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Market value of flower teatfish (‘Pentard’): a highly exploited Indian Ocean holothuroid

Authors:
Steven Purcell at Southern Cross University
Steven Purcell
Poasi Ngaluafe
Poasi Ngaluafe
Poasi Ngaluafe
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Guanglin Wang
Guanglin Wang
Guanglin Wang
  • This person is not on ResearchGate, or hasn't claimed this research yet.
Soni Lalavanua at The Pacific Community
Soni Lalavanua
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Abstract and Figures

The large sea cucumber Holothuria sp. (type “pentard”) is exploited extensively throughout the western Indian Ocean, yet little information exists on its market value at the distal end of the value chain. We collected data on prices and sizes of this species from 15 lots in 14 shops in Hong Kong and Guangzhou. This species was relatively common in the marketplace. Market values ranged from USD 44–273 kg-1 dried. Weight-to-length ratios were lower for pentard than white teatfish (H. fuscogilva), but only marginally. Prices per piece increased dramatically as a function of product length, but the relationship was weak for price per kg. This market study verifies that pentard is highly valuable in Asian markets, and therefore is likely to be at high risk of overexploitation. Our results show that fishery income from harvests of pentard could be considerably higher in the long run by regulating catches to large-sized animals.
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53
SPC Beche-de-mer Information Bulletin #37 – March 2017
Introduction
Flower teatfish (Holothuria sp., type “pentard”),
locally known as pauni chui in Zanzibar (FAO 2013)
and preema bathik attaya in Sri Lanka (Dissanayake
et al. 2010), is a large holothuroid apparently in
the teatfish complex of species, in the subgenus
Microthele. This putative species is still under taxo-
nomic investigation (Muthiga and Conand 2014),
and further studies are required to determine if it
is a separate species or simply a variant of another
teatfish species (H. nobilis or H. fuscogilva) (Conand
2008). Herewith called “pentard”, as it is known
in Seychelles, this animal is dark brown on the
dorsal surface with mottled and irregular-shaped
cream-coloured blotches with prominent teats on
the lateral margins of the body (Conand 2008; Pur-
cell et al. 2012). In contrast, the Indian Ocean black
teatfish, H. nobilis, is black on the dorsal surface
with white blotches and spots on the lower sides
of the animal and around the teats, and white
teatfish H. fuscogilva has a varied colour pattern,
but is mostly whitish or beige with brown or grey
blotches (Purcell et al. 2012). Pentard commonly
inhabits sandy-bottom lagoon habitats at depths
of 10–50 m (Conand 2008).
Pentard is reported to have a sparse distribution
in the western Indian Ocean (Conand 2008), being
reported from Seychelles, Comores Islands, Tan-
zania and Sri Lanka (Aumeeruddy and Conand
2007; Conand 2008; Dissanayake et al. 2010; Eriks-
son et al. 2010; FAO 2013; Muthiga and Conand
Market value of flower teatfish (“pentard”): A highly exploited Indian
Ocean holothuroid
Steven W. Purcell,1,* Poasi Ngaluafe,2 Guanglin Wang,3 Watisoni Lalavanua4
Abstract
The large sea cucumber Holothuria sp. (type “pentard”) is exploited extensively throughout the western Indian
Ocean, yet little information exists on its market value at the distal end of the value chain. We collected data
on prices and sizes of this species from 15 lots in 14 shops in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, China. This species
was relatively common in the marketplace. Market values ranged from USD 44–273 kg-1 dried. Weight-to-
length ratios were lower for pentard than white teatfish (H. fuscogilva), but only marginally so. Prices per piece
increased dramatically as a function of product length, but the relationship was weak for price per kg. This
market study verifies that pentard is highly valuable in Asian markets, and therefore is likely to be at high
risk of overexploitation. Our results show that fishery income from harvests of pentard could be considerably
higher in the long run by regulating catches to large-sized animals, using minimum legal size limits.
1 National Marine Science Centre, Southern Cross University, Coffs Harbour NSW 2450, Australia
* Corresponding author: steven.w.purcell@gmail.com
2 Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Forests and Fisheries, Nuku’alofa, Tonga
3 Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research – China Office, Australian Embassy Beijing, Chaoyang District, Beijing,
China
4 Wildlife Conservation Society, Suva, Fiji
2014). This species is a sought-after target spe-
cies in western Indian Ocean fisheries due to its
high market price (Conand 2008; Eriksson et al.
2010; FAO 2013; Muthiga and Conand 2014),
and is one of the main harvested species in Sey-
chelles (Aumeeruddy and Conand 2007, 2008).
The price offered to fishers can be similar to that
of Holothuria nobilis and H. fuscogilva (Eriksson et
al. 2010). In Seychelles, export prices in 2008 were
USD 17–26 kg-1 (Aumeeruddy and Conand 2007).
In some fisheries, pentard is collected by scuba
diving, which could be a driving factor causing
the depletion of this resource, along with its high
value, poor knowledge about this species, and
inadequate monitoring and enforcement of fishery
regulations (Conand and Muthiga 2007).
In its dried form, pentard can be distinguished
from white teatfish (Holothuria fuscogilva) by the
numerous white spots and small blotches on a grey
background (Fig. 1) (Aumeeruddy and Conand
2007). In contrast, dried white teatfish are mostly
whitish in colour or whitish with some dark tan-
grey spots. Dried pentard also have a more flat-
tened body shape (see Fig. 1) when compared with
white teatfish.
This study is the first published record of the value
of pentard in key market hubs in China for inter-
nationally traded beche-de-mer. We aimed to deter-
mine whether market price varied as a function of
the size of the products. The findings are instructive
for fishers, traders and fishery managers.
54
SPC Beche-de-mer Information Bulletin #37 – March 2017
Methods
Data on market prices of pentard were collected at 14
stores in the dry seafood market in Sheung Wan dis-
trict, Hong Kong and Yide Lu markets, Guangzhou,
China similar to data collection methods by Purcell
(2014). Access to the products in stores and language
interpretation were facilitated by a Chinese member
of the Australian Centre for International Agricul-
tural Research. At the Hong Kong market, the unit
weight was catty (604.79 g), whereas unit weight of
products in Guangzhou was jin (500 g).5 Prices were
later converted from HKD and CNY to USD using
international exchange rates at the date of sale. Stores
in Guangzhou sold mainly in wholesale volumes,
whereas stores in Hong Kong sold in retail volumes.
Within stores, we selected one or two lots of dried
sea cucumbers, which were in tubs, jars or large
bags (Fig. 1). From each lot, four randomly sam-
pled specimens were measured: specimen length to
±0.5 cm along the ventral surface with a ruler, and
weight to ±1 g using an electronic balance.
The average product (body) lengths and weights
of the four subsamples from each lot were used as
the data for analyses. Linear regression was used to
examine the relationship between average product
length and price per unit weight or price per speci-
men. A two-tailed t-test was used to test for differ-
ences in the weight:length ratio between pentard
and white teatfish (H. fuscogilva).
Figure 1. Dried pentard on sale in a) Hong Kong, and
b) Guangzhou.
5 Catty and jin are units of measurement in China.
55
SPC Beche-de-mer Information Bulletin #37 – March 2017
Results and discussion
Average lengths of dried pentard ranged from
14.1–25.1 cm among lots sampled, correspond-
ing to average product weights of 89–466 g.
The weight(g):length(cm) ratio for pentard was
12.9 ±0.5 s.e. (n = 60). By comparison, teatfish were
heavier for their length, with the weight(g):length(cm)
ratio averaging 14.1±0.3 (n = 289), but the ratios were
marginally non-significantly different between the
two species (t = 1.74, p = 0.082).
The market price for pentard ranged from USD
44–273 kg-1. The average price for lots that we
sampled was USD 136 kg-1. As found previously
for other species, prices tended to be higher in
Hong Kong, which is more of a retail market (Pur-
cell 2014).
Prices per unit weight increased somewhat with size
of the specimens (Fig. 2a), but this trend was weak
and statistically non-significant (p = 0.12). In con-
trast, the relationship between product length and
price per specimen was stronger (p < 0.001), with
length accounting for 61% of the variation in price
per piece among samples (Fig. 2b). The relationship
predicts that dried products of 14–16 cm will yield
market prices of USD 5–17 per piece, whereas dried
products of 22–24 cm will yield market prices of
USD 54–66 per piece. The higher price range is due
to the multiplicative effect of product weight.
Considering that dried pentard are 60–63% of the
length of corresponding live animals (Aumeeruddy
and Conand 2007), our study suggests that fresh
animals of 23–26 cm will sell (in Chinese markets)
for just USD 5–17 per piece when dried, whereas
fresh animals of 36–39 cm can eventually command
market prices of USD 54–66 per piece. This find-
ing gives a strong reason for imposing minimum
size limits for pentard in Indian Ocean fisheries,
e.g. 30 cm fresh, 20 cm dried. The income from the
fishery is likely to be significantly greater by pro-
tecting the animals from fishing until they are of a
large size (assuming low natural mortality). Pen-
tard was one of the exploited species unable to be
assessed by the International Union for Conserva-
tion of Nature because it was “known only by com-
mon names and not yet described taxonomically”
(Conand et al. 2014). In addition to resolving the
taxonomic identity of pentard, resource manage-
ment needs research on rates of growth and natu-
ral mortality to further winform decisions about
appropriate minimum size limits.
Acknowledgements
This study was funded by the Australian Centre for
International Agricultural Research through project
FIS/2010/096. Financial support was also provided
by the Wildlife Conservation Society Fiji. We thank
Sailasa Tagica from Partners in Community Devel-
opment Fiji for contributing to data collection.
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dashed lines represent the 95% confidence interval.
Price per unit weight (USD kg-1)
Price per specimen (USD piece
-1)
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Average product length (cm)
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SPC Beche-de-mer Information Bulletin #37 – March 2017
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... Up until the end of the 20 th century, sea cucumber harvesting in the Seychelles was an open access fishery, without any management control due to the low economic value of the fishery. However, the Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA), the governing body responsible for fisheries management, introduced a national management plan in 2005 to guide the management of the fishery as a response to the increase in fishing pressure and annual catches (Conand and Muthiga 2007 Fig. 1) has been heavily targeted in the Seychelles in the 2000s because they are among the most valuable species on the world market (Purcell et al. 2012(Purcell et al. , 2017(Purcell et al. , 2018Diassanayake and Gunnar 2010). With approximately 150,000-300,000 individuals harvested per year, the flower teatfish has been the main commercial species targeted in the Seychelles since 2006, followed by prickly redfish Thelenota ananas (15,000-72,000 individuals per year) and white teatfish (37,000-127,000 individuals per year) (Aumeerudy and Conand 2008;Léopold and Govinden 2018). ...
... The potential impact of such a rule is currently unknown given that there are no statistics on the size structure of sea cucumber catches in Seychelles. Nevertheless, some indications may be derived from Purcell et al. (2017) who reported that the mean dried size of flower teatfish recorded on the Chinese market ranged between 14 cm and 25 cm, although there was no information about the fishing sites from where these products came from. Using the available conversion ratio (Aumeeruddy and Conand 2007;Purcell et al. 2009Purcell et al. , 2017, the estimated live size of these sea cucumber would range between 23 cm and 42 cm, which includes non-mature specimens. ...
... Nevertheless, some indications may be derived from Purcell et al. (2017) who reported that the mean dried size of flower teatfish recorded on the Chinese market ranged between 14 cm and 25 cm, although there was no information about the fishing sites from where these products came from. Using the available conversion ratio (Aumeeruddy and Conand 2007;Purcell et al. 2009Purcell et al. , 2017, the estimated live size of these sea cucumber would range between 23 cm and 42 cm, which includes non-mature specimens. This highlights the need for introducing a minimum catch size in the Seychelles. ...
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The intensive harvesting of sea cucumbers in the Seychelles over the last decade has raised concerns about the sustainability of this resource. The flower teatfish Holothuria (Microthele) sp. (locally called pentard) is one of the main target species, representing about two-thirds of annual sea cucumber catches. The biology of this species is largely unknown. To inform fishery management, the reproductive biology of the species was studied on the Mahé Plateau and the Amirantes Plateau during the 2018 northwest monsoon season. A macroscopic analysis of the gonads, and a description of the tubules were performed on 63 sea cucumbers. We observed that the population at the Amirantes Plateau was smaller in size than those from the Mahé plateau , although that difference was not statistically significant. Female tubules were wider and shorter than male tubules, showing there is sexual dimorphism in this species. The size at sexual maturity of flower teat-fish was estimated at 30.3 cm (95% confidence interval: 28.5-32.3 cm) through logistical regression. Based on this result, a minimal harvest size of 31 cm may be recommended for this species as a conservative measure in the Seychelles. Figure 1. Flower teatfish-Holothuria (Microthele) sp. (locally called pentard)-from the Seychelles.
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... A recent market study on Flower Teatfish (Holothuria sp. type 'Pentard') found a roughly linear relationship between product length and price (Purcell et al., 2017), but non-linear relationships are apparent for certain other species (Purcell, 2014). ...
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... Some of these new species are even commercialized without a clear taxonomic identification (e.g. the flower teatfish Holothuria sp. type "Pentard" [4,5]). Updating biological and taxonomic knowledge on target sea cucumbers therefore appears mandatory for effective conservation and management of those fisheries. ...
... While the status as species is established for the two first taxa, it has not been confirmed whether Holothuria sp. type "Pentard" (called H. pentard hereafter) represents a variant of another morphologically-close teatfish species [5,6]. These three taxa have been increasingly harvested throughout their distribution area and face overexploitation issues. ...
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... Also, it is important to take in account the size of the species, as largest or shortest individuals could be favorite in the Asian market and therefore this could affect their prices [25][26] . So, further information from Asian markets should be obtained on this subject for the NE Atlantic and Mediterranean target species, in order to extrapolate our data to the fishery management of these species. ...
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  • Oct 2010
  • AQUAT LIVING RESOUR
This study assessed the Zanzibar sea cucumber fishery using a multidisciplinary approach. Data was collected by (i) interviewing various groups of actors in the fishery and reviewing management documentation and legislation, (ii) by monitoring catches and (iii) through a visual census of coastal sea cucumber populations in areas open and closed to fishing. The fishery showed clear signs of being unsustainable with high fishing effort, and weak formal and informal management institutions. The fishery operation was characterised by an intricate cross-scale structure with both fishers and sea cucumber products being transported across national borders. The visual census of commercial sea cucumber stocks at three sites open to fishing around Zanzibar showed low densities across the range of sea cucumber value groups including low value species. Furthermore, the diversity of commercial sea cucumber species was lower in fished reefs than on a protected reef. The poor status of the sea cucumber populations was confirmed by the perception of an overfished resource by the interviewed actors active in the fishery. This was also depicted by the paucity of high value species, and high representation of low value and newly commercialised species in fishers catch. We conclude that the current state of Zanzibar’s sea cucumber populations is compromising the fisheries self-replenishment and existence and that the fishery is in urgent need of a complete management reform.
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Seychelles: a hotspot of sea cucumber fisheries in Africa and the Indian Ocean region
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2008
SUmmARy The Seychelles Archipelago, comprising 115 islands, is located in the middle of the Western Indian Ocean and has a large Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ 1.4 millions km 2). Sea cucumbers in Seychelles have been fished for more than a hundred years, but the fishery has recently seen a rapid development. Sea cucumbers are mostly collected by divers using SCUBA gear. They are processed for the export market. The population status is presented for the five main species caught ("pentard", white teatfish, black teatfish, prickly redfish and sandfish) from the estimated stock and the overall density (ind./ha). Catch and effort data have been collected since 1999 by Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA). The data are provided by the fishers as per the requirements of their fishing license conditions. The catch per unit effort (CPUE), expressed in numbers of sea cucumbers collected per diver per day, shows mostly a downward trend. The sea cucumber fishery in Seychelles was open-access until 1999. As part of a recent FAO-funded project, a management plan for the fishery has been prepared, based on the results of the resource assessment. Management measures were established through the Fisheries (Amendment) Regulations (1999) which provided some control over the fishery through licences for fishing and processing. The total allowable catch (TAC) has been calculated, based on the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) for each species. The trade data show that there are three main export markets, with China Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) being largely the dominant one. The socio-economic importance to the local fishing community appears from the three operations of harvesting which relates principally to the collection of the sea cucumbers, processing which involves cleaning and drying of the product, and trading which involves sales to different markets. Finally, recommendations for improving fisheries management and conservation through the involvement of all stakeholders are discussed. Evaluation of the pros and cons of listing in the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Sea cucumbers. A global review of fisheries and trade 196 Flora (CITES) is presented. This fishery in Seychelles is an example of recent management showing steps toward a sustainable exploitation of the resources.
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Commercially important sea cucumbers of the World. FAO Species Catalogues for Fishery Purposes No. 6. 150 p. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization
  • Jan 2012
  • S W Purcell
  • Y Samyn
  • C Conand
Purcell S.W., Samyn Y. and Conand C. 2012. Commercially important sea cucumbers of the World. FAO Species Catalogues for Fishery Purposes No. 6. 150 p. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization.
Food and Agriculture Organization
  • Rome
p. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization.