With their soft, cylindrical bodies, sea cucumbers may not be the most visually attractive marine species, but they play an essential role in the functioning of ecosystems. Sadly, they are under threat.
Sea cucumbers are known as the “vacuum cleaners of the seabed,” as they help to improve water quality by feeding on waste, digging up sediment, and making nutrients available to other marine species, like algae. They also are an important source of food for other species. They are, in short, crucial to the web of life.
Unfortunately, the sea cucumber trade is a highly lucrative one and an important source of income in many developing countries. While sea cucumbers are not consumed in West Africa, they are considered a delicacy and used in traditional medicine in China, where overfishing has already exhausted native sea cucumber populations. With sea cucumbers selling for around $6,000 USD per kilogram in China, and the average income for fishermen across the West African region at roughly $1.75 USD per kilogram, many struggling fishermen turn to this trade to earn extra income.
While West African sea cucumber populations are not currently threatened with extinction, this is an emerging problem across the region and, if trade is not controlled now, overexploitation will take its toll as it has in China. Therefore, it is necessary to act now to ensure that nations are informed about this burgeoning threat and aware of the critical ecological role played by sea cucumbers so that authorities can take necessary measures to protect sea cucumbers before it is too late.
At CITES CoP18 in 2019, Born Free USA supported the listing in Annex II of three species of sea cucumbers (also known as teatfish) found in the Red Sea and Indian and Pacific Oceans (Holothuria fuscogilva, Holothuria nobilis, and Holothuria whitmaei). We will continue to monitor this issue as it develops in West Africa and advocate for trade protections.
But, beyond CITES protections, we must also focus on the other cause of this trade: economic conditions in West Africa that force people to turn to wildlife trade to make ends meet. With our Global Nature Recovery Investment Initiative, Born Free USA will continue to push for financial investment in nature protection and recovery that prioritizes the economic needs of communities and offers viable and sustainable alternatives to wildlife trade.
Keep Wildlife in the Wild,
Aurora
