FIJI introduces sustainable management model for sea cucumber/Beche De Mer

After a five-year ban on the harvesting, trade, and consumption of Beche de Mer to allow populations to recover, the government introduced a new management model for the species that sustainably support the livelihoods of the communities that rely on this important marine resource.

The administration instituted the ban to preserve people’s long-term food security and socioeconomic well-being. As the economising continues to heal from the COVID pandemic, this new sustainable management regime will allow local communities to benefit from healthy Beche de Mer stocks rather than push the population to the brink of collapse because of unregulated and exploitative harvesting.

The lifting of the ban on sea cucumber will be done with the following conditions:

1. 1. The harvesting of sea cucumber will run from 1st July to 31st August 2022;
2. The processing and export period will run from 1st July to 31st October 2022
3. The harvesting licenses will be issued to the resource or qoliqoli owners as part of the Government’s ongoing measures to encourage the active and meaningful participation of resource owners in our sustainable management approach
4. The species of sea cucumber allowed for harvesting will be carefully selected to ensure we keep within the requirements of international trade. Any kind of species listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered species (CITES) would be banned from harvesting;
5. All traders who wish to be involved in this fishery will also be licensed. This will also help ensure the sustainability of the resource & strengthen monitoring;
6. Government has also directed the formation of a Licensing Committee to comprise the Permanent Secretaries for Fisheries, Economy, Trade, Environment and the Solicitor-General to select and license the traders and exporters. The Licensing Committee will advertise an Expression of Interest by next week.

For the past 400 years, Fiji has allowed the harvesting, trade and consumption of Beche de Mer while knowing very little about how to culture and breed the species.

In order to further strengthen the longer-term sustainability of this resource, the government will employ scientific best practices to culture and breed sea cucumbers with the aim of expanding this model of sustainable aquaculture to other high-value fisheries commodities.

This is only one step in a long journey towards a better and bluer Fijian economy.