisheries. The hotspots are Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Seychelles, Galapagos Islands and the fishery for Cucumaria frondosa of Newfoundland in Canada. Across the five regions, the scale of catches and the number of exploited species varies widely, the Asian and Pacific regions being those with the highest catches and species diversity. Most fisheries are multispecific, or have evolved from single-species to multispecies fisheries as the more valuable species became overexploited. There are many typologies of sea cucumber fisheries, ranging from artisanal, to semi-industrial and industrial. The bulk of the catches are exported to supply the Asian bêche-de