Sandfish (Holothuria scabra) farming in a social-ecological context: conclusions from Zanzibar

Sandfish (Holothuria scabra) farming is being promoted as a potential economic activity for coastal communities, and especially for those currently involved in fishing for sea cucumbers—an unsustainable fishery. With the collapse of many tropical sea cucumber stocks, and with agendas to find new income alternatives for coastal populations, the interest in aquaculture, particularly in sandfish, will most probably increase. However, in-depth analysis of the social and ecological consequences from introduction of sandfish farming is lacking. In Zanzibar, Tanzania, 74 sea cucumber fishers were asked if they would like to farm sea cucumbers. About 64% of the respondents were positive to farming. Their comments highlighted that they perceived farming as an addition, not a replacement, to catch from the fishery, and that they were concerned about the personal risks involved in an investment. The responses illustrate that aquaculture may have a negligible or negative effect on the fishery. There are also potential ecological impacts, which, of course, will depend on the scale of the activity, but for which there is currently little knowledge. The risk-awareness poses the question on what business model a sandfish enterprise should operate to reduce risk for communities with few income alternatives. The results from the interviews indicate that it is essential to learn from past sandfish farming initiatives and other aquaculture ventures that have resulted in the development of standards. It is also apparent that it is important to apply a social–ecological systems approach to sandfish farming development.