Volume 69
Assessing the Abundance, Distribution and Reproduction of the Florida Sea Cucumber (Holothuria floridana) for the Informed Management of a Growing Commercial Fishery
Authors
Halperin, A., G. Cook, R. Ruzicka, and K. Lunz Download PDF Open PDF in BrowserOther Information
Date: November, 2016
Pages: 278 - 279
Event: Proceedings of the Sixty eigth Annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute
City: Grand Cayman
Country: Cayman Islands
Abstract
Sea cucumbers, class Holothuroidea, are ecologically and socio-economically important components of many marine habitats. They play a crucial role in nutrient cycling in oligotrophic tropical reefs and oxygenate ocean sediments through their burrowing behavior. Sea cucumbers are also of high commercial importance in both the aquarium and consumptive trades, leading to overfished Holothurian populations around the globe. Due to recent, heightened demand for sea cucum-bers in the Indo-Pacific, fishers have exploited new areas in the Caribbean and Florida, furthering the need for baseline studies to guide management of current and prospective sea cucumber fisheries.