Harvesters׳ perspectives on the management of British Columbia׳s giant red sea cucumber fishery

Abstract

In recent decades, sea cucumber fisheries have rapidly expanded worldwide to meet rising demand in Asian markets. Catch trends have often followed a boom-and-bust trajectory and skyrocketing sea cucumber value has often spurred fishery development that outpaced adequate biological research for informed stock assessment. Currently, the dive fishery for Giant red sea cucumber (Parastichopus californicus) in British Columbia, Canada is considered moderately exploited. However, basic population parameters such as recruitment and mortality rates are still largely unknown, creating important sources of uncertainty in the fishery׳s stock assessment model. This study presents the results of an interview-based survey of experienced commercial harvesters׳ (1) perceptions of local trends in sea cucumber abundance, size, and fishing effort (CPUE), and (2) perceptions of management efficacy. The majority of harvesters perceived abundance (14/20) and CPUE (15/20) to have declined over their careers, and half of the harvesters reported decreased sea cucumber size. The harvesters most commonly cited overfishing as the most pressing problem facing the fishery (13/20), and the majority felt that Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) needed to lower licence and/or area quotas to avoid further declines. Despite many knowledge gaps in the fishery, almost all harvesters (16/20) perceived that they are not adequately consulted and their concerns are not adequately considered by DFO. These results suggest a disjoint between DFO forecasts and perceived local sea cucumber trends, and highlight that the fishery may lack a resource-rights framework with adequate checks to decouple fishing pressure from increasing global market value and demand. Maintaining the long-term health of the BC sea cucumber fishery may depend on working more closely with harvesters to inform future management decisions and, ideally, moving towards a harvester-owned-and-operated licencing system that can better integrate the feedback that comes from attachment to place.