Increasing the value of sea cucumber harvests in Pacific islands

Steven PurcellNational 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 1st 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 1st boil

Smoking

Drying

Re-boiling a 2nd time

Re-shaping

Re-drying and re-boiling a 3rd 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 pathwayACIAR-PARDI Scoping Study• Current practices?• Opportunities & constraints?• Supply chain analysis• China market study

ACIAR Implementation Project• Develop training programmes• Train fishery officers and fishers in

post-harvest handling methods• Develop a simple processing

booklet and DVD for village fishers• Test socio-economic impacts

2011

2013-2016

Community Impacts• Improved economic returns from selling

better-processed sea cucumber products• Perhaps improved resource sustainability

through more modest fishing rate• Perhaps greater involvement of women

through processing

Scientific output• Report on opportunities

and constraints• Publications on

processing practices and markets

Scientific outputPublication on processing practices and supply chains

Non-technical outputProcessing booklet for fishers

Non-technical outputProcessing DVD for fishers

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?

End