Patterns of fish community composition and biodiversity in riverine fish sanctuaries in Bangladesh: Implications for hilsa shad conservation

Understanding biodiversity and community composition is a prerequisite to sustainable exploitation and conservation of fisheries. We assessed the spatial and seasonal patterns of fish community composition and biodiversity in seasonal no-take riverine sanctuaries in Bangladesh, which aim to conserve the anadromous hilsa shad (Tenualosa spp. and Hilsa keele). Fish samples were collected during monsoon, as well as pre- and postmonsoon, from five sites within two sanctuaries and one site in an open fishing area. Although total abundance was similar along the rivers, species richness was significantly higher at the open fishing site due to its connectivity to nearby habitats. The diversity apparently decreased in a downstream direction. Fish communities at two upstream sites were separated from other sites in multivariate space largely due to higher abundance of hilsa at downstream sites and presence of floodplain-oriented species at the two upstream sites. Short body length and high trophic level at all sites indicated that fish communities were overexploited. Our results also indicated that riverine hilsa sanctuaries in Bangladesh are rich in fish species diversity and support several threatened species designated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Our study also suggested that since hilsa abundance shapes community patterns, it can therefore impact riverine ecosystem functioning in the sanctuary areas. The findings of this study can serve as an important baseline for future biodiversity assessment, conservation and impact assessment of conservation in rivers, and therefore help to establish multispecies ecosystem-based management of riverine fisheries around the world.     

Identification of juvenile hilsa in Bangladesh by genetic methods

Knowledge of the biology and ecology of anadromous populations of the hilsa [or hilsa shad], Tenualosa ilisha (Hamilton), indicates that the juveniles are the same fish that is known locally in Bangladesh as 'jatka'. However, this view is not always accepted by fishermen and management authorities. To confirm the status of jatka, samples were taken from inland waters, mostly from its known nursery grounds, and the genotypes and genotype distributions were compared with previous analyses of adult hilsa. With one exception, all jatka samples displayed the same patterns as adult hilsa, and the distributions of genotypes of the polymorphic systems PGM, AAT, EST (two loci) and UMP were in fairly good accordance between adult and juveniles from the same areas.     

Generic harvest control rules for European fisheries

In European fisheries, most stocks are overfished and many are below safe biological limits, resulting in a call from the European Commission for new long‐term fisheries management plans. Here, we propose a set of intuitive harvest control rules that are economically sound, compliant with international fishery agreements, based on relevant international experiences, supportive of ecosystem‐based fisheries management and compatible with the biology of the fish stocks. The rules are based on the concept of maximum sustainable yield (MSY), with a precautionary target biomass that is 30% larger than that which produces MSY and with annual catches of 91%MSY. Allowable catches decline steeply when stocks fall below MSY levels and are set to zero when stocks fall below half of MSY levels. We show that the proposed rules could have prevented the collapse of the North Sea herring in the 1970s and that they can deal with strong cyclic variations in recruitment such as known for blue whiting. Compared to the current system, these rules would lead to higher long‐term catches from larger stocks at lower cost and with less adverse environmental impact.     

Forage fish fisheries management requires a tailored approach to balance trade‐offs

Ecosystem‐based fishery management requires considering the effects of actions on social, natural and economic systems. These considerations are important for forage fish fisheries, because these species provide ecosystem services as a key prey in food webs and support valuable commercial fisheries. Forage fish stocks fluctuate naturally, and fishing may make these fluctuations more pronounced, yet harvest strategies intended to ameliorate these effects might adversely affect fisheries and communities. Here, we evaluate trade‐offs among a diverse suite of management objectives by simulating outcomes from several harvest strategies on forage fish species. We demonstrate that some trade‐offs (like those between catches and minimizing collapse length) were universal among forage species and could not be eliminated by the use of different control rules. We also demonstrate that trade‐offs vary among forage fish species, with strong trade‐offs between stable, high catches and high‐biomass periods (“bonanzas”) for menhaden‐ and anchovy‐like fish, and counterintuitive trade‐offs for sardine‐like fish between shorter collapses and longer bonanzas. We find that harvest strategies designed to maintain stability in catches will result in more severe collapses. Finally, we show that the ability of assessments to detect rapid changes in population status greatly affects control rule performance and the degree and type of trade‐offs, increasing the risk and severity of collapses and reducing catches. Together, these results demonstrate that while default harvest strategies are useful in data‐poor situations, management strategy evaluations that are tailored to specific forage fish may better balance trade‐offs.     

Habitats across the life cycle of hilsa shad (Tenualosa ilisha) in aquatic ecosystem of Bangladesh

Aquatic habitat connectivity is vital for the continued existence of migratory fish. Using GIS and outranking multicriteria analysis based on hydrometeorological data, this study describes habitat preference of egg, fry, juvenile and adult phases of hilsa shad, Tenualosa ilisha (Hamilton), as well as their spawning areas in the aquatic ecosystems of Bangladesh. The total area studied was 29 484 km², about 29% of which belonged to the Meghna, Shahbajpur, Tetulia and Ander Manik rivers, and the channels of Sandwip, Kutubdia and Moheshkhali islands, which provide the most suitable habitat for the species. An additional 27% of moderately suitable area was located in other deltaic rivers and inshore waters. The remaining 44% was offshore deeper water, which was least suitable for hilsa. The most suitable area for spawning, eggs, fry, adults and juveniles was 6, 11, 29, 38 and 56% of the area, respectively. The model outputs were validated against field measurements and fishers’ indigenous knowledge with an accuracy level of 92%. Thus, this study provides key information about the location of hilsa at different stages of its life cycle, information useful in understanding its occurrence over a relatively large geographical area. Information of this kind is useful in fishery conservation and management.     

Does unreported catch lead to overfishing?

Catches are commonly misreported in many fisheries worldwide, resulting in inaccurate data that hinder our ability to assess population status and manage fisheries sustainably. Under‐reported catch is generally perceived to lead to overfishing, and hence, catch reconstructions are increasingly used to account for sectors that may be unreliably reported, including illegal harvest, recreational and subsistence fisheries, and discards. However, improved monitoring and/or catch reconstructions only aid in the first step of a fisheries management plan: collecting data to make inferences on stock status. Misreported catch impacts estimates of population parameters, which in turn influences management decisions, but the pattern and degree of these impacts are not necessarily intuitive. We conducted a simulation study to test the effect of different patterns of catch misreporting on estimated fishery status and recommended catches. If, for example, 50% of all fishery catches are consistently unreported, estimates of population size and sustainable yield will be 50% lower, but estimates of current exploitation rate and fishery status will be unbiased. As a result, constant under‐ or over‐reporting of catches results in recommended catches that are sustainable. However, when there are trends in catch reporting over time, the estimates of important parameters are inaccurate, generally leading to underutilization when reporting rates improve, and overfishing when reporting rates degrade. Thus, while quantifying total catch is necessary for understanding the impact of fisheries on businesses, communities and ecosystems, detecting trends in reporting rates is more important for estimating fishery status and setting sustainable catches into the future.     

Ecosystem‐based management of Amazon fisheries and wetlands

Infrastructure development and overfishing in the Amazon make it imperative to define adequate scales for the ecosystem‐based management of commercial fisheries and the wetlands on which they depend. We mapped fisheries and fish ecology data from Brazil, Peru, Bolivia and Colombia to an explicit GIS framework of river basins and mainstems. Migratory species account for more than 80% of the known maximum catches of commercial fisheries across the Amazon. Of these migratory species, we nominated six long‐distance migratory fish taxa as flagship species to define the two main commercial fishery regions. The migrations of at least one goliath catfish species define a large‐scale longitudinal link joining the Andes, Amazon Lowlands and Amazon River estuary. Migratory Characiforms demonstrate interbasin wetland connectivity between nutrient‐rich and nutrient‐poor rivers over at least 2 million km², or about one‐third of the Amazon Basin. We show that flooded forest area is the most important wetland variable explaining regional variations in migratory characiforme biomass as indicated by maximum annual fishery catches. The sustainable management of Amazon fisheries will require transnational cooperation and a paradigm shift from local community management alone to a more integrated approach that considers both rural and urban consumers and challenges, and the realistic life histories of migratory species.     

Using a biophysical model to investigate connectivity between spawning grounds and nursery areas of King George whiting (Sillaginodes punctatus: Perciformes) in South Australia’s gulfs

Many demersal marine fish species depend on a dispersive larval stage that connects geographically discrete sub‐populations. Understanding connectivity between these sub‐populations is necessary to determine stock structure, which identifies the appropriate spatial scale for fishery management. Such connectivity is poorly understood for King George whiting (Sillaginodes punctatus; Perciformes) in South Australia's gulf system, even though spawning grounds and nursery areas are adequately defined. In response to declines in commercial catches and estimated biomass, this study aimed to determine the most important spawning grounds and nursery areas to recruitment, and the connectivity between them. A biophysical model was seeded with particles according to the distribution and density of eggs throughout the spawning area in 2017 and 2018. Despite inter‐annual differences in the origins of particles, dispersal pathways and predicted settlement areas remained consistent between years. Predicted settlement was generally highest to nursery areas only short distances from regional spawning grounds, consistent with previous hydrodynamic models. However, the model also predicted that spawning in one region could contribute to recruitment in an adjacent region later in the spawning season, which aligned with the breakdown of thermohaline fronts at the entrance of each gulf. The connectivity between spawning grounds and nursery areas predicted by the model is supported by spatio‐temporal patterns in the otolith chemistry of pre‐flexion larvae and settled juveniles. Consequently, the most parsimonious explanation is that the populations of King George whiting in South Australia's gulf system constitute a single, panmictic stock, which has implications for fishery management.     

The large‐scale stocking of young anadromous whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) and corresponding catches of returning spawners in the River Tornionjoki,northern Baltic Sea

Stocking and fishing effort are two important potentially conflicting factors in fish stock management that require appropriate assessment to ensure a sustainable fishery. In the River Tornionjoki, which discharges into the northern Baltic Sea, a summer‐ascending whitefish, Coregonus lavaretus L., stock has long been a target by traditional dipnet fishing. Enhancement stocking of young whitefish started in the River Tornionjoki in the 1970s after a collapse in catches, with millions of age‐0 whitefish stocked annually in the river, but after about three decades, the stocking rates were considerably reduced. As a result, dipnet catches of whitefish in the Kukkolankoski Rapids rose simultaneously, peaking in the 1980s and 1990s, and then subsequently decreased. There was a significant positive correlation between stocking intensity and catch, both in weight and in numbers, revealing a strong relationship between whitefish releases and dipnet catch. Changes in gillnet fishing effort in the sea affected dipnet catches in weight as well as in mean size of captured whitefish. When the combined effect of stocking and gillnet effort was evaluated, only stocking significantly affected dipnet catches.     

Factors influencing the scope and quality of science and management decisions

The lecture traces the historical path to overfishing of the world's fish and shellfish stocks, and provides an assessment of marine fish resources in the later half of the 1990s. The basis of overfishing as noted by various fishery scientists is reviewed. Four factors, including institutional paralysis, the rapidity of technological developments, uncertainty of science, and the inability to monitor and enforce regulations are identified as the major problems leading to overfishing. The failure of the world community to deal with extensive overfishing, appears to have motivated managers and scientists to promote a new fishery management paradigm that focuses on a broader set of problems resulting from fishing, and establishes a more conservative decision‐making process founded on precautionary principle and uncertainty. The author feels that the evolving paradigm will result in the rebuilding of a number of stocks in the United States, but is less certain of its adoption on a global scale, and whether or not science will play a more useful role in fisheries management. It is noted that the support for fisheries science and the status of fisheries have followed opposite courses. Over the past half century marine science has boomed, diversified and become intellectually and materially enriched, while the number of overfished stocks and ecological disasters has increased. Looking ahead it is expected that fisheries management will move into a more conservative era. The focus of fisheries has moved from full use of ocean resources to establishing yields that take into account the impacts of fisheries on target and non‐target species and the ecosystem in general. Although there has been wide‐spread abuse in the use of the world's fishery resources and condemnation of the fishing industries, the author feels that the government institutions must bear the primary responsibility for the historical course of fishery management and its failure.     

A socio-economic perspective on gear-based management in an artisanal fishery in south-west Madagascar

Abstract  Artisanal fisheries are important socially, nutritionally and economically. Poverty is common in communities dependent on such fisheries, making sustainable management difficult. Poverty based on material style of life (MSL) was assessed, livelihoods surveyed and the relationship between these factors and fishery data collected using a fish landing study were examined. Species richness, diversity, size and mean trophic level of catches were determined for six fishing gears in an artisanal fishery in south-west Madagascar. There was little livelihood diversification and respondents were highly dependent on the fishery. No relationship was found between poverty and gear use. This suggests that poverty does not have a major impact on the nature of the fishery; however, this study was dominated by poor households, so it remains possible that communities with more variation in wealth might show differences in fishing methods according to this parameter. The fishery was heavily exploited with a predominance of small fish in the catches. Beach seines caught some of the smallest fish, overlapped in selectivity with gill nets and also had the highest catch per fishers. Thus, a reduction in the number of beach seines could help reduce the catch of small fish and the overlap in selectivity among gears.     

Rethinking length‐based fisheries regulations: the value of protecting old and large fish with harvest slots

Managing fisheries using length‐based harvest regulations is common, but such policies often create trade‐offs among conservation (e.g. maintaining natural age‐structure or spawning stock biomass) and fishery objectives (e.g. maximizing yield or harvest numbers). By focusing harvest on the larger (older) fish, minimum‐length limits are thought to maximize biomass yield, but at the potential cost of severe age and size truncation at high fishing mortality. Harvest‐slot‐length limits (harvest slots) restrict harvest to intermediate lengths (ages), which may contribute to maintaining high harvest numbers and a more natural age‐structure. However, an evaluation of minimum‐length limits vs. harvest slots for jointly meeting fisheries and conservation objectives across a range of fish life‐history strategies is currently lacking. We present a general age‐ and size‐structured population model calibrated to several recreationally important fish species. Harvest slots and minimum‐length limits were both effective at compromising between yield, numbers harvested and catch of trophy fish while conserving reproductive biomass. However, harvest slots consistently produced greater numbers of fish harvested and greater catches of trophy fish while conserving reproductive biomass and a more natural population age‐structure. Additionally, harvest slots resulted in less waste in the presence of hooking mortality. Our results held across a range of exploitation rates, life‐history strategies and fisheries objectives. Overall, we found harvest slots to represent a valuable option to meet both conservation and recreational fisheries objectives. Given the ubiquitous benefits of harvest slots across all life histories modelled, rethinking the widespread use of minimum‐length limits is warranted.     

Capture for culture: artificial shelters for grouper collection in SE Asia

This paper addresses a little‐discussed relationship between wild capture and mariculture, when the latter involves grow‐out of small wild‐caught fish or invertebrates in captivity. Seafood generated in this way is typically considered to be a form of aquaculture because it is assumed that, for animals removed from the wild when natural mortality is still very high, the protection conferred by culture operations will improve survivorship and enhance production. This assumption does not necessarily, however, apply when animals are removed well past the time of early high mortality. As one example of the implications of an early life‐history phase (ELP) fishery supplying culture operations, a preliminary study was conducted on an ELP fishery supplying live reef fish, especially groupers, in Southeast Asia. Grouper culture depends on both hatchery‐produced and wild‐caught fish which are then grown out to market size. Following interest to develop grow‐out operations in Indonesia, a pilot study was conducted to determine the sizes and capture rates of species of interest to the live fish trade, and to determine the likely environmental footprint of an artificial shelter (gango) type of capture method. From the results of the 15‐month study, we drew inferences regarding the sustainability of this fishing method and requirements of space, fish and materials for a viable grow‐out operation. The results showed that gangos were unselective for either species or size. Only 1.4% of the total fish catch (by number) were target species, mainly the grouper Epinephelus coioides, and most were large (mean total length was 13.6 cm) enough to have bypassed the early high mortality phase. Moreover, there were large non‐target catches that included many food fish species too small to be useful in catches. Given the large number and area of gangos needed for a viable operation, and that many groupers captured could probably have survived to reproduce, the ecological footprint of this approach could be substantial. These results, and literature on other ELP fisheries, suggest that these may often need management, have important links to other capture fishery sectors, and require careful evaluation of potential costs and benefits before introduction or development.     

Payments for ecosystem services in developing world fisheries

Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) is a powerful economic tool that gives positive conditional incentives for the provision of additional ecosystem services over the status quo, which has been used widely in terrestrial conservation. Interest in the concept of marine PES has recently emerged, but the fluid, transboundary and often common pool nature of marine ecosystems presents challenges for PES design and implementation. Here, we consider the potential role of PES in addressing current gaps in fisheries management. Used in combination with conventional regulatory approaches, PES may increase private sector engagement and generate more sustainable financing for fisheries management whilst spreading accountability throughout the supply chain. The approach is most likely to be feasible and effective in commercially valuable fisheries with: (i) demand for one or more ecosystem service and a threat to supply; (ii) suitable baseline data available and potential management actions underpinned by robust science; (iii) clarity and security of property rights; (iv) capacity for hybrid multi‐level governance; (v) capacity for rigorous monitoring, control and surveillance; and (vi) potential for financial sustainability of the scheme. An examination of four contrasting fisheries – Namibian hake, Mozambican shallow‐water shrimp, Western and Central Pacific skipjack tuna and Bangladesh hilsa – demonstrates that a developing world fishery will rarely fulfil each of these preconditions a priori, but that the potential for successful application of PES still exists. In practice, PES design will depend on the institutional context and require creative and innovative approaches to the maintenance of conditionality and additionality.     

Seasonal and annual cycles in marine small‐scale fisheries (Ilhéus – Brazil)

Fish stock assessment is a crucial tool for resource management. Small‐scale fisheries are often multispecies and multigear. This study focuses on the search for patterns in the Ilhéus small‐scale fishery using landing data from 2000 to 2006 and climatic data. Ocyurus chrysurus and Ephinephelus spp. were the most commonly landed fish. The number of fishing trips was higher in the winter, when winds were weaker and temperatures lower. When the temperature increased, catches of Seriola dumerili were higher. Coryphaena hippurus and some rays were more abundant in the summer in the presence of stronger winds, intense rainfall and higher air temperature. Large catches of Lutjanus spp. and Scomberomorus spp. were obtained in the autumn. There is an annual seasonality in the fishery, with a cyclical landing pattern regardless of the years considered. These results are important in view of climate change, and specific strategies for better fisheries management are recommended.     

Recruitment sources for fish stocks inside a floodplain river impoundment in Bangladesh

Abstract The sources of fish recruitment in the hydrologically modified, impounded Pabna Irrigation and Rural Development Project (PIRDP) flood control and irrigation scheme in NW Bangladesh were investigated. Catches at sluice gates were analysed to determine the migratory behaviour of fish. Fish attempted to migrate through the undershot sluice gates when they were opened, both with and against the currents, and both in and out of the PIRDP. Many fish were caught by the fishermen at such locations, but it is argued that some fish were probably able to enter the PIRDP from outside. One to two percentage of fish survived the dry season at the PIRDP, mostly in the deeper, perennial water bodies, both in rivers and lakes, and both inside and outside the flood control scheme. Fewer species survived inside the scheme, and the numbers of species remaining declined as the dry season progressed. It was shown in companion papers that fish production inside the PIRDP was lower than outside in both 1995 and 1996 even though the growth and reproductive potential of individual fish were at least as good inside as outside. The apparently negative impact of the PIRDP was explained by the reduced accessibility of the scheme to some migrant fish, as reflected by the inside/outside species compositions. It was concluded that fish catches within the PIRDP are sustained mainly from recruits produced by residing annual populations, while the biodiversity of the stocks was augmented by limited recruitment of fish migrating through the sluice gates from external sources. Two management approaches were proposed for increasing recruitment to the impounded PIRDP fishery as cheap alternatives to fish stocking: the use of dry season reserves to protect the residing spawning stocks; and the management of flood control sluice gates to maximise recruitment from external sources.     

Integrating recreational fisheries data into stock assessment: implications for model performance and subsequent harvest strategies

Understanding the impacts of recreational fishing on commercially fished stocks is becoming increasingly relevant for fisheries managers. However, data from recreational fisheries are not commonly included in stock assessments of commercially fished stocks. Simulation models of two assessment methods employed in Australia's Commonwealth fisheries were used to explore how recreational fishery data can be included, and the likely consequences for management. In a data‐poor management strategy for blue eye trevalla, Hyperoglyphe antarctica (Carmichael), temporal trends in recreational catch most affected management outcomes. In a data‐rich age‐structured stock assessment for striped marlin, Kajikia audax (Philippi), estimates of stock status were biased when recreational catches were large or when the recreational fishery targeted different size classes than the commercial fishery and these data were not integrated into the assessment. Including data from recreational fishing can change perceptions of stock status and impact recommendations for harvest strategies and management action. An understanding of recreational fishery dynamics should be prioritised for some species.     

Shrinking baseline: the growth in juvenile fisheries,with the Hong Kong grouper fishery as a case study

Historic and current information on the grouper fishery from Hong Kong and adjacent waters reveals significant changes in species composition and fish sizes over the past 50 years in this important Asian centre for seafood consumption. Once dominant, large groupers are now rare and small species and sizes prevail in the present‐day fishery. Juveniles comprise over 80% of marketed fish by number among the most commonly retailed groupers, and reproductive‐sized fish are absent among larger species. Current fishery practices and the lack of management in Hong Kong and adjacent waters pose a significant threat to large species with limited geographic distribution such as Epinephelus akaara and Epinephelus bruneus, both now listed as threatened by the IUCN. The heavy reliance on juveniles, not only for groupers, but for an increasing diversity of desired fishes within Asia, potentially reduces stock spawning potential. The ‘shrinking baseline’ in terms of a progressive reduction in fish sizes being marketed in the region can seriously undermine fishery sustainability and recoverability of depleted fish stocks. Fishing pressure on groupers and other valuable food fishes within the Asia‐Pacific is intensifying, the declining long‐term trend of grouper landings in Hong Kong and the increasing focus on juveniles for immediate sale or for mariculture ‘grow‐out’ signal a worrying direction for regional fisheries. Moreover, the common appearance of small groupers for sale will influence public perception regarding what are ‘normal‐sized’ fish. Management attention is needed if these fisheries are to remain viable.     

The introduced species fishery of Lake Naivasha,Kenya: ecological impact vs socio‐economic benefits

Lake Naivasha is a shallow, freshwater lake in the eastern Rift Valley of Kenya. Its fish community now comprises only introduced species. Oreochromis spirulus niger was stocked in 1925 as a forage fish for the largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides, introduced in 1929 for sport fishing. Further introductions of tilapiines followed for commercial exploitation. A gillnet fishery opened in 1959, and the annual species catch composition to 2000 was dominated by Oreochromis leucostictus. Following their accidental introduction, carp Cyprinus carpio appeared in catches in 2002; by 2010, it comprised >99% of landings by weight. Carp now provides a sustainable fishery in a lake heavily impacted by anthropogenic stressors, including water abstraction and nutrient enrichment. Oreochromis niloticus was reintroduced in 2011 to reinvigorate tilapia stocks following the collapse of its stocks in the 1990s and early 2000s, and the African catfish Clarias gariepinus is now captured in small but increasing numbers. The current status of the fishery, especially the predominance of carp, presents major management challenges; these are addressed by stakeholder engagement and co‐management. The introductions have artificially created a commercial fishery that provides substantial societal benefits in a semi‐arid region of a developing country with high poverty levels.     

Sea cucumber fisheries: global analysis of stocks,management measures and drivers of overfishing

Worldwide, most sea cucumber fisheries are ineffectively managed, leading to declining stocks and potentially eroding the resilience of fisheries. We analyse trends in catches, fishery status, fishing participation and regulatory measures among 77 sea cucumber fisheries through data from recent fishery reports and fishery managers. Critical gaps in fisheries biology knowledge of even commonly targeted species undermine the expected success of management strategies. Most tropical fisheries are small‐scale, older and typified by numerous (>8) species, whereas temperate fisheries are often emerging, mono‐specific and industrialized. Fisher participation data indicated about 3 million sea cucumber fishers worldwide. Fisher participation rates were significantly related to the average annual yield. permanova analysis showed that over‐exploited and depleted fisheries employed different sets of measures than fisheries with healthier stocks, and a non‐metric multidimensional scaling ordination illustrated that a broad set of regulatory measures typified sustainable fisheries. SIMPER and regression tree analyses identified that the dissimilarity was most related to enforcement capacity, number of species harvested, fleet (vessel) controls, limited entry controls and rotational closures. The national Human Development Index was significantly lower in countries with over‐exploited and depleted fisheries. Where possible, managers should limit the number of fishers and vessel size and establish short lists of permissible commercial species in multispecies fisheries. Our findings emphasize an imperative to support the enforcement capacity in low‐income countries, in which risk of biodiversity loss is exceptionally high. Solutions for greater resilience of sea cucumber stocks must be embedded within those for poverty reduction and alternative livelihood options.