Alternative species – Sea cucumber
BY JENNY HJUL
Community farms feed families
How a British scientist combined passion for conservation with sea cucumber rearing in remote Indian Ocean island villages
W
hat do a young British research sci- entist and the semi-nomadic fishing communities of Madagascar have in common, and what has bound them
together for the past ten years? The answer is the humble sea cucumber. This singular creature is highly prized, not
least for its alleged aphrodisiac properties, and demand, particularly in China, is booming. But with wild stocks depleted by over exploitation, rearing the species is increasingly where the future lies. This is what Alasdair Harris came to realise
after time spent exploring the coral reefs off Madagascar as a student. Obsessed with ma- rine biodiversity, he first set up an ecotourism project in the region, in 2003, and in the years since then, his Blue Ventures organisation has grown to encompass sustainable fisheries, research, education – and the world’s first com- munity based sea cucumber farm. Introducing aquaculture into Andavadoaka, a
remote fishing village in the south-west of the island, and establishing an alternative liveli- hood for the locals has helped to both alleviate poverty and conserve the precious marine environment.
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Right: Farming sea cucumbers has rejuvenated Madagascan communities
Community trials farming sea cucumbers (Holothuria scabra) began in 2007, the pilot project got underway in 2009, and from 2011 this was expanded to red seaweed (Kappaphycus alvarezii), all with technical support and training from Blue Ventures’ aquaculture team. Not only are some of the poorest people on earth – 92 per cent of whom live on less than US$2 per day – now linked to a highly lucrative Asian trade, but the model of community owned farms is the basis of an Indian Ocean learning network, which could transform the opportunities for other impoverished coastal communities. Fran Humber, Blue Ventures’ conservation programmes manager, said:
‘We had the ecotourism (expeditions) programme which allowed us to put staff in place and time to listen to the community’s concerns and eventually start to fund activities to address these concerns.’ The sea cucumber hatchery technology was spearheaded by the Uni- versity of Toliara’s marine institute (IHSM) with local seafood company
www.fishfarmer-magazine.com
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