Government lifts moratorium on sea cucumber exports [1]
Thursday, May 15, 2014 - 14:56. Updated on Thursday, May 15, 2014 - 15:49.
A decision by the Tongan Cabinet on March 29 to lift a moratorium on the harvesting and the exporting of sea cucumber will accelerate the depletion of Tonga's sea cucumber stock and kill the industry, according to fisheries experts.
Tonga's sea cucumber exports reached a peak in 2009 after a 10-years moratorium, when it brought in $12 million pa'anga of foreign earnings.
The 10-years moratorium was a desperate measure to replenish the stock which was depleted due to illegal and uncontrolled harvesting. However, since 2009 because of high demand from the Asian market for dried sea cucumber, and government not being able to control the harvesting of sea cucumber, the experts said that the stock was again very low and in desperate need of replenishing.
The situation is complicated by the facts that the demand for dried sea cucumber is high, and the exporters are willing to pay. The local people, who are harvesting the sea cucumber, are usually in a poor situation and are willing to risk their lives, using illegal or unsafe diving apparatus to dive for sea cucumber.
Illegal harvesting
In spite of the effort by government and fisheries experts to allocate a set time of the year, from April to September to harvest sea cucumber, to be processed by a controlled number of licensed processors and exporters, there are still a lot of illegal activities harvesting the sea cucumber to meet the demand.
Poasi Ngaluafe, the head of the Fisheries Division believed that the government decision was in response to a proposal they presented to government in March for a five to ten years moratorium on the harvesting and the exporting of sea cucumber.
There had been attempts to implement a temporary ban on the harvesting of sea cucumber, giving the stock a chance to replenish. A three year ban was introduced in 2012, but it was lifted due to pressure from exporters.
Poasi said that there had been no response from government until they were informed of an approval by Cabinet "to lift the moratorium period that prohibits the harvesting and export of sea cucumbers on 29 March."
The 2014 sea cucumber harvesting season became effective immediately from 1 April 2014 until further notice.
Poasi pointed out that annually, the season for the harvesting of sea cucumber runs from April to September, but they interpreted the lifting of the so-called moratorium until further notice as the Ministry's response to their proposal for a five to ten years moratorium.
Fast depletion
Semisi Fakahau, a fishery consultant who has been working with the Fishery Division during the past few years also questioned the logic of the Cabinet decision, bearing in mind that there is evidence that the stock is depleting very fast.
He also believed that there are a number of issues that government has to address, such as illegal fishing for sea cucumber to feed a thriving Black Market, and most crucial for Tonga are the growing number of local divers who either died or being left in a debilitated state after using the illegal method of diving known as Hookah Diving.
The processing and the exporting of sea cucumber is generally in two parts; the harvesting which is the diving and collecting the sea cucumber usually carried out by local people, and they do not have to get a license to do that.
Secondly, the processing and the exporting of the sea cucumber is normally carried out by Asians, mainly Chinese, and they have to acquire licenses.
In 2013 there were nine license holders, five in Tongatapu, and two each in Vava'u and Ha'apai. This year, 2014 there are nine license holders again, but four in Tongatapu three in Ha'apai and two in Vava'u.
He said that in 2009 Tonga exported 369 tonnes of dried sea cucumber, all of it to Asia, but by 2012 Tonga's total export was only 67 tonnes, accompanied by a big drop in foreign earnings from about $12 million in 2009 to only $265,000 in 2012 and 2013.
He believed that the decision by government to allow the harvesting, processing and the exporting of sea cucumber was not an economic decision, "it is purely a political decision," and unfortunately it will completely kill the sea cucumber exporting industry,” he said.