Increasing the value of sea cucumber harvests in

Increasing the value of sea cucumber harvests in Pacific islands Steven Purcell National Marine Science Centre, Southern Cross University, Australia

The value of processed sea cucumbers Value depends on: Species Size of the animal Condition of the animal (damage to body wall) Quality of processing Value of tropical sea cucumbers is about AU$10 to AU$600+ per kg in Asian dried seafood markets

Potential Stages in Processing Gutting Sometimes brief 1 st boil then squeeze out guts Cut: across mouth, on the dorsal surface or on ventral surface Salting (1 h to 1 week) Boiling Removal of spicules from body wall (sandfish and golden sandfish) Salting after 1 st boil Smoking Drying Re-boiling a 2 nd time Re-shaping Re-drying and re-boiling a 3 rd time

Preferences of importers and dealers Some importers do not want smoked smell, some do Some importers prefer a different placement of the cut in the animals Salting (problem with too much) Shape of the dried animal – straight or curved Colour preferences (from cooking and salt adding) Damage to body wall (cuts or abrasions)

ACIAR project 1 -year scoping study (2011) 4 -year implementation project (2013 -1016) Countries involved: Tonga Ministry of Agriculture & Food, Forests and Fisheries Kiribati Ministry of Fisheries & Marine Resources Development Fiji Department of Fisheries

Project links and impact pathway

Fisher and processor surveys

Market analysis in China Preferences for cutting, smoking and colour among different retailers and consumers. What matters and what doesn’t? Wholesale and retail prices for sea cucumbers from the Pacific Other marketed sea cucumber products for tropical species Frozen and wrapped in half-kilo bags Vacuum packed and stored at ambient temperature Imported semi-processed (first boiled, not dried) for processing in China

Market analysis in China

Implementation project (2013 -2016) Aim: to test socio-economic impacts of improving post-harvest processing by village fishers Interventions: 1. Simple village-level manual on processing methods. Local languages. 2. Training DVD 3. Village-based training workshops in: Tonga, Kiribati, Fiji

Implementation project (2013 -2016) Impact testing Test impacts by before-after comparison of data from questionnaire surveys. E. g. : Income from selling sea cucumbers Time invested in fishing – days per week, hours per day Time invested in processing the catch Involvement of women and other family members How income is distributed in communities Satisfaction of fishers in income they make

Implications for other countries A ‘lighthouse’ project Would investments in other countries and regions be worthwhile? What are the socio-economic benefits? Which interventions were most influential? What training techniques were most successful? What types of communities benefited most? Is this an exercise that can aid the sustainable use of sea cucumber resources?

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