World Aquaculture Singapore 2022

November 29 - December 2, 2022

Singapore

SEA CUCUMBER FARMING IN TUN MUSTAPHA PARK, SABAH, MALAYSIA: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR DEVELOPING SUSTAINABLE COASTAL LIVELIHOODS

 Audrey Daning Tuzan*, Nurul Ain Jais, Ben Parker, Sofia Johari, Wei-

Kang Chor and Victor Andin

 

 Borneo Marine Research Institute,

 Universiti Malaysia Sabah,

 88400, Kota Kinabalu,

 Sabah, Malaysia

 audrey@ums.edu.my

 



Sea cucumbers play a vital role in sustaining the health of the marine environment. It is also a popular delicacy in South-East Asia and is used in traditional Chinese medicine. Thus, due to the increased demand and high market value, sea cucumber harvesting became a lucrative business. In Malaysia, Sabah has been reported as the largest sea cucumber producer in the past decade regarding fisheries landing and aquaculture production, with the largest producer districts, are located within Tun Mustapha Park (TMP) in Northern Sabah. Sea cucumbers have become one of the most important sources of income for the coastal communities in TMP. In TMP, sea cucumbers can be easily hand collected during low tide on the intertidal zone or by diving in the deeper waters close to the reef. Sandfish, Holothuria scabra, is the major farm species in TMP, where the seeds were harvested from the wild and cultured in pens until they reached marketable size. These poor natural resources-dependent coastal communities face local and global threats and engage in unsustainable practices of exploiting limited natural resources. Thus, aquaculture of sea cucumber is much needed to offset the rapidly declining resource, conserve stock biodiversity and sustain the ecological, social, and economic benefits of these high-valued marine resources. Therefore, to provide insight into the common challenges, opportunities, and recommendations of sea cucumber farming in TMP, a Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and hreat (S.W.O.T) analysis was conducted through literature reviews and social surveys involving practitioners and key stakeholders. Based on the findings, we conclude that a more systematic sea cucumber management plan involving stakeholders and related agencies should be considered. Furthermore, the coastal community farmers should be educated and trained to improve their farming techniques. Additionally, post-harvest and processing training workshops and village-level processors should be capacity-built to increase their product’s quality and bargaining power needed.