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The Cost of Avoiding Sea Cucumber Stock Depletion

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  • In 2013 a stock of sea cucumber (Isostichopus badionotus) was discovered in northern shelf of Yucatan. A survey calculated a biomass of 17,600 tons. The species has an attractive price for local fishers, therefore, in order to avoid the “race for sea cucumbers” and the collapse of the stock, authorities established a total quota of 1,278 tones, issued a limited number of permits and restricted the fishing season to six weeks. Because of fishers’ dynamic behavior and the installed local fishing capacity, the applied effort was higher than the authorized (750 boats per day). Regulations were not enough to avoid excess fishing and entry of non-authorized boats, driving the stock to a low level. We developed a spatial and density dependent bioeconomic model which calculates an optimum pathway to maximize the profits without putting the stock in peril. The model operates seasonally in the short-run. Because of catchability and cost depend on the sea cucumbers densities, both were modeled with asymptotic functions. In order to avoid the Allee effect, the species requires a minimum density of 0.1 individuals per square meter. Our results indicate that the maximum quota could be 5,700 tons, which is about 32% of the vulnerable biomass. This quota would produce profits of US$2,300,000. If minimum density were neglected, the system would lead the biomass to 8,400 tons, instead 11,000 tons, with extra profits of US$76,000; however, in such level the density would be 0.08 individual per square meter, reaching the Allee effect and impeding the stock recovery.
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  • Hernández-Flores, Alvaro, Alfonso Cuevas-Jiménez, and Javier Aranda-Nah. 2015. The Cost of Avoiding Sea Cucumber Stock Depletion. In: Proceedings of the Eighth Biennial Forum of the North American Association of Fisheries Economists, May 20-22, 2015, Ketchikan, Alaska: Economic Sustainability, Fishing Communities and Working Waterfronts. Compiled by Ann L. Shriver and Melissa Errend. North American Association of Fisheries Economists, Corvallis, Oregon, USA, 2015.
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  • Ketchikan, Alaska, USA
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  • Alaska Sea Grant, North Pacific Fishery Management Council, North Pacific Research Board, Northern Economics, Pollock Conservation Cooperative Research Center, Rasmuson Foundation, University of Alaska Fairbanks, School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Southeast, Ketchikan
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