Protection for sea cucumbers

Mr Smith (left) and Mr Butler-Payette sign the agreement

A new project is under way to evaluate the status of sea cucumbers in the country’s waters to ensure they are not overexploited.

Funded by the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) and carried out by Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA), the project is expected to make sea cucumbers a sustainable earner of foreign exchange.

Sea cucumbers are a hard sought-after species, especially as an Asian delicacy, yet they replenish rather slowly, hence the need for their protection.

The FAO representative to Seychelles, Mr Martin Smith, said this Monday November 24 when he signed an agreement for the United Nations body to fund the assessment and management plan to the tune of US$274,000.

The principal secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Alain Butler-Payette, signed the agreement on behalf of Seychelles Government. He said that the plan, which was developed in part by the SFA, is “ambitious but realistic.”

Locally, the SFA requires sea cucumber fishermen to have a licence as a form of control on over-fishing, with only 25 licences being granted per year.  But with export figures increasing rapidly and some indications of stock depletion dating back as far as 1999, the possibility of new restrictions could be considered, said Riaz Aumeeruddy, the SFA’s project coordinator for the assessment and management plan.

Mr Aumeeruddy said the first step of the plan will set up a comprehensive data collection and monitoring scheme to develop more information on sea cucumber stocks in Seychelles.  From there, he said, the SFA and other stakeholders would be able to come up with a management strategy to help prevent poaching and over-fishing to sustain the local stocks.

Before the signing ceremony Monday, Mr Smith also called on Minister for Agriculture and Marine Resources, William Herminie.  Mr Smith said that during the meeting, he and Minister Herminie were able to discuss other possible areas of cooperation between Seychelles and the FAO, including the development of a framework for a 10-year agricultural strategy plan for the country.

Mr Smith will conclude his working visit Wednesday November 26.

The sea cucumber, a hard sought-after Asian delicacy

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